I've had one of those for a long time, but rarely use it. It. Does its job fantastically well, but I either make a single dozen cookies, or use my sheet sized cooling grid, which is too big for the stacking rack, or I bake on the sheets that fit the oven, which are also too big. Sigh. It's perfect for half sheets, or even old style “cookie sheets”, which need to be centered well, but work.

Do you use scoops? I learned to make drop cookies quenelle style with two spoons, but forr whomping out cookies that don't have to be perfect, I like scoops. I have three sizes, though the biggest is too big. I might do flat scoop, slichgtly domed, up to full sphere shaped. I find it a lot easier to roll slightly rather than trying to get a perfect scoop. Just right is easier wwith the spoons, but good enough is fast and easy with the scoops.

That does look handy, sushipup. None of mine fold but definitely get used often.

This might sound a little different, but, regarding cookies, I've probably enjoyed my rather large collection of cookie cutters the most. They range from tiny to huge and pretty much cover every season or occasion I decided was "necessary." My favorite ones are copper, and I've often pulled them out to display in the kitchen, mostly for Halloween, Fall and Christmas. They're all stored in a cabinet in the garage. I keep them in plastic containers labeled by season/occasion. LOL, I did mention "rather large" collection!

plllog, what brand of scoops do you use? I had problems with the springs breaking on some I bought from both Pampered Chef and Oxo.

I don't know, for sure, but mine might be OXO. Old ones. They're vastly better than any other swish lever scoop I've ever had. I use them for all sorts of things. Maybe not really lumpy, like nut rolls. I don't think I go there just by instinct, because of bad past experiences, but the big one is good for meatballs, and mine have minced fresh carrots and onions in them, and they don't clog it up. :/ I also learned on the bad ones, to push the lever slowly, rather than whomping stuff out.

My two favorite cookie cutters were stolen when I was a tween. I've never been able to replace them. They were the stamp style with the lines build in. A lion rampant (lion of Judah) and lit candle that was far more beautiful than any other I've found. I've looked and looked for NOS and pre-loved, and never found any like them. I think Cloud Swift or another of our friends have them, so I hold out hope I may eventually find some no longer loved ones.

Pillog, the rack will hold any size cooling grid. I use 1/2 sheet pans and cooling ranks and just stack them up.

I do use scoops, but need to look at new ones, one of my old ones seems to be broken.

plllog, I might have been guilty of more whomping. :-/ I hope you eventually find those special cookie cutters.

Thermopen. I use it every day.

I've been baking cookies today and have cooling racks all over the table/counters. That does look handy, Sushipup.

Plllog, what does NOS stand for?

IIRC, Annie 1992 swears by Jenaluca. I have had them in my A****n basket for some time, but I am having trouble spending that much on cookie scoops-$57. I should have put them on my Christmas list. I always have trouble coming up with gift ideas for my kids.

My most recent kitchen gadget purchase that I love is my Cuisinart egg cooker. I've had one for years (not Cuisinart) and it still worked, but had an enamel on steel interior finish that was flacking off and was just getting cra**y looking. I eat HB eggs daily and like having them in refrigerator for salads, etc. So DH did some research and found this one. I love that I can put 7-10 eggs in it, push a button and 20 minutes later the eggs are cooked and peel so nicely. I know many people would wonder why you would need one, but I love that I can set it up and go about my day while they are cooking. It has a loud buzzer that lets me know when they are finished. It also poaches and soft cooks, but I've never tried either. My daughters each have one now and also love them. But do read the instructions if you get this-one of my daughters didn't and had an exploded egg mess.

My second gadget is the Kuhn Rikon Original Swiss Peelers, also from that A company. Someone on this forum recommended and I ordered them (set of 3). When they came I thought I had probably wasted my $ as they didn't look impressive. They are colored plastic with a carbon blade, but boy have I changed my mind. You do need to hand wash because of being carbon steel. I've never had a peeler that was so slick. It makes peeling so much easier. It will peel a butternut squash easily.

My third is the Kuhn Rikon can opener that takes the whole lid off, rather than just the inner part of the top. Someone had recommended for arthritis, which isn't an issue for me, but I thought it would do away with the sharp lids. If you get this, watch a U-Tube to see how it works.

I love these threads-always something that I learn about and usually acquire a new toy!

I rarely use a cooling rack. I just put the cookie sheets on my cook top and turn on the vent fan....and I also have a separate grill on another section of counter and that also cools cookies etc nicely.
Favorite gadget? kitchen scale. had an OXO for years and rarely used it but with all the bread baking I did earlier, I used it to weigh the flour and to weigh the dough so I had evenly sized loaves. The OXO died and I bought a cheapie and it works just as well. Use to portion burgers and other meats.....and have become a weighing geek!

sushipup, that looks like something that might be useful on the end of my counter during Christmas cookie baking! Most of the time I only make a dozen or two, but that gets ramped up before Christmas and a couple of other holidays too.

Lizbeth, I love those Jenaluca scoops, they've scooped thousands of cookies, maybe tens of thousands and are still just as good as they were the day I got them. I also had some trouble with the cost, but bought them with an Amazon gift certificate I got at Christmas several years ago. I had already gone through four Wilton scoops and a NorPro in a single year, and the Jenaluca set has a lifetime warranty, so I took the plunge. The smallest one seldom gets used, the middle one makes the perfect sized cookie (small enough to fit in a glass to dunk, but not tiny) and the big one is exactly the right size for muffins and cupcakes. I'm not even particularly careful with them, I put them in the dishwasher and store them in a drawer with all my other baking utensils.

ANnie

Dough scraper is my favorite tool, and I made sure that I had one for both kitchens. At first I didn't know how much I relied on it, but when I don't have it, I really miss it.

In L.A. I use it to scrape off/clean my countertops, but there I have 90 degree corner detail, and that makes them easier to clean. Here, the table top has a complicated edge detail, and so stuff gets stuck in the details.

Lindac92, I forgot about my food scale. I had a Poland for years and thought it was o.k. , but it got a little wonky and I decided to replace it. I went with the OXO and I do love it. It's the one with the pullout, so you can use a large bowl/container and still be able to pull out and read the scale. I especially like it for bread baking-the results seem more consistent. And this week I made date pinwheel cookies. They have a rich dough that can be hard to handle if the ingredients are a little off. The weighing of the flour seemed to help.

Annie1992, I think I will have to break down and get a set of those scoops.

Lizbeth, NOS=New Old Stock. Not a reproduction. The real thing from back when which was never sold, nor opened, nor used. But I'd take them well used so long as they were in good shape. Stains don’t matter, and I can get dried dough out of the most impossible paces with nothing more than determination and universal solvent. I take umbrage at people who discard perfectly good cookie cutters just because they can't be bothered cleaning them! The lion is a pain and a half. His raised paw likes to stick in the cutter if conditions aren't perfect, and if the dough is too thin or dry, all of his limbs break off. But he's the most gorgeous thing when made just so.

liz-gard

NOS => new old stock, unless ... she means nitrous oxide [lol]

LOL! True, but I can't imagine juicing up cookie cutters. :D

I have the same cooling rack too. I am not baking cookies this year, and I have not used mine in a long time. I like it but just have not baked cookies. It was a gift to me one year.

Sue

Pillog was the Lion of Judah a stamp type? I had one that a friend sent from Israel a long time ago. Was lent to a now deceased friend and i suspect it ended up in a yard sale.

Yes, it was a stamp type. So sorry to hear you lost yours, too. I keep hearing Laertes. I found a picture of a reproduction or reissue set from a decade ago that is supposed to have been a very small issue, and long gone. If only I had known then...

Definitely agree on the kitchen scale...complete must-have. My knives fall in that category, too.

plllog, I'm not sure if it is what you are looking for, but there is a cookie stamp on Etsy that is described as a Lion of Judah.

Thanks, Lizbeth! The only one I’ve seen there makes a plaque of the seal of the city of Jerusalem, which does have the lion. I found this picture of the whole set online. There was also a different set with the dreidel, star and a big hanukkiah, in light blue, which I still have, thank goodness, as well as the other four pieces of this year round set. It's just the lion and candle, totally irreplaceable, which were stolen. We know when and where, but not who, and it was decades ago. ;(

But...having found this picture just now, I might be able to approximate them, in metal, or maybe even 3D printed. There should be pictures of the finished cookies, somewhere here, to get the stamp lines, which are small and don't require seeing the whole thing at once. It doesn't need to be exact. I just haven't ever found anything close. There is a regular ring style cutter on Amazon called Lion of Judah which looks more like a husky (dog) than a lion. Lion of Judah is usually shown rampant or passant, with the one fore paw raised, not standing flat and genderless, with a horizontal back, no shoulders, and more of a ruff than a mane.

I'm sorry Sushipup, for taking over your thread. My big grid is usually sufficient with maybe a small cake rack as supplement, to not need the stacker. It is, as you said to start with, a truly excellent gadget, especially folding. It fits in my cutting board pullout. It just occurred to me that it might workk for cake layers! They're a bigger pain than cookies! I have a proper baker's rack, but it lost its place in my kitchen when I remodeled, and was relegated to plant rack status in the powder room, so totally out of service for baking. The folding rack is its replacement.

Mine is so simple, but so useful. And I don’t know why I’d never thought to get one before.

I‘ve always had a hard time opening jars. When I married DH, we were going through his things ... I found this clearly old avocado green contraption. [Backstory: we were both widowed young.] I asked him what it was, he said it was his late wife’s mother’s jar opener. I was intrigued, but put it with the kitchen things and forgot about it.

One day, I could not open the salsa jar. I need salsa like I need air, so was very frustrated. Then, aha! Little green thingamabob! I found it, and that lid came off as smooth as can be. Life changer! 😄

I use Little Green regularly. I love it. I could get a new fancy one, sure, but I love this connection with my DH’s first wife. Her mom used it, she used it. And it’s still going strong. :)

I have the three scoops Annie recommended years ago. I hesitated forever to take the plunge and hit the buy button. Use all three all the time and I don't even bake. Quality is un-matched. Scoops clean and swift. They have prime real estate in a drawer. No hunting for them. Mini and large meatballs, arancini, and recently soup dumplings. Made from thanksgiving stuffing/dressing.

That's a sweet story, Jinx.

Thank you, graywings. :) I know she had a great sense of humor, and think she’d be tickled that I’m so fond and protective of this gadget. 😄