Gift giving is one of the best parts of the holiday season. It’s fun to come up with ideas and track down a gift to express your love and appreciation for your loved ones.
However, it can also be stressful to worry about finances or finding the “perfect” present. If there’s someone in your life who loves to bake, here are 10 ideas for gifts you can give them. These range in price from under $20 to over $350, so there’s really something for every budget here.
The best part about buying presents like these is that they’re gifts that keep on giving — the baker will be able to keep using them, and you’ll likely be the recipient of at least a few of their baked goods.
What do you give a baker as a Christmas gift?
1. Cookbooks
I personally believe you can never have too many cookbooks. You’re always going to need to eat, so you might as well have fun experimenting with new recipes.
“Salt Fat Acid Heat” by Samin Nosrat is my favorite overall cookbook. Beyond having incredible recipes, it also includes several essential lessons from Nosrat about cooking basics and how to make any dish taste delicious. It was even made into a Netflix series. “Dessert Person” by Claire Saffitz is my favorite dessert-focused cookbook, and I’m dying to get my hands on “What’s for Dessert,” her second cookbook.
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If the person you’re buying a gift for is a fan of a particular book, TV show or movie, consider getting them a cookbook based on food from that world, like “Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Official Cookbook” by Jenny Dorsey or “Harry Potter: Official Christmas Cookbook” by Elena P. Craig and Jody Revenson.
2. Kitchen scale
Baking is a science, which means it’s important to have exact measurements for ingredients. When you’re dealing with slightly temperamental recipes like macarons, it’s essential to measure your ingredients in grams and ounces rather than tablespoons and cups. You can find a good kitchen scale online or at stores like Target or Walmart for under $25.
3. Cake decorating kit
If you have ever baked and frosted your own cake, you know it can be a bit of a hassle. Cake decorating kits like this one make things a lot easier with a spinning turntable, offset spatulas, a cake leveler and frosting bags and tips.
4. Sourdough kit
If your baker wants to try their hand at homemade bread, this is a great gift idea for them. If they get a good routine started, it can help them make their own delicious bread every day without even having to purchase yeast.
You could put together your own kit by buying a sourdough starter, proofing baskets, bench scraper, scoring razor and whisk or spatula yourself, or you could buy a kit that packages everything for you. This kit from Utah business Ballerina Farm includes two proofing baskets, a spatula a bench scraper, a dehydrated starter and a sourdough bread recipe book.
5. Cute measuring cups
Every baker needs a good set of measuring cups, and while you can always get cheap versions at the dollar store that work just fine, it’s always nice to have something that doubles as decor. Anthropologie’s baking section always has tons of cute ceramic measuring cups, and you can also often find them at places like World Market or Crate & Barrel.
6. Silicone baking mats
These are incredibly useful. Since they’re reusable, it means anyone who has them no longer has to purchase parchment paper or aluminum foil to line their baking trays. You can bake anything on them, from chicken to cookies. These ones are especially versatile because they have macaron templates on them, which allow you to pipe out uniform, even macarons every time (a notoriously difficult task).
7. Kitchen blowtorch
My brother got me one of these for Christmas a few years ago, and it remains one of my most treasured possessions. I mainly wanted it so I could try my hand at crème brûlée, but I’ve also used it to brown the top of a lemon merengue pie (it’s so much faster than the oven) and caramelize bananas for a banana cream pie. It also works to light candles in a pinch, although be forewarned that that’s not its intended purpose. While there are high-tech versions out there, this small $17 option works perfectly.
8. 9-speed hand mixer
Have you ever started mixing something with a hand mixer only for it to go way too fast and shoot half the ingredients out of the bowl? While the $20 price tag on those hand mixers might be tempting, it’s worth it to invest in something better. This one from KitchenAid is currently on sale for $80, and its first speed is slow enough that I can use it to whisk dry ingredients without it going up in a cloud of dust.
9. Food processor
These are incredibly handy kitchen tools. They’re great for pulverizing nuts, grating vegetables and pureeing ingredients, but they’ve really saved me whenever I make a pie. Homemade pie crust can take a while to make, what with all the cold butter you need to cut in, but the food processor does all the hard work for you and takes much less time. This one from Hamilton Beach is under $60 and has served me well for years.
10. A KitchenAid stand mixer
These are the gold standard in stand mixers, which save bakers time and arm strength. This is definitely the priciest option on the list, as a good stand mixer will cost you upward of $300. The cheapest one available on KitchenAid’s website is currently on sale for $240, but the bigger ones cost around $500.
