Holiday Gift Guide for Bakers

Host Zoe Francois prepares her tube pan to make her pear cardamom cake, as seen on Zoe Bakes, season 1.

The holiday season is upon us! It should come as no surprise that in my house this is a time of year for desserts and baked treats (as if there is a time of year that isn’t). It’s also a time for gathering with friends and family and sharing some of your favorite meals and baked goods. 

I always feel like the best gifts are ones that share experiences with others, and food is one of the best ways to share. With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of my essential tools for baking—to add to your wish list or to gift to the bakers in your life. If you ever wonder what I use in my own kitchen, head on over to my Amazon shop to find absolutely everything.

Baking Essentials

KitchenAid Mixer

The Kitchenaid Mixer is one of those must-haves for every home baker. It may be the most recognizable stand mixer around, and it comes with almost every attachment you’ll ever need and a beautiful mixing bowl. It’s powerful enough for all kinds of baking and something I use all the time. Learn more about the Kitchenaid and my other favorite stand mixers here.

Scale

One of the simplest ways to improve your baking is to get more precise with your ingredients. A nice kitchen scale will help you in that mission. Weighing your ingredients is really a must to get your doughs just right, and this scale is accurate, easy-to-use and has multiple measurements.

Plum Baked Alaska covered in toasted meringue.

Blowtorch

If you’ve never used a blowtorch to get the beautiful browning on your desserts, you are truly missing out on one of life’s simple pleasures. I love toasting meringues, marshmallow and creme brulee with my torch, and it really is as functional as it is fun to use. If you don’t have a blow torch, this is the time. There are all sizes and types, so you don’t have to start with anything too big and powerful.

Small Blowtorch – A great size to start with and an awesome gift for the adventurous baker in your life.

Medium Blowtorch – this is the one I used in my demo and it’s awesome!

Large Blowtorch – Straight from the hardware store. Great power, but a little heavier than the others. This is my go to size!

Bakeware Set

Of course you’ll need some nice non-stick pans to bake. This bakeware set from Wilton comes with all kinds of shapes and sizes from cookie sheets to a loaf pan to a muffin tin. It’s a great starter set for anyone looking to get into baking and will last long after you’ve mastered your craft.

A baking pan with cookies

Baking Pans

If you only need a few baking pans, this set from Nordic Ware is durable and comes with three sizes. Nordic Ware makes some great products and often sells out around the holidays so get these while you still can.

Mixing Bowls

A good set of metal mixing bowls is not only great for combining ingredients, you can also use them to make a double boiler. This set is compact and stacks easily, and is as good for storage and serving as it is for mixing.

6 quart dough bucket

Dough Container

I use this dough bucket to make bread. It is great for proofing dough and storing a large batch so you can pull from it for a quick loaf of bread or pizza night. Pair it with my new book, The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and a danish dough whisk!

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake | ZoeBakes by Zoë François

Springform Pan

A springform pan comes in handy for a bunch of baked goods. It’s especially good for cheesecake, which I love making. This one by Fat Daddio’s is excellent, sturdy and will help you bake treats that keep their shape.

Homemade pizza with fresh mozzarella and homemade dough

Pizza Stone

Homemade pizza nights call for a pizza stone and the Emile Henry version is my favorite. This one is large enough to give you space to work with, heats up fast and evenly and delivers a wonderfully cooked crust. This olive oil cruet would be a lovely addition!

Dutch Oven

The Le Creuset dutch oven is an iconic piece of kitchen hardware. It comes in all kinds of colors, and is wonderful for baking bread. You can of course do all kinds of cooking in it as well. If you don’t have one that has been handed down through the generations, you can be the first and pass this along to kids or grandkids years from now because these last forever.

Food Processor

The Cuisinart food processor is my favorite because it offers all the functions you’ll need at a reasonable price. It is great for chopping, slicing, pureeing, shredding and more. It comes with attachments for chopping your ingredients to the size you need for any given recipe.

Books

A stack of cookbooks on a kitchen counter.

There are so many to choose from, so check out this list of all the books I have baked from recently and for decades. Or choose from one of the eight books I’ve authored over the years:

Cherry Bombe Magazine is also a great gift idea and I just so happen to be on one of the six covers this month! It’s a magazine by and for my food loving, talented, fierce peers in the food industry. The only magazine to highlight the hard work and gifted women in the industry I call home. Check out Issue 18 here!

Jewelry

Silk Oak Designs – This list would not be complete without a mention of my mom’s leather and stone handmade necklaces that have become incredibly popular since you’ve seen me wear them. They can be worn as chokers (as I prefer in the kitchen) or as looser single and double strands. Visit and follow her Etsy site to get more ideas and see the selections of designs. She drops new items in limited quantities every 2-3 weeks, so be sure to order early for the holidays. These have become the only jewelry I wear and each piece tells a story.

Food Gifts

The gift of food is one of the very best gifts (trust me, after testing recipes for decades, my neighbors will agree!).

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Make homemade vanilla now and you can gift it during the holiday season! Package it in pretty bottles and adorn it with a ribbon and tag for its recipient.

A loaf of raisin pecan bread in a cloche on a wire rack

Or if you picked up bread making during the pandemic, share the love with friends and family by gifting a fresh loaf with some delicious jam or apple butter tied inside a tea towel. If you use my easy five-minute-a-day method you can have four loaves made up in no time.

Coconut Cookies | ZoëBakes

You can never go wrong with a cookie assortment. Make a few of your favorites kinds and place them in a lovely tin.

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2 thoughts to “Holiday Gift Guide for Bakers”

  1. Thank you for the ideas. I made 13 bottles of vanilla for my sisters and nieces for Christmas! I think I’ll get Zoe Bakes Cakes too for each of them!

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