Baking Gift Ideas for the Baker (or Wannabe Baker) in Your Life – Bon Appetit

I consider myself a minimalist when it comes to most things (if “minimalist” means wearing jeans I bought in college and using my Danskos as winter boots)—but not when it comes to baking tools.

I am powerless in the face of a tiny spatula. I neeeeed another Bundt pan—can’t you see that one has a swirl design while the other is a series of peaks?! And you can bet that one of the first things on my…I mean “our”…wedding registry was a kitchen torch.

So when the holidays come around, I’m not dreaming of scented candles or scarves I’ll never wear: I want a baking tool (or five!) that’s going to make my experience more precise or more fun or more beautiful. (If it also makes my cabinets just a little more cluttered, so be it.)

Since “baking tools” is a huuuuge category, we’ve divided it into three: the stuff you need (for bakers just getting started), the stuff that can take you to the next level (for baking 2.0), and the stuff that’s a little extra (for the person who already has everything else). Get yourself what you want or put together a lil’ package for the sugar fiend in your life.

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Extremely Necessary

Flexible rubber spatula

Flexible rubber “spats” (as the kids say) are the new wooden spoons. Use for stirring butter as it browns, scraping batter out of a bowl, and spreading frosting across a cake. Also: tapping your partner gently on the butt.

If you’re generous, get your friend two different colors and tell them to save one for caramelized onions and the other for chocolate, sugar, and butter: This eliminates any cross-contamination and takes care of the Lingering Odor Problem.

Buy it: GIR Premium Silicone Spatula, $13 on Amazon