My Favorite Holiday Baking Tools (and Recipes)

I love to bake, so I do it frequently, all year 'round, but at the holidays I really kick it into high gear. So this is the time of year when I am reminded of the tools in my kitchen drawer that make my life so much easier when I'm baking. Let me share with you my favorite baking tools - and also the recipes that I use them for. (Scroll all the way to the bottom for recipes.)

Cookie dropper ($5-$16 on eBay, used). Sadly, this wonderful vintage tool (which I refer to as my "cookie flicker") has been discontinued by everyone, including Pampered Chef, in favor of the more modern mini ice-cream scoop. Fortunately, its design is quite simple and therefore long-lasting, so you can find used versions in excellent shape on eBay. I find it much easier to control the cookie size with its flat design than with the scoop-shaped versions, and if the dough gets a little sticky, it's easier to slide it off the flat surface with your finger than to clear out the deeper scoop. It's especially handy for snickerdoodles, chocolate pixies, and Russian teacakes. 

Spoon spatula ($7 from Walmart). The love child of a spoon and a spatula, I find it scrapes the bowl as well as a spatula and folds in ingredients more easily than either a spoon or a spatula. And since it does double duty, there's one less utensil to wash when you're done. It's great for all kinds of batters and doughs, from cookies to breads to pies and cakes.  

Plastic and steel measuring spoons ($8 from Amazon). My all-metal measuring spoons had gotten a bit battered and pitted after 30 years of use, so my husband tucked this set into my stocking last year. I love the way the plastic bowls of the spoon help sticky ingredients like Karo syrup, honey, and oil slide right out. One caution, though - unlike my older 4-spoon sets, which consisted of 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, and 1/4 teaspoon, this set is 1 tablespoon, 1/2 tablespoon (equivalent to 1-1/2 teaspoons), 1 teaspoon, and 1/2 teaspoon. I don't miss the 1/4 teaspoon because I rarely need it and I'm fine estimating it if I do, but it's easy to run on autopilot and grab the second-largest spoon thinking it's 1 teaspoon when it's actually 1-1/2 teaspoons.  

Stackable cooling racks ($18 from Home Depot, set of 3). If counter space is at a premium in your kitchen - or if you just like to keeps things neatly consolidated - these stacking racks are handy. Each rack is big enough to hold one cookie sheet worth of cookies, so clear one sheet then pop the next rack on top and the first batch cools while you fill the next rack. The swivel legs close so the racks nest neatly and take up minimal space in the dishwasher and the cabinet. I use them for cookies and breads. 

Ugly sweater cookie cutter ($3 from Ann Clark). Ever since my kids were small, they've loved decorating cookies with me. Although their artistic talents have eclipsed mine these days, when they were small I sometimes cringed at their idea of "pretty cookies." Fortunately, ugly sweater cookies are a great way for the little ones to decorate as messily and tackily as their hearts desire. And for the big ones, too, come to think of it. 

Graduated round cookie cutters ($14 from Amazon). I both make and partake of cookie plates at numerous gatherings during the holiday season - church cookie swap, work cookie swap, kids' holiday parties, cast parties, neighborhood exchanges, immediate and extended family dinners. So I like to make cookies of various sizes so people can take a few tiny "sampler" cookies or one (or more) full-sized cookies. These graduated circles are great for gingerbread and sugar cookies, and they can be decorated like Christmas tree baubles if I'm using colored sugar (like with sugar cookies), or with drawings of snowflakes, snowmen, and Christmas trees if I'm using royal icing (like with gingerbread cookies or sometimes sugar cookies). 

Flour sieve ($13 from Target, set of 3 sizes). Sometimes I don't bother sifting my flour, but when I'm baking for company or other special occasions, I like to make sure everything is smooth and evenly blended using my sieve. With this set of 3, I can use the medium one for a few cups of flour sifted into a 2-cup measure or the large one to sift into a 4-cup measure, with minimal spillage over the sides. The large one is also handy for straining chicken or turkey broth made from the leftovers from your holiday dinner, and the smallest one makes a handy tea or herb strainer. 

Mini food chopper, a.k.a. "Slap Chop" ($23 from Macy's). Ninety percent of the time when I use this tool it's for chopping onions (NO MORE TEARS!!), but the other 10% I'm chopping nuts: pecans, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios. It chops neatly and evenly, and cleanup is a breeze because you just pop it apart and toss it in the dishwasher. If you have small kids and don't mind if your nuts are chopped quite finely, this is a great, safe, fun task for them. And if you're getting stressed out by the holidays, this is a great, safe, fun task for you. 

Pre-cut parchment sheets ($4 from Target, box of 30 sheets). Parchment under cookies means minimal scrubbing of cookie sheets, minimal sticking, and you can even lift off a whole tray of cookies at once to get ready for the next batch. These pre-cut sheets are easier than the rolls, which are never quite proportioned right for my cookie sheets and require folding. These sheets fit both my large and small cookie sheets, and the only issue is that if your cookies are small and the dough is light, the center fold will sometimes push them aside or create a "wall" at one side so the cookies don't come out perfectly round. I just save those for the family. 

4-cup Pyrex measuring cup ($9 from Williams-Sonoma). So many of my cookie and other recipes call for 2-3/4 or 3 cups of flour, so instead of using a 2-cup plus a 1-cup, I use my big 4-cup and then I have room to whisk in my other dry ingredients. Plus, the top is big enough around that I can sift the flour with my big sieve, which goes much faster. It's also great for making pancake batter to pour directly onto the griddle!

Mini offset spatula/turner ($5 from Target). This spatula is just the right size for brownies, fudge, and bars made in an 8"x8" or 9"x9" pan and cut into squares. You can easily pop out even the first square. It's also handy for taking batches of smaller cookies off a cookie sheet. 

First slice pie spatula ($4 from Walmart). You know how that first slice of pie always comes out kind of messy? Tuck this pie spatula in your pie plate, cover it with crust and filling and bake, then use the exposed rim as a guide to cut on either side of the slice. Then lift the spatula and out comes that perfect first slice. Brilliant!

Pastry blender ($9 from Amazon). I mostly use this to cut in the shortening for pie crust, but it's also very handy if you're baking cookies with butter and it's not quite soft enough. Chop it up with this handy tool before you hit it with the electric mixer and it'll cream like, well, butter. 

Apple corer ($10 from Amazon). Apple pie and apple crisp are holiday staples in our house, as are a number of apple-based appetizers (chicken salad on apples; feta, apple, and hazelnut crostini; chickpea, broccoli, and apple salad), not to mention garnishes for cider-based cocktails, so this handy tool gets a seasonal workout. I love that this version opens, scissor-style, to neatly release the apple core, rather than having to wrestle it out of the shaft. It also has a large, ergonomic grip that's easy for my arthritic hands to manage, as well as a serrated blade that requires less pressure to cut through even thick-skinned fruit. 

Pastry scraper ($10 from Williams-Sonoma). Although I use it most often when I'm baking bread, it also comes in handy when you're dividing cookie dough into halves or thirds to chill it, or de-sticking rolled cookie dough like gingerbread or sugar cookies. It's also a great tool for marking and then slicing church window cookies, Yule logs, cinnamon rolls, or any other dough that needs to be rolled and then evenly divided. 

Silicone-lined pot holders ($19 from Target, pair). I have a hard time managing mitten-shaped oven mitts, but sometimes traditional pot holders are too small, too thin, or too slippery. These oversized, rectangular KitchenAid pot holders have a pocket so you can slip your hand inside if you choose, and the opposite surface is covered with silicone dots that insulate and grip. They hold up perfectly well under machine washing and drying, which is great, because I need to launder them nearly daily during the holidays. You will literally have to pry these from my cold, dead hands to get me to give them up. 

Once you have all these great tools, you'll need some recipes to bake with them. Here are some favorite holiday recipes from my house! Click on the recipe name for the link for most recipes. There are a few additional recipes written out at the very end.  

Best Snickerdoodles

Candy Cane Cookies

Chocolate Pixies (aka Chocolate Crinkles)

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Raspberry Almond Shortbread

Church Windows

Russian Teacakes 

Sugar Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

Fudge Brownies

Millionaire's Bars

Pumpkin Pie (Homemade pie crust recipe below if you prefer)

Fun Fudge

Double Pie Crust

2-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt (use a little less if using salted butter)
2 Tbsp sugar
½ cup lard (most grocery stores carry shelf stable lard; look in the baking aisle near the Crisco)
12 Tbsp butter, chilled and cut into ¼-inch pieces
6 Tbsp ice water (more or less as needed for a good consistency)

Sift salt and sugar into flour, then cut in butter using a pastry cutter. (Do NOT use fingers to crumble!). Sprinkle the ice water over a tablespoon at a time, folding in and pressing together with a spoon spatula. Add just enough water for the dough to hold together (a little crumbly is okay). Avoid overworking the dough. Divide into two balls and flatten into a 4” disk, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to several days. Don't forget to put your first slice spatula in the pie plate underneath the crust!

Pecan Pie

1 cup Karo corn syrup (light or dark)

3 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups (6 oz) whole pecans

1 (9-inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust (homemade or refrigerated)

Stir together all ingredients except pecans and crust. Roll out crust and place in deep pie plate (place first slice spatula under crust if using). Arrange pecans in crust in a single layer. Gently pour in filling. Bake at 350 on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until center springs back slightly when touched. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours before serving. 

Popcorn Balls

2-1/2 quarts (10 cups) popped popcorn

2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

½ cup water

1 tablespoon butter, plus extra to butter hands

Pinch cream of tartar

Few drops food coloring, if desired (this WILL stain your hands)

Put popcorn in a large pot or Dutch oven. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and cook to firm ball stage (245 degrees). Pour over corn, stirring to coat. Butter hands and quickly form into 2” balls. Makes 10 balls (recipe can be doubled).

Happy baking!