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The 44 Best Baking Gifts for the Cookie Makers and Bread Bakers in Your Life

Stocking stuffers? Yup. Big ticket items? You betcha.

By
Rochelle Bilow
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Editor
Rochelle Bilow is an editor for Serious Eats, as well as a novelist. Based in Vermont, Rochelle specializes in stories about home cooking, techniques, tools, and equipment. She has been writing about food professionally for over a decade.
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Updated December 05, 2024
Gifts for bakers we recommend on a blue grid background

Serious Eats / Amelia Manley

The holidays are a busy time for bakers. Surely you know someone (or perhaps are someone) who spends much of December with a piping bag in hand. Of course, Serious Eats has gift recommendations for all the cooks and food enthusiasts on our lists, but the bakers have a special place in my heart—after all, where would I be without spritz cookies and gingerbread? (In a cave at the top of Mount Crumpit, I imagine.)

And so! I’ve scoured all of our baking equipment reviews to find gift-worthy presents for every kind of baker. I’ve got ideas for bread bakers, cookie lovers, card-carrying members of the #TeamPie club, and everyone else in between.

An accurate kitchen scale is a requirement for all serious bakers (or silly ones who make great treats). We’ve recommended this OXO model for years—the pull-out display is especially helpful. Bench scrapers like this one are also essential baking tools: They help move ingredients around, portion dough, and clean up a sticky, floury counter. The baker in your life may already have measuring spoons and cups, but they’ll appreciate an upgrade once they learn how accurate these spoons and cups from Sur La Table are. And when it comes to mixing, this set of mixing bowls is similar to what you’d find in a professional kitchen—and we love them. Every bakers needs a solid, simply good square baking pan, and this is our favorite. Lumpy flour is the worst, and this luxe fine mesh sieve from Rösle will ensure batter is always silky-smooth. Of course, new cookbooks to pore over are always appreciated. The Baking Bible is amazing for all things technique. BraveTart, by our former pastry editor, and A Good Day to Bake are perfect everyday baking books.

Scooping flour from a bowl using the OXO Stainless Steel Measuring Cups surrounded by stacks of measuring cups

Serious Eats / Taylor Murray

For those who prefer to bake bread rather than treats, a Danish dough whisk is a real find. The three-dimensional, asymmetrically looped design is efficient at agitating, so doughs and batters come together quickly—we’ve written more about how useful they are here. After mixing, bread bakers will need to proof and score their loaves, and there are no better tools than this proofing basket and super sharp lame. Although you can bake bread in a cast iron Dutch oven, I think this handsome pan is a fantastic gift—and it can handle loaves of all shapes. Sandwich loaf enthusiasts will love this gold pan that marries form and function, producing loaves with squared, sharp corners. And don't forget the bread knife! This slicer is the best we've tested for crusty loaves.

A loaf of bread in the Challenger bread oven

Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian

There’s no time quite like the holidays for cookie and cake bakers to show off. We’ve reviewed all shapes and sizes of cake pans and have recommendations for the best. For Bundt pans, look to NordicWare (the brand invented the Bundt pan!), while this inexpensive cake pan beat out the competition in our review. A springform pan is a must for cheesecake and quiche, and you really can’t do better than this one: It’s completely leak-proof and easy to handle while wearing oven mitts. Muffins are cake (don’t fight me on this), so I’ve included a recommendation for the best muffin pan, too. Chocolate enthusiasts will need a great square pan, and the Nordic Ware 8 x 8 pan works great with both from-scratch and premixed brownie batters, thanks to heavy-gauge aluminum, rolled edges, and rounded corners. All of the above are highly practical gifts, but if you want to really wow, pick up a domed glass cake standthis one says, “You’re fancy and I appreciate you!”

Although sheet pans technically aren’t cookie sheets, this half sheet pan works so well, the cookie baker in your life will be thrilled to have a few—and they’re also great for roasting vegetables. Time for a secret! I hope my mother isn’t reading this, because I’m planning on getting her a couple of cooling racks for Christmas. She deserves the best ones after decades of cooling her chocolate chip cookies on cut-open paper bags.

Nordic Ware Platinum Collection with a Punt Cake next to it

Serious Eats / Meghan Splawn

Baking the perfect pie is as much math as it is art, and for that reason, I highly recommend this adjustable rolling pin with thickness guides. The more minimalist pie baker will appreciate a tapered edge French-style pin like the winner of our rolling pin review, which is nimble and rolled out dough without cracking or tearing. Although we named a simple metal pie pan as the best in our review (it’s an efficient thermal conductor, which makes for perfectly-golden crusts), if you’re looking to gift something special, look no further than this pretty ceramic number. I sure would be thrilled to receive one. This pie server has a serrated edge for clean slices—smart, smart, smart!—and this clever roller creates Pinterest-worthy lattices in an instant.

Two hands using a tapered rolling pin to roll out pie crust on a marble surface

Serious Eats / Eric King

You can bet that most bakers would be pleased with a sweet treat or two in their stockings, but I’ve also rounded up some small gifts that will last much longer. A lightning-fast instant-read thermometer is key for checking if bread is ready, and this one won’t break your gift-giving budget. An oven thermometer is another surprisingly thoughtful temperature tracker because most ovens aren’t accurate—this one is great. I really can’t say enough good things about this whisk: It’s supremely comfy to hold, and makes whipped cream almost as quickly as an electric mixer. I bought a few for myself after testing them. Piping tips (we have more recs here) and an offset spatula are also ideal “what the pros know” small gifts. Would it be odd to put a mitten in a stocking? Not if it’s the winner of our oven mitts reviewthis set is surprisingly stylish. And I guarantee every baker on your list will be thrilled for the good chocolate and vanilla. This natural cocoa powder has been a longtime Serious Eats favorite, and we’ve recommended this brand of vanilla for years.

green oven mitts on a marble surface

Serious Eats / Eric Brockob

Sometimes, you want your gift to say, “I really care.” (Or at least, “Now you owe me weekly croissants.”) These six pricey, classy gifts ought to do the trick. First up is our favorite stand mixer from KitchenAid. It’s as close to pro as you can get without making a huge price jump, and the bowl-lift feature works super well. We’ve also long recommended this more modest stand mixer (also KitchenAid!) for more casual bakers. If your favorite baker isn’t sold on stand mixers, upgrade their hand mixerthis one from Breville is nothing short of luxe with three different beater attachments and a light that shines into the bowl. I won’t tell you that anyone needs a temperature-controlled home for their sourdough starter, but this one earned our stamp of approval and it is such a fun gift. I also can’t pretend that a dough sheeter is required for at-home baking…but if croissants and other laminated pastries are of great importance to your giftee, you might want to consider this one. Finally, I’ll leave you with a rec for the comfiest, best apron you can buy—so many Serious Eats staffers love it, and soon your favorite baker will too.

a red stand mixer on a marble surface

Serious Etas / Irvin Lin

Why We’re the Experts

  • Rochelle Bilow is an editor at Serious Eats. Previously, she worked as an editor and the social media manager at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light
  • Rochelle is a culinary school graduate, and worked in professional kitchens and bakeries before beginning her writing career. She's been testing kitchen equipment for Serious Eats since 2022.
  • For this article, we combed through our baking equipment reviews, finding standout products we’ve tested and recommended for years.

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