You know, every year I tell myself that this will be the year I start my holiday baking early. This year? I’m ready! Yes! I am as surprised more than anyone I must admit. Maybe it is because the year has been fraught with so many changes in lifestyle and socializing (or lack thereof) due to the pandemic that I just wanted to make this holiday a bit extra special! But even with that in mind? I just love to bake for the holidays!
A week or so ago, I opened my cabinets and started rummaging through my holiday baking supplies to see what shape everything is in. Admittedly, holiday season of 2019, I pretty much passed on really doing much baking as I was travelling between Ohio and Florida. And I really missed it! So as I was taking inventory of the older cookie sheets, outdated vanilla and the dodgy old rolling pin, I made a note to scan Amazon to see what kind of replacements I could come up with.
An important thing to note here is that I have pretty much always been a die-hard Williams Sonoma kind of-gal. I love cooking and baking. I find both relaxing. So I have been incredibly guilty of spending quite a bit of $$$ in the past on my baking supplies hoping they would last for years and years. Well… the reality is ..yes and no. Some things have been worth the expense but others have not held up as planned. So I figured, why not order a selection of items from Amazon to see what type of quality I could come up with compared to some of my older Williams Sonoma items.
Surprisingly? I found some amazing high quality items on Amazon that easily stand up to far more expensive baking accessories. I am only going to list what made the cut to stay in my pantry and will omit the items I sent back. Without further ado, here’s the rundown of products that will be present in my kitchen when holiday 2020 baking begins:
- Rorence Stainless Steel Non-Slip Mixing Bowls With Pour Spout, Handle and Lid, Nesting Set of 3, Red – WOW! This is probably my best find! I really like stainless steel when baking. The ease of mixing, nothing sticking to the sides – not to mention the handy pour spouts on these babies. The bottom has a heavy weight along with the rubber that protects your counter-tops from being scratched. They also don’t move around a lot. The attached handle is wonderful for moving them around. This is a set of 3 bowls and they are the perfect size for separating items and incorporating your baking ingredients together. I was happy when I saw that all 3 sizes are useable.
- Rorence 18-8 Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons Set with Long Silicone Handle, Set of 12 – Red Stainless Steel Measuring Cup and Spoon Set – I don’t have a complete set of either after using them for years. Perhaps the dishwasher ate🙄 the missing units over the years?? Who knows… Nice heavy weight. Useable sizes. Enough said.
- Rorence Dough Cutter Pastry Blender Biscuit Cutter Bowl Scraper Set – This replaced a cumber of items I had purchased years ago from Williams Sonoma that had basically picked up a bit of rust here and there. The number of items included in the set is incredible value for the $16.97 cost. The quality rivals if not exceeds my older items.
- Dash Stand Mixer – Can you believe this mixer? I love it! It is not a heavy as my expensive stand mixer and is my new go-to for mixing cookies.
- Tmflexe Stainless Cookie Cutters with Comfort Grip Handles – Now these are awesome. In quite a few ways. Stainless. Wonderful handles. The set has no real iffy cookie shapes that are awful to bake. You know what I mean?? Ones like those old Christmas Tree tin cookie cutters that have pointed edges on the branches that just end up burnt on the cookie ends if the actual dough ever makes it out of the cutter-tin???… Yes those… Welp, none here!
- French Rolling Pin – The best. Cannot find mine. I’m certain it probably ended up in the garage somewhere for whatever reason. This one is far cheaper than the similar one on you-know-who’s website for $15.95.
- Nielsen-Massey Holiday Vanilla Trio – This is expensive. But it is the best vanilla out there! I grab it every holiday season and I just love the Holiday Trio that includes Vanilla, Peppermint & Almond. Yes – you can purchase cheaper extracts. However, the taste of your baked goods is far superior using this brand than any other.
Well.. that’s a wrap. Hope this helps you with finding some updated items for your holiday 2020 baking season. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, drop me a line in the comments section. I have placed a carousel of links that take you directly to the items I have mentioned above.
Happy Holiday Baking! ~ Christine