10 Must-Have Tools For Perfect Sugar Cookies!
01: Cookie cutters!
This one is pretty much obvious right? You’ll be amazing at how many beginners email us asking if they really need to spend money on lots of cookie cutters to make perfect sugar cookies. Seriously. That’s like learning archery without a crossbow. Of course you need to. Plus if you’re really into making cookies then finding and buying lots of crazy new cutter shapes should be the highlight of your cookie-nerd day! If you’re a novice it’s best to start small. Try our simple shapes like circles, squares, plaques, teddies or butterflies.
Hilariously fun novelty cutters by Meri Meri
02: Cookie trays!
Another obvious thing on the list, but instead of using just any cookie tray you need to invest in a damn good quality cookie tray. There are so many on the market, but one rule of thumb is to spend a little extra rather than opt for the cheapest. The uniform holes in the bottom of this tray help the air circulate in the over which is going to help getting a better bake and even a crunchier cookie!
Paul Hollywood champagne gold baking tray
03: KitchenAid mixer!
Some cookies need to be mixed by hand in order to get a good rough or ‘short’ texture to them. This usually means rubbing your butter or fat into the dry mix before you then add the egg or even milk. A lot of cookies, however, would turn out a heck of a lot better with a help of a good stand-up mixer. In our experience a stand-up mixer is so much better than hand held. Once you switch it on you’re hands free and if you need to reach over for an ingredient or double check that recipe you’re not going to risk splattering dough all over the walls.
Classic white KitchenAid mixer
04: Silicone rolling pin!
Standard wooden rolling pins just aren’t going to cut it with cookie making. Sugar cookie dough needs to stay lovely and chilled as you work with it. We’ve found the silicone rolling pins help keep them cold for a little longer whilst they’re rolled, cut and even re-rolled.
Silicone rolling pin by KitchenCraft
05: Small angled palette knife!
Don’t even think of picking up those freshly cut out cookie shapes with your hands! If you have done this then hopefully you’ll have learned your lesson. Hello misshapen, dented and overstretched cookie shapes that used to look like fun unicorns, but now look like melted down golf caddies attacked by golf hating arsonists. Just don’t do it. For perfect sugar cookies get a nice small angled palette knife to gently lift the shapes off your floured surface onto your cookie trays. What’s the point in cutting out a step if it just means re-doing everything?
Angled cookie palette knife by Wilton
06: Silicone mats!
When it comes to macarons silicone mats just never worked for us. They always gripped onto the delicate shells too much after being baked. With sugar cookies, however, they’re utterly perfect! They have enough grip to hold the dough in place, but it’s also super easy to remove them once baked and ready to transfer over to a cooling rack or pastry board. Instead of greaseproof paper they won’t buckle and crinkle resulting in bumpy and uneven cookies. Another few major pluses is that they’re easy to clean, store and re-use too!
07: Books!
Whilst the internet is an amazing resource for learning almost anything it still doesn’t beat a book sometimes. Plus, if you’re anything like us you’ll get more distracted and check your online profiles and emails in the middle of reading up on a recipe or technique. There are some informative cookie decorating books out there, but for sheer style and fun you need to check out Peggy Porschen’s!
08: Kitchen timer!
You’ll need a kitchen timer to make sure you don’t forget your cookies are in the oven baking away. There are lots of cute novelty ones on the market, but sometimes a good basic timer is just what you need. We love ones that are magnetic so you can stick them on your fridge and free up even the tiniest of spaces on your counter!
Magnetic kitchen timer by Kitchen Craft
09: Spatula!
A good spatula is always handy in the kitchen. When it comes to cookie making a spatula is idea for scraping all that sticky dough out onto your surface or into cling film. It’s also perfect for getting every bit of freshly made royal icing out of your mixing bowl. Why? The rubber end will bend and flex to the shapes of your bowls meaning it can lift off any left over and hard to reach ingredient.
Set of three pastel spatulas by Sweetly Does It
10: Kitchen scales!
We get a lot of comments and emails from people wanting recipes in cups. We’ve even had a few people asking us to convert someone else’s recipe into cups! Seriously. Invest in some scales. They’re really not hard to use and they’re not scary at all too. Measuring and weighing ingredients out using scales is also so SO much more accurate than utilising cups, plus it means you don’t need to try converting sizes if there’s a recipe you can’t wait to try out. So for perfect sugar cookies measure your ingredients using accurate scales not cups.
