Make Show-Stopping Cookies This Holiday Season With These 13 Baking Tools

For many people, the holidays just aren't the same without a tray or tin of home-baked cookies. Classics like Gingerbread Cookies and Rolled Sugar Cookie Cutouts are so much fun to decorate, and fancy sandwich cookies like Raspberry Linzer Cookies are a time-honored tradition. Then there's spiced cookies, like flavorful Lebkuchen. Sorry! I'm getting distracted by happy memories. The point is: Somebody's got to bake all those cookies. If that's your job, you need the best holiday cookie baking tools.

Luckily for you, our team has spent hundreds of hours testing baking gear to find the best tools for measuring, mixing, baking, and decorating holiday cookies. I recommend browsing this list before you start your baking marathon, as we've tested some new gear this year and have additional recommendations that will make your cookies as fun to make as they are to eat.

Measuring by volume (scooping and leveling) doesn't work so well in baking. Instead, weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale to ensure the amounts are accurate. The scale I recommend for baking (and the one I use myself) is our winning scale from OXO. Its pull-out display makes it easy to read, even with big mixing bowls on top. I love the power-saving standby mode because it remembers my most recent weight measurement for 15 minutes.

No matter what type of cookies you like to bake, you'll need a set of mixing bowls. We recently re-tested mixing bowls and added this set from All-Clad to the winners list. In fact, it was the top-performing set! Their handles give you something to hold onto while whisking, and the tall sides funnel ingredients down toward the center, minimizing splashes and spills. Plus, they're easy to pour from.

Many holiday cookie recipes call for creaming together butter and sugar. This is easily done with an electric mixer. Of course, a stand mixers are appropriate here. But hand mixers work just as well for creaming butter and sugar. Our longtime favorite from Breville is the tool for the job. Its rubber coated beaters scrape the bowls effectively and quietly (and keep them free from scratches.) I especially like the digital display that has a timer, a pause button, and a light that shines into the mixing bowl.

If you bake cookies frequently—or make big batches—I encourage you to consider a stand mixer. The best you can buy is the KitchenAid 7-Quart Bowl Lift model, which is thoughtfully designed and has professional-level features, like a silicone lined paddle and a redesigned hub that flips up instead of unscrewing. If that sounds a little too feature-packed, look into the KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer. It has a smaller capacity but is still powerful enough to mix any dough. I don't bake nearly as much as I used to when I worked in a bakery, so that's the stand mixer I have. It more than meets my needs.

I used to form balls of cookie dough by scooping them out with my hands. I was amazed at how much more evenly they baked when I switched to a portion scoop. Portion scoops—which can also be used for meatballs, falafel, ice cream, and a lot more—make scooping easier, cleaner, and much more consistent. You can find portion scoops in almost every size, but I like the red-handled #24 scoop from Winco. It scoops up three tablespoons at a time—perfect for medium-sized cookies. The purple-handled #40 scoop holds 1.5 tablespoons of dough and is nice for small cookies.

Cut-out cookies demand dough that's rolled to a perfectly even thickness. Thin spots result in cookies that bake at different rates. Some may burn while others are gooey and underbaked. The answer? A dowel-style rolling pin that's best for rolling level, consistent dough slabs. This one earned a top spot in our review, and we recently re-tested it to ensure it's still our recommended pin. (It is!) Prefer a tapered rolling pin? This one is ideal for pie dough.

If you're not lining your baking sheets with parchment paper, you will after reading this. Even the stickiest cookie dough won't adhere to it, which means cleanup is easier and scorching is nonexistent. I also like to roll out sugar cookie dough between two big sheets of parchment—it's a foolproof way to get my desired thickness without adding extra flour. While you can find parchment at most grocery stores, I think these heavy duty sheets from King Arthur Baking Company are worth the purchase. They can be reused a few times and are pre-cut to the perfect size for half sheet-sheet baking pans.

There's no reason to buy any other brand of baking sheet than Nordic Ware. They're made with heavy gauge aluminum and rolled stainless steel sides for a truly unwarpable pan. I've had mine for years and they're still perfectly flat. When we tested baking sheets, our cookies came out the most evenly baked and golden on Nordic Ware pans. They're sold in a two-pack and are a really good deal.

Are nonstick baking pans any good? While they're not our first choice—they can overbake cookies as a result of their dark-colored lining—we do have a few recommendations. After testing 11 nonstick baking sheets, we named a winner. Our favorite, from Cuisinart, turned out evenly golden cookies that slid off without parchment. Prolong the life of your nonstick bakeware by using silicone and wood, never metal, utensils.

My mother always cools her holiday cookies on paper grocery bags which works fine, but can result in slightly overbaked cookies. A better way? Wire cooling racks, which allow air to circulate all around the cookies, cooling them faster. (That's the only thing I'd change about my mom's cookies, for what it's worth.) Our favorite cooling rack resists warping and has smooth edges, so spatulas slide over it without snagging. For what it's worth, this is also the cheapest wire rack we tested. That's a win!

Decorating cookies with icing calls for precision—and a set of these small piping bags. They're my pick for finicky decorating tasks because they don't require piping tips. (I don't own any and, frankly, don't like using them.) That said, they are compatible with tips. A Wilton or Ateco round tip in size 2 or 3 is the best size for piping royal icing borders.

A miniature offset spatula is the best tool for spreading buttercream or ganache over the tops of your cookies, and much neater than a butter knife. I also use mine for lifting delicate cookies off a sheet pan. This 4.5-inch spatula is nimble, versatile, and fits into any utensil drawer—I bet you'll use it for more than just cookies.

Bright, vibrant frosting calls for gel paste food coloring. It's more concentrated than liquid food coloring, and it's what the pros use. Careful: A little goes a long way! This set has a good range of colors, including a red, two greens, an icy blue, and a deep navy.

FAQs 

What’s the difference between a cookie sheet and a baking sheet?

A flat, rimless cookie sheet has one short, angled edge. The rest of its sides are open. In contrast, a rimmed baking sheet is a flat pan with one-inch edges on every side. Its sizing is standardized. (A half-sheet pan is 18 by 13 inches.) Cookie sheets work for, well, baking cookies. But baking sheets—also known as sheet pans—are more versatile. They can be used for baking cookies, roasting vegetables, or as the vessel for an entire dinner.

Is it better to bake cookies on parchment paper or a silicone baking mat?

Bake your cookies on parchment paper, rather than silicone mats. The silicone changes how heat is conducted to the dough, and the nonstick surface causes your cookies to spread more, become greasy, and slightly bitter (from too much browning). A silicone baking mat is better for sticky projects, like making brittle.

Can I freeze cookie dough?

Most cookie doughs freeze well. That's helpful for breaking up holiday baking into sessions. You can also bake a smaller batch of cookies on demand, straight from the freezer. To freeze cookie dough, portion it as the recipe directs onto wax or parchment paper. Fold them up and seal them into airtight zip top bags. They can be frozen for up to three months. Label the bags with the type of dough, the date you made it, and the baking instructions. You can them bake them off as desired or give them as gifts.

Why We’re the Experts

• Rochelle Bilow is an editor at Serious Eats and a former professional baker; she worked at a café in Upstate New York after attending culinary school.
• Previously, Rochelle worked as an editor at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines.
• At Serious Eats, we regularly revisit our tested reviews to ensure our findings remain current.