My Baking Must Haves

This is the list of baking tool and ingredients that I couldn’t list without. These are my “baking essentials” for any recipe! 28 Baking Must Haves To Make Baking From Scratch Easier

baking must haves

This page is dedicated to my baking must haves- all the handy dandy kitchen tools, quality ingredients I love that  I use to whip up all my desserts!

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*this page contains affiliate links. These are all products I own and love and would not recommend otherwise! I do make a small commission if you click and make a purchase, but it does not cost you anything extra!

It should come as no shock to you that I have quite a few cupboards full of baking equipment. Ok, that’s a lie. I have more than a few. And a closet. And if I’m being totally honest with you, I have a few shelves and storage tubs in the basement too. There I said it. I feel much better now. But I’ll be honest, I use it all. At some point during the year. That also probably wasn’t a shock to you. However, I don’t think every person needs to have cupboards, closets, and basements chock full of baking tools. I do, however, think there are some must haves that anyone should have. 

So I put together this list of what I’m calling the “baking must haves”. 

Baking Must Have Essentials

  1. Kitchenaid Stand Mixer I seriously can’t live without this thing. Now I know it’s an investment, but I’ve had mine now for over 10 years, that’s longer than any relationship I’ve been in. This thing will stand the test of time, so invest in one, and don’t think twice. 
  2. Kitchen Scale–  Although most of the time I use my dry measuring cups, I do bust out my kitchen scale when it comes to making macarons. Measuring is key when it comes to baking! You can read my posts on how to measure everything here, and how and why to measure your flour accurately here. 
  3. Silicone Baking MatsThese are invaluable! You could use parchment paper, but invest in these and you won’t have to buy a box again. And these ones that I bought come in a package of 2, and fit your typical half sheet pan- which means you can have one pan ready while one pan of chocolate chip cookies bake in the oven!
  4. Half Sheet PanI own A LOT of pans. It’s kind of ridiculous. But out of all of them, this is my #1 go to. I always recommend getting two, just like your silicone baking mats. It’s a huge timesaver to be able to rotate one pan and one out when you’re baking. If you want to know the other 9 pans I can’t live without then you can read that post here!
  5. Donut Pan – Oh man I love this pan. But seriously, don’t buy one buy two. Trust me. I’ve used this pan to make these apple cider donuts before. Baked, light, and fluffy. Makes homemade donut making a breeze. 
  6. 2-in-1 Whisk and Bowl Scraper – Seriously, I think this has become one of my favorite tools to use lately. I love using this for one bowl cupcakes and blondies that just need a quick whisk and scrape into the pan. I love when I don’t have to dirty two utensils! Hooray for less dishes!
  7. Offset Spatula  – Perfect for icing cupcakes and sheet cakes. I have these in goldilocks of sizes- you know, small, large and medium (“just right”). 
  8. Rolling Pin – Not all are created equal. I prefer to not have one with handles. If I’m rolling dough that is longer than the pin I find it awkward to roll without leaving indent into my dough. So I like this French rolling pin with tapered ends. 
  9. Wilton Candy Thermometer– I’ve used other thermometers in the past, but I keep going back to this one. It’s durable and clips right into your saucepan. When you are making homemade caramel sauce this thing is a must. Making candy can be fun, but kind of tricky. Here is a cookbook I  own from a blog I love all about making candy! 
  10. Pastry Mat  For rolling out pie dough, my pastry mat is my best friend. I love this thing for rolling out sugar cookie dough as well, and cinnamon rolls! It has measures for making perfect circles, and measurements along the side- let’s say for when you want to cut a lattice pie crust. 
  11. Cookie Spatula Do you own one of these? They are fabulous. I know it might sound silly to have a spatula just for cookies, but this thin flexible metal spatula works beautifully to carefully remove cookies. I’m telling you, when you get one, you’ll wonder why you didn’t own one earlier!
  12. Cooling Racks – You seriously can’t have enough of these, especially around the holidays. My favorite cooling racks are these ones, but the stackable cooling racks come in quite handy when I’m baking up a storm and need to reserve counter space. 
  13. Pie plate – Nothing like a great pie plate when you need one for Thanksgiving. My preference is a glass pie plate so you can see the bottom to ensure your crust has gotten all browned and crispy. 
  14. Bench Scraper–  Nothing beats this thing when making any kind of pastry, especially cinnamon rolls. An this one from Oxo has measurements on the side too! Genius!
  15. Pastry Cutter – This is my go to tool when making pie crust by hand, or scones for a brunch get together. 
  16. Loaf Pan – Banana bread. Enough said 🙂
  17. Dry Measuring Cups  and spoons I prefer metal ones, so they don’t warp, retain odors, grease. And the plastic ones tend to have the measurements rub off over time. Nothing like wondering if it’s a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup. Trust me invest in a good pair of metal ones!
  18. Liquid measuring cups – I love having a 1-cup and a 2-cup measuring cup to use!
  19. Mixing Bowls – Of course bowls are needed. However, not all created equally. You want to use metal bowls. Metal bowls will not retain odors or grease over time like plastic will, which will make a difference if you’re every whipping egg whites! These can also be used for a double boiler to melt chocolate. 
  20. Kitchen Torch  I resisted buying one of these for a long time. But once I bought it I wondered why I hadn’t earlier. You can always toast meringue under a broiler but I found this to be WAY easier and give me much better control (like no crazy burnt marshmallows in your oven kind of control!)
  21. Cheesecake Pan – You could make a cheesecake in a cake pan but I love being able to remove the sides for easy removal.
  22. 8×8 square pan – This is my go to pan for brownies and blondies. It’s a MUST. I prefer a metal one with straight edges. 
  23. 9×9 square pan –  I also love using my 9×9 pan..some recipes call for this size so this way I don’t have to adjust my recipe. 
  24. 13×9 pan – Perfect for sheet cakes and desserts to feed a crowd!
  25. My go to cupcake linersNo they are not all the same. These cupcake liners are greaseproof, which means the color and/or pattern will hold up after baking. There is no point in buying pretty cupcake liners if you can’t even see what they look like after you bake something in them! I use this brand all the time, but the brown ones are my favorite. I have no idea why. 
  26. Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract This stuff is pure gold. I love this brand of vanilla extract and the style. There are lots of different kinds of vanilla extract- Tahitian, Mexican, so on and so on from this brand, but this one is my fave.
  27. Valrhona Cocoa powder -Quality cocoa powder is a must in your kitchen. There are lots of different kinds of quality cocoa powder out there, but this one is by my far my favorite- trust me once you use a quality cocoa powder you’ll wonder why you haven’t always. The deep, dark rich color is true quality.
  28. Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour I don’t always bake gluten free, but I  have occasionally- like these lemon thumbprint cookies were made with this flour. There was a period of time though I was baking gluten free 100% of the time and this was my go to flour. I know it’s more expensive than others you might find, but I’m telling you it’s the only gluten free flour I have found where you can’t tell it’s gluten free. And trust me I tried them all. (and it’s a few bucks cheaper on Amazon than in my grocery store!)

 

There you go everyone! A glimpse into my kitchen or basically every kitchen cupboard. These are my baking must haves. Again, these are all products I personally own, and use ALL the time. If you have any questions on any of these, let me know! And I’m sure this list will continue to grow!