Give a Cookie Baking Gift Basket

Looking for a usable gift for your favorite cookie baker? Or maybe you know someone who is just starting out and needs to stock their kitchen with some basic baking supplies. Here are some ideas to put together a special cookie baking gift basket.

Cookie Sheet

A good quality, uncoated cookie sheet is a must have for serious cookie bakers. Dark, non-stick cookie sheets overcook and darken the bottoms of cookies. Because of the high butter content, cookies do not need a non-stick cookie sheet. They will not stick to the pan. A light colored cookie sheet will ensure that the bottoms of the cookies cook as uniformly as the tops.

Cookie Cutters

Cookie cutters in fun shapes are a good addition to a cookie baker's gift basket. Look for non-traditional shapes that can be used year round. Flowers, insects and alphabet letters are good choices. Check out Off the Beaten Path for a selection of over 800 different cookie cutters.

Gourmet Chocolate Chips

Include some high quality, gourmet chocolate chips. Ghirardelli makes excellent chocolate chips that are readily available in most grocery stores. Also include some chips of different flavors, like peanut butter, butterscotch and raspberry, for some truly unique cookies.

Apron

Cookie baking is messy business. Anyone that will be mixing up a batch of cookies and rolling out the dough with flour will appreciate a good apron. Find or make an apron in a cute style that you know will suit the gift recipient.

Cookie Recipes

Find a comprehensive cookie cookbook like The All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett (Houghton Mifflin Company 2001) or share some of your favorite cookie recipes. Write the recipes on pretty recipe cards and give the rest of the pack of blank cards for future use.

Baking Accessories

Add some general baking accessories that are necessary for cookie baking. A good quality metal spatula, a cooling rack and a heavy wooden rolling pin are perfect additions to a cookie baking gift basket. Also include a set of metal measuring cups and measuring spoons, parchment paper and an oven mitt. Don't forget to add a melon baller, which is a great tool for dropping uniform balls of cookie dough onto a cookie sheet.

Putting it All Together

Make a small gift basket by putting some cooking baking accessories in a special cookie jar. Or, make a larger basket by filling a mixing bowl with several things. Line with a kitchen towel or two and tie a ribbon around the bowl or jar. If you are giving cookie sheets and a cooling rack, stack the bowl or jar on top and tie a ribbon around everything to hold it together.