I keep saying this, but it’s true – so I’ll say it again! The countdown to Christmas is officially ON.
Every year it seems to creep up faster and faster, so this year I am DETERMINED to have a game plan. For gifts, for decorating and for baking. I don’t know about you guys, be baking seems to get SUPER overwhelming when there’s so much else going on, but I love doing it – so this year I’m determined to be better prepared.
And one of the best ways to be prepared is to have the best tools! For those of you that have been here a while, you know my affection for kitchen gadgets runs deep. And for that matter, these are my VERY favorites that I couldn’t do Christmas without:
The KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer
All the hype you’ve heard about KitchenAid mixers? It’s true. These bad boys are worth every. single. penny. Seriously, they are work horses that just don’t stop. And they can do so much more than mix! All of the attachments they sell can flip this kitchen staple from a mixer to a meat grinder, to an ice cream maker, to a pasta maker, and more! But if you’re like me, you just want to mixing help when you’ve promised to make your kids dozens of Christmas cookies for school the next day, and promptly forget about it until late the evening before. Not that I would know anything about that 😉
The secret to perfect, evenly baked cookies with getting them too done on the bottom? Insulated cookie sheets. Sounds fancy, but really it’s just a way to say they allow air to move between the two sheets of metal that make up the sheet so that it cooks evenly and doesn’t have any hot spots. These make a perfect batch every single time!
I feel like this time of year we make up an ungodly amount of whipped cream. I know that isn’t baking per se, but it goes with everything you’re baking! You know the store bought stuff just isn’t the same, so save your sanity and whip up you own with the Cuisnart Immersion Blender. You can really do a TON with this thing – mix soups, flush up mashed potatoes, or make a TON of whipped cream. Whether it’s on pies, hot chocolate, or any other dessert, homemade whipped cream is EASY with this immersion blender.
The Wilton Pro Dessert Decorator
If you love to make sugar cookies, or any other dessert with any degree of decorating difficulty, do yourself a favor. Get the Wilton Pro Dessert Decorator. It will make your life SO MUCH EASIER! I use to be cheap and try and do everything with ziploc bags and tips, and to be honest it was way harder. I should have invested in this little guy a long time ago – I’m so glad I finally did!
Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
Sounds silly to say you need a certain kind of measuring cup, but I can promise you – once you go with these, you won’t want plastic ones ever again. These hold up forever, and can take getting tossed, dropped, and washed over and over again. I was gifted a nice set a few years ago, and they still look as good as they did the day they came out of the box. Even though they’ve been dropped into the way of moving mixer blade on more than one occasion. My old plastic ones? Look like they’ve been through the garbage disposal. Definitely buy stainless steel ones.
And that’s it! Those are my absolute must haves for any holiday baking or cooking you plan on doing this holiday season. If you’ve been on the fence about any of these, now would be a good time to jump on ’em because prices are already dropping in anticipation of Christmas.
And hey! These would also make for great gifts for any cooking or baking enthusiasts on your list 🙂
What do you love to bake for this holidays? What’s your can’t live without kitchen gadget?
This post was sponsored Savings.com in partnership with Macy’s. All opinions are 110% my own. #EverydayMacys