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Guest Picks: Essential Tools to Make Crafty Sweets
Prolific baker and cookie decorator extraordinaire Meaghan Mountford shares her top picks for beautifying baked goods
I'm a writer who ended up making lots and lots of cookies. I was a cookie decorator at a shop for almost ten years. I published a cookbook on cookie decorating in 2007, "Cookie Sensations." My second cookbook, "Sugarlicious," was published in early 2012 and is all about decorated cookies, cupcakes, marshmallows, and other crafty sweets, much like I offer on my blog, "the decorated cookie." http://www.thedecoratedcookie.com
I'm also the Edible Crafts editor at http://www.ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com. I have an MFA in Literature and an MA in Liberal Arts.
I live in Washington, DC with my husband, two daughters and three cats, and we're slowly fixing up our 85-year-old house.
I'm a writer who ended up making lots and lots of cookies. I was a cookie... More »
I spend my days decorating or writing about cookies, cupcakes, marshmallows and other sweet treats. I see more and more home bakers and crafters adopt an "I can do that myself" approach to decorated goodies, but there are so many product choices out there that it's hard to know where to start. This is my collection of must-have tools that I use most frequently when baking and decorating sweets. Many of these items are available at your local craft store, cake decorating supply store or all over the internet. Plus, each of the sites featured may even carry several of the items shown, but I'm also linking to various shops that I'd like to give you as a handy set of resources too. So if you want to delve into (or deeper into) decorating cookies, cupcakes, marshmallows, cake pops and candy, here's a bit of a shopping list! — Meaghan from The Decorated Cookie
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Round Pastry Cookie Cutter Set - $25.50 »
I have hundreds of cookie cutter shapes, but by far the most essential cutters I own is this set of rounds by Ateco. You can decorate anything on a circle. And it's not just because all of my shaped cookie cutters are two exhausting flights up in my attic while I keep these within reach in my kitchen, but I really prefer simple, straightforward cookies.
by Sur La Table
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Stainless Steel Dough Scraper - $6.95 »
I love my Sur la Table bench scraper. I use this often for cutting out rectangles, squares and straight-edged cookies. And the ruler is especially handy for consistent cookie sizes.
by Williams-Sonoma
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Joseph Joseph Adjustable Rolling Pin - $19.95 »
While I most often just use my standard rolling pin, this one with the rings is especially handy when you start out baking to make sure you have consistent thicknesses. This rolling pin comes with a ⅛-inch ring (great for pie crust and thin cookies), a ¼-inch ring (my standard for cookies) and a ⅜-inch ring (the perfect height for cookies on a stick).
by CopperGifts
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Pig Cookie Cutter, Big - $16.95 »
If you are going to splurge on large copper cutters, pick this shop. They have thousands of choices and just about any shape you can imagine. Because of their high quality and great service, I love CopperGifts!
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Alligator Cookie Cutter - $1.19 »
For more affordable, smaller cutters, I have plenty of go-to shops, but this one offers a great selection of shapes. Given the low cost, I own way too many of these.
by Layer Cake Shop
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6" Paper Lollipop Sticks - $2.00 »
You can find lollipop sticks in most craft stores, but I love this shop for its quirky cupcake toppers and other decorating and packaging items too. It's a good place to shop around. I put marshmallows, cookies, cake pops, anything I can, really, on a stick. Note the difference between "lollipop sticks" and "cookie sticks." Cookie sticks are oven safe and should be used to make cookie pops. (But off the record, I prefer the narrower diameter of lollipop sticks, so I bake my cookies with those.)
by Williams-Sonoma
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Williams-Sonoma Traditional Finish Half Sheet Pan - $19.00 »
Whether you prefer cookie sheets or jelly roll pans to bake cookies, make sure to use a solid, good-quality tray. You need a good, well-baked canvas for decorating cookies.
by Williams-Sonoma
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Williams-Sonoma Traditional Finish Mini Muffin Pan, 24-Well - $20.00 »
The same can be said about your cupcake pans. When making cupcakes for a party or event, I tend to go for the minis. You get more bang for your buck, and this size is especially handy (literally) for little kids.
by Bake It Pretty
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Grass Green Country Plaid Baking Cups - $3.50 »
I present all my cupcakes in patterned baking cups. To me, having an assortment of baking cups on hand is essential. However, because the batter can show through even the most durable liners, I prefer to bake in white cupcake liners, and then sit the baked and decorated cupcakes in prettier liners to serve.
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Oneida Blue Spatula - $5.99 »
I have plenty o' spatulas, but I have one from Oneida that I use the most. It's the most sturdy and durable spatula of all that I own, both the more expensive and cheaper ones. Plus, a good bowl-scraping spatula is pretty important.
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Satin Ice Rolled Fondant Icing, White Buttercream - $44.95 »
While many have a distaste for fondant's sugary texture, it really is a perfect decorating surface. Smooth and pliable, it can cover cakes, cupcakes and cookies and then be topped with decorations. You can also make dimensional decorations to top sweets. I splurge on the good stuff when serving sweets with fondant.
by Chef Tools
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Ateco Meringue Powder, 20 oz - $19.90 »
You can also find meringue powder in the craft store. I make all my royal icing with a meringue powder base instead of egg whites. It is safer, and you can store the unused icing at room temperature for weeks. It also helps make an icing of perfect decorating consistency.
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Parchment Roll - $4.25 »
New York Cake has much, much more than merely parchment paper, so be sure to linger on this site. They carry most of my favorite decorating tools. But parchment paper (widely available in the supermarket too) is a must-have. I line my cookie trays with parchment, and I even use the stuff to practice piping.
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Disposable Decorating Bags - $4.49 »
I buy boxes of disposable decorating bags by the hundreds because I use them not only to pipe icing on cookies (the 12-inch size) and cupcakes (the 16-inch size), but also to make pancakes, fill cupcake liners, make chocolate pops and so much more.
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Couplers - $0.79 »
Couplers are little tools you use with decorating bags to attach decorating tips so that you can easily change tip sizes without making a whole new bag of icing. I have lots of these.
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Master Tip Set - $49.99 »
You won't get very far without decorating tips. I buy mine individually because I'm specific with the sizes I use. For cookie decorating, I use round tips sized 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. For cupcakes, I like size 1M.
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AmeriColor Student Soft Gel Paste Food Color Kit - $19.99 »
I only use this brand of food coloring for my royal icing, frosting and fondant. It leaves no bitter aftertaste, blends well and comes in every imaginable color.
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Gourmet Writer Food Decorator Pens, Assorted Colors - $14.00 »
I'm about as obsessed as one can be with food decorator pens. I use these almost daily, and this is my favorite brand (though of course, I own about four different brands). Use these to draw silly or serious artwork on marshmallows, fondant, dried royal icing — oh, the possibilities. In fact, there's a whole section on my blog devoted to drawing on food.
by Layer Cake Shop
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Yellow Sanding Sugar - $2.25 »
I have dozens and dozens of containers of sprinkles. While I have lots of quins (or shaped sprinkles, like circles and hearts), my favorite are the sanding sugars. These fine sprinkles make a fast and easy decorating tool. Pipe icing on a cookie and coat generously with sanding sugar. The sugar adds sparkle and covers any imperfections in the icing.
by Fancy Flours
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Confectionery Coating, Violet, 1 lb Bag - $5.00 »
I own a rainbow of candy melts, aka confectionery coating. They are of a chocolate-chip-like consistency and shaped like disks. Melt them to use as dip for cake pops or for making candy.
by Fancy Flours
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Japanese Kimono Patterns Wafer Paper - $15.00 »
Edible wafer or icing paper makes a flawless, beautiful decorating tool. You can cut whatever size you need from the letter-size sheets, and adhere them to frosted cupcakes, marshmallows or iced cookies brushed with corn syrup. This site offers a lot of design choices as well as plain wafer paper so you can make your own designs.
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Decorator Paint Brushes - $15.00 »
These may not be what you might expect in my kitchen, but small paintbrushes (liners, flat and round) are great for decorating fondant or dried royal icing with food coloring paint. I also use my paint brushes when painting light corn syrup on a surface as glue.
by Chef Tools
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Messermeister Take-Apart Kitchen Shears - $17.95 »
I'm not too fancy in my scissor choice, but I do have these on my wish list. I use scissors surprisingly frequently when making crafty sweets, not just to snip corners from decorating bags, but to cut candy decorations and fondant as well.
Next: Kitchen Design: Baking Stations Make Cooking More Fun
Next: Kitchen Design: Baking Stations Make Cooking More Fun
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Måla Tabletop Paper Holder - $6.99 »
This was a purchase, along with the accompanying roll of paper, I made before my daughter could hold a crayon, and it's worth every penny and beyond. I use this not only for large-scale drawing, but to cover surfaces for other art projects.
