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    Just 36 Things To Take Your Baking To The Next Level Even If You've Never Turned On Your Oven

    Because baking season really is *the most wonderful time of the year*. šŸ°šŸ„§šŸŖ

    1. An easy-to-grip Oxo cookie scoop to ensure your balls of cookie dough are consistent in size. Not only will they look prettier that way, they'll all finish baking at the same time, too!

    2. A silicone baking mat that'll end any spatula versus cookie sheet battles for good. No sticky residue, and just think of all the money (and trees!) you'll be saving by cutting down on parchment paper. Plus, they're great for rolling out dough when you don't want to make a mess of your counter.

    3. A Nordic Ware aluminum sheet tray, because not only is aluminum durable, it's also an excellent heat conductor, meaning your goodies will bake evenly. Trust me, this baby will last FOREVER!

    4. A Hamilton Beach stand mixer you can use to crank out baked goods just as worthy of Paul Hollywood's handshake as one's you'd make with a pricey KitchenAid. It does all the work, you take all the credit.

    5. Or, a Hamilton Beach six-speed electric hand mixer that, as a former professional baker, I fully endorse for most home baking needs.

    6. A set of Ateco offset spatulas, which will become your new best friends when it comes to frosting cakes or spreading anything in an even layer, really. An offset spatula is super helpful when it comes to achieving a smooth layer of frosting ā€” even at awkward angles and in hard-to-reach places ā€” since your hand/the handle aren't on the same plane as the blade.

    Reviewer photo of the set of three offset spatulas

    7. A reusable bowl cover that's perfect for proofing bread, rolls, or any other yeast-based baked goods. It's an eco-friendly alternative to plastic wrap, and can be cleaned in the washing machine.

    Three stacked bowls covered with the reusable covers next to some cookies

    8. An instant-read thermometer to keep you from overbaking cakes, pies, and anything else you want to keep from being too well done. As they say, there's nothing worse than a dry cake (they = me).

    Reviewer using the thermometer to read the temperature of a pie

    9. A small but mighty bench scraper that will basically become an extension of your arm the more you keep baking. When I was baking professionally, my bench scraper was what I reached for most often, after my scale. Whether you're scraping up dough that's stuck to the counter, portioning out smaller pieces, or gathering excess flour and residue while cleaning up, a bench scraper will make your life *so* much easier.

    10. Some pie stencils to trick everyone into thinking you're a seasoned pastry artist. No one needs to know about the crack in your key lime creation thanks to a little strategic dusting of powdered sugar.

    A pie that's been decorated using one of the pie stencils, surrounded by three of the stencils

    11. An adjustable rolling pin for when the recipe says to roll dough out to a quarter of an inch thick, and you really don't want to have to measure that yourself. This set comes with four sizes of removable rings you can screw on depending on how thin or thick you want your dough to be, and has measurement markings right on the roller itself, so you can easily gauge the length and width of your dough as well. *Genius*

    Model using the adjustable rolling pin to roll out dough on top of a baking mat

    12. A kitchen measurement conversion magnet you can stick on your fridge as an easy reference whenever you need to know how many tablespoons are in a third of a cup.

    The magnet on the side of a refrigerator

    13. A nonstick Wilton mini Bundt pan for making impressive individual desserts that'll have your friends saying, "This must have taken you ALL DAY!" (reader, it definitely did not). It's essentially a more intricately designed muffin tin, so just fill, bake, and flip out your cute little cakes.

    14. And, some Baker's Joy no-stick baking spray to ensure your Bundt cakes come out of the pan perfectly intact every. single. time.

    15. A jumbo-size box of Ateco piping bags so you can practice writing in frosting and creating edible flowers until the cows come home. While they're meant to be disposable, I find that I can get multiple uses out of these bags when I hand-wash them, as long as they don't have any holes.

    16. And, to use with your piping bags, a set of metal piping tips to create pretty much any sugary shape you could imagine. This kit also comes with two couplers, which allow you to switch between tips even when your piping bag is filled with frosting, as well as two reusable piping bags.

    17. A Tovolo silicone spatula you'll be reaching for pretty much every time you whip up some cake batter or cookie dough.

    18. A set of dual-sided measuring spoons with both rounded and ovular ends to fit inside jars of all shapes and sizes. They're also magnetic and can be stacked atop one another to take up less space ā€” plus, this set comes with a handy leveler to give you clean measurements.

    19. Wilton cake strips for the perfectionist who wants perfectly smooth, flat layers without having to lop off any domed tops in the process (the domes are often like, a third of the cake!). All you have to do is adjust the strips to fit your pans, wet them, wrap them around your cake pans, and stick everything in the oven for super profesh-looking layers.

    20. And, a Wilton cake leveler so you can evenly split your layers in half without being at the mercy of a serrated knife, which pretty much always leads to a comically jagged and slanted cut. Adjust the blade to your desired height using the measurement guide, then just saw through your cake.

    21. Some visual measuring cups, because not only do they look cool, they're also great for kid bakers when it comes to learning fractions.

    22. An Oxo angled liquid measuring cup that allows you to see how much you're pouring from above, rather than having to pour, crouch down to read the measurement from the side, then adjust.

    The measuring cup holding one cup of liquid, determined by reading side and overhead measurements

    23. A set of pantry labels to stick onto your dry ingredient canisters, because the last thing you want to do is mistake salt for sugar. They're water-resistant, and can be customized to accommodate the vast collection of alternative flours you've been wanting to experiment with.

    Three canisters with labels for cane sugar, brown rice, and all purpose flour

    24. A cake turntable you'll want in your kitchen if you have visions of creating a perfectly smooth coat of frosting. Rather than having to manually jostle your cake stand to get full coverage, a turntable lets you spin your cake for hassle-free frosting application, which will give it a more polished appearance.

    25. A Wilton gel food coloring set for richer, more vibrant hues than you'd get with your standard liquid dyes. What's great about gel food coloring is that a little goes a long way, and unlike liquid dyes, it's less likely to alter the texture of your frosting or batter.

    26. A set of reusable beeswax food wraps that are way easier to use than pesky cling wrap when a recipe calls for chilling cookie or pie dough in the fridge. This pack comes with six sheets in a variety of sizes and patterns that can be wiped down for multiple uses.

    Six rolls of beeswax food wraps in different sizes and patterns

    27. A pair of extra-long oven mitts, because as someone who used to bake for a living, take it from me: Your wrists and forearms are the most vulnerable when it comes to baking burns, so it's wise to keep that area as covered-up as possible! Plus, a little extra protection will boost your confidence when it comes to taking piping hot baking vessels in and out of the oven.

    Reviewer wearing the red and black oven mitts

    28. A chic cross-back apron (with pockets!) to protect your clothing from the inevitable flour clouds and batter explosions you'll encounter on your baking journey. It's so cute that you'll *almost* want to wear another apron over this one, but you can just toss it into the washing machine when it's time to clean.

    Model wearing the gray apron and placing a wooden spoon in the pocket

    29. An unassuming bowl scraper that looks like a simple piece of flexible plastic but will help your batters turn out nice and homogenous, as well as loosen bread doughs from the bottom of your mixing vessel. It's important to incorporate everything that gets stuck to the sides of your bowl when mixing, and this handheld tool gets the job done quickly.

    30. A seriously genius Wilton three-tiered collapsible cooling rack to cool up to three dozen cookies at a time without taking up a ton of counter space. You can also use it for cakes, pies, or anything else that would benefit from air circulation while cooling down.

    31. Some sturdy Oxo mixing bowls equipped with non-slip bottoms, so you can whisk away to your heart's content without worrying about everything flying off the counter. They also have convenient pouring spouts and are BPA free and dishwasher safe.

    Reviewer photo of the white mixing bowls stacked inside one another

    32. A cake-decorating kit that turns your piping bag into a pen, giving you a steadier grip when it comes to creating more detailed designs and writing messages with icing. Just be prepared for everyone you know to start requesting custom birthday cakes once you've gotten comfortable with it.

    Model using the cake decorating pen to draw designs on a cake

    33. Or, some *actual* food-coloring pens for even more stability. They're made of edible ink and come dual-sided with both wide and fine tips.

    34. A digital scale that'll give you the most accurate measurements, especially when it comes to ingredients like flour. Scooping flour into a measuring cup can yield wildly different results depending on how tightly it's packed, which is why using a scale can keep your end product from being too dry (the WORST!).

    Reviewer photo of the scale being used to weigh flour

    35. A lace-patterned rolling pin for imprinting intricate designs onto cookie and pie doughs. Yes, you can pretend it took you hours when everyone starts complimenting your handiwork!

    The lace-patterned rolling pin next to some cookie dough that's been imprinted with the lace design

    36. And, some festive Wilton sprinkles, because no matter what goes wrong, there's nothing a little edible eye candy can't cover up.

    Reviews in this post have been edited for length and clarity.

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