Kitchen Serf

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Best Baking Tools I Actually Use

This page contains affiliate links. I only recommend products I actually use and love.

A stand mixer with utensils and a sign that says Shop My Kitchen.
The mixer I can’t live without: perfect for cookie dough, cakes, and everything in between.

What's the best baking pan, mixer, spatula, this, that or the other are a few of the most common questions I hear from readers and my fellow baking colleagues.

I'm answering these questions and more by sharing the tools I reach for over and over again.

From mixers that can power through double batches of cookie dough to storage containers that keep your treats fresh, they’ll save you time and frustration in the kitchen.

Mixing & Measuring

Stand Mixers

Electric mixer paddle with cookie dough in a metal bowl, blue spatula resting inside.
My baking workhorse—perfect for mixing cookie dough, whipping cream, and handling gooey butter cakes without breaking a sweat.

If you bake cookies, cakes, or even shred chicken, you need a stand mixer. Mine has handled everything from gooey butter cake batter to rosemary chicken salad filling without flinching.

👉 KitchenAid Tilt-Head Mixer — the classic, perfect for cookie dough marathons.
👉 Ankarsrum Mixer, on my wish list! This stand mixer with the funny name is a serious upgrade if you want a powerhouse.

The Ankarsrum is fantastic for making bread or so my bread friends tell me.

I use stand mixer for recipes like Chewy Toffee Cookies and shredding chicken breasts for Rosemary Chicken Salad Sandwiches.

Hand Mixers

I reach for this Cuisinart HM50 almost more than I use the stand mixer. That hand mixer is really best for casual bakers.

It's quick, efficient, pretty quiet and just powerful enough for cookie dough and it's quick to clean up.

Digital Food Scale

A digital scale shows 284 grams with a mound of peanut butter on top.
Proof I really use this scale: weighing out peanut butter for cookies, particularly my son's favorite, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and bars.

If you’re still scooping flour with cups, you’re basically gambling with your cookies. A food scale gives exact measurements every time.

👉 My favorite is the Etekcity Food Scale — lightweight, accurate, and still kicking (haha weighing) after years of use.

I use mine for precise baking when making a batch of my Grandma's Chewy Gingersnap Cookies or Pumpkin Spice Scones.

Baking Essentials

Cookie Scoops, aka dishers

Cookie scoops are essential if you want to produce uniform round circles of cookie dough and if you'd like your cookies to evenly bake.

More information about why you need to use a cookie scoop.

I use a Winco #40 cookie scoop for nearly all of my easy cookie recipes.

But, if you are obsessed with baking cookies, you might want an assortment of scoop sizes.

Chocolate chip cookie dough in a plastic bag with a metal scoop resting beside it on a countertop.
My secret to evenly sized cookies every time. This scoop keeps them uniform so they bake evenly (and look bakery-worthy).
peanut butter cookie dough in a plastic container with a purse Winco cookie scoop in it.
Use a purple #40 cookie scoop to make these peanut butter blossom cookies. Your cookies will turn out more uniform and bake more evenly with a scoop.

Parchment Paper

dough covered with parchment paper next to rolling pin.
You'll roll this dough immediately (no chilling) between two pieces of parchment paper and begin cutting out your shapes immediately.

Skip the precut sheets. I like a parchment paper roll that fits any pan. Keeps cookies from sticking and makes cleanup fast.

I usually buy parchment in two-pack rolls at a big box store but you can also find parchment rolls for baking on Amazon.

And at Dollar Tree, but is dollar store parchment paper any good?

Tip for getting rolled parchment pieces to lay flat

Scrunch the parchment into a tight ball with your hands and then unscrunch it and lay it on the baking sheet or fit it into your pan. Tip from one of my favorite bakers, Irvin Lin at Eat the Love from his baking book.

NEW BAKER TIP–Skip moving your cut-outs onto a baking sheet one by one. Instead, if you’re rolling out your sugar cookie dough on parchment paper, pull away any scrap dough connecting the shapes then carefully move the parchment onto a baking sheet to go in the oven. 

Half Sheet Pans

Non-negotiable for cookies, sheet cakes, and even savory nachos.

👉 USA Pan Half Sheet Pan — sturdy, nonstick, and bakes evenly.

I use mine for Classic Peanut Butter Cookies and Spicy Shrimp Nachos.

9x13 Pans (the dessert maker's MVP)

I use and love this 9x13 but if I need to add a backup at some point, I'm going to grab a 9x13 with a tight-fitting lid.

Silicone Spatulas

The unsung heroes of the kitchen. Perfect for mixing dough, scraping bowls, or getting every drop of sauce out of the food processor.

👉 I've been using this Rubbermaid Spatula for eons.

It's sturdy enough for making Congo Bars, which are stirred with a spatula in a soup pot.

I also use mine for sauces like Habanero Garlic Vinaigrette.

Citrus Zesters

If you're here, I suspect you have a fondness for citrus desserts like Key Lime Pie and Lemon Bars.

A zester to remove the peel from lemons, limes, grapefruits and more makes quick work for this task.

A Microplane is the gold standard really. Bonus, unless you're using your zester daily, this tool will last you at least 5 years if not more.

hand holding Microplane Zester with lime zest on it over a mixing bowl.
You'll want a rasp or a zester to add fresh zest to your desserts.

Slicing Bars, Cakes and Brownies (and fruit)

My favorite sharp kitchen knife for slicing rounds of lemons and limes or brownies or sticky, marshmallowy things like S'mores Bars.

peppermint white chocolate kisses on a black cutting board with a knife.
A good sharp knife is another essential.

Freezer Tools

If you’ve seen my freezer dessert guides, you know I’m all about prepping sweets ahead of time and storing them properly.

These are the tools that make freezing, storing, and thawing desserts a breeze.

Freezer-Safe Containers

I like freezer-safe containers that stack neatly and protect against freezer burn. Perfect for cookie dough balls, brownies, or slices of pie.

A freezer container I love for cookies and really any dessert is this Systema Klip It one from Amazon. Bonus, this container is a healthy size so you could fit a 9x13 cake in it if you needed to. Or a pie.

Freezer Bags

resealable freezer bags containing cookie dough on a marble countertop.
he key to successfully freezing cookie dough or baked cookies for that matter is to make sure you double wrap them wrap once and wax paper or saran wrap or if you’re feeling flush, tuck pthem into a freezer safe resealable bag and then put them in another freezer container or another freezer safe bag .

Don’t confuse regular zip bags with freezer bags—they’re thicker and keep air (and weird freezer smells) out. I use gallon freezer bags for cookie dough logs and smaller ones for scooped dough balls.

Sheet Pans for Pre-Freezing

Before bagging, I freeze scooped cookie dough balls on a half sheet pan so they don’t stick together. This little step makes baking later so much easier.

Masking Tape + Sharpie

The cheapest but most essential tool—label everything with the recipe name and date. Future-you will thank present-you when you’re digging through the freezer looking for lemon bars in December.

Cookbooks I Love

[Insert image of cookbook stack]

I’m always inspired by cookbooks—both for recipes and ideas. These are the ones I keep close at hand and actually bake from.

👉 The Cookie Bible — my go-to for classic and creative cookies.
👉 Dorie’s Cookies — because Dorie never lets me down.
👉 Bravetart — modern takes on nostalgic desserts.

Kitchen Gear & Gadgets

Apron with Pockets

Baking is messy—powdered sugar dust storms, chocolate splatters, butter fingerprints.

My favorite apron is an oilcloth version by Ulster Weavers, which keeps me clean.

Oilcloth Apron

Oven Mitts

Two black, white, and gray plaid oven mitts lying side by side on a white background.

Flimsy mitts = burned hands. I like thick, heat-resistant oven mitts that actually protect me when I’m pulling cookie sheets from the oven.

👉 Heat-resistant oven mitts.

Digital Thermometer

pot with rubber spatula with melted butter and sugar and a digital thermometer.
A digital thermometer will come in handy when you're not sure sure whether your pumpkin pie is done or gooey butter cake or if the toffee for graham cracker bark has reached a high enough temperature.

The secret weapon for perfect bakes and roasts. A good thermometer takes out the guesswork—because nobody wants underbaked chicken or overdone bread.

👉 ThermoWorks ThermoPop — fast, accurate, and a lifesaver for everything from bread to meat.

Metal Binder Clips (seriously, cheap is fine)

8x8 square pan with brownie batter with black office binder clips holding parchment paper to the pan.
Bake brownie batter in a parchment-lined pan. Use office binder clips to keep the parchment paper in place.

I bought these binder clips at the dollar store. No they don't melt in a hot oven.

Quick Notes

Prices change often—if you see a deal, snag it. Some links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my coffee and cookie habit!

NEW BAKER TIP–Skip moving your cut-outs onto a baking sheet one by one. Instead, if you’re rolling out your sugar cookie dough on parchment paper, pull away any scrap dough connecting the shapes then carefully move the parchment onto a baking sheet to go in the oven.