Essential Baking Supplies for Beginners

If you’ve decided to start learning how to bake, congratulations! You have a fun — and delicious — hobby ahead of you. Baking is a great creative outlet and a wonderful opportunity to make tasty treats for friends, family, coworkers and more! To get started with baking, you’ll need a few tools to help you make the most gorgeous and scrumptious treats around.

Here are our top tools for beginning bakers:

1. Measuring spoons and cups — Especially in the beginning, it’s important to measure every ingredient in your recipe. Consider purchasing two sets of each, so you don’t have to do without if a crucial measuring spoon is in the dishwasher.
2. Graduated measuring cup —Just like with dry measuring cups, graduated measuring cups will be essential to your baking success as you learn how to bake. Graduated measuring cups are for liquid ingredients and have a handy pour spout.
3. A silicone spatula — Silicone spatulas offer excellent heat resistance and are most often used for scraping dough off the sides of mixing bowls. We rely on spatulas that are all one piece, rather than ones that have a separate blade and handle, as they hold up better.
4. A straight spatula — Completely different from silicone spatulas, straight spatulas are often made from metal and are used to shape icing while decorating cakes. As you continue with baking, you may want other icing spatulas, but at the beginning, an 8” straight spatula should do.
5. Decorating tips, assorted — Often referred to as piping or frosting tips, decorating tips help you get just the right design of icing for your cake. As you can see from our selection, there are a ton of decorating tips to make your icing into the perfect shape. We’d recommend starting with a small set and moving up from there.
6. Disposable pastry bags —Paired with your decorating tips, disposable pastry bags enable you to ice your cakes, cupcakes and cookies perfectly every time. (Quick tip: We have a 100-pack of these on sale for only $9.99.)
7. Thermometer — If you’re considering also making candy, a candy thermometer is a must. If you’re not interested in candy making, consider purchasing an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is the correct temperature for your recipes.
8. Cake pans, assorted — This is obvious, but having a good cake pan is essential to making a good cake. However, don’t forget that you might need more than one pan, whether to have different shapes — don’t forget a cupcake pan if you plan to bake cupcakes, for example — or to be able to make layer cakes.
9. Timer — While you may not need a whole new tool for this (your oven timer or even your phone may do), it’s important to figure out what you’ll be using as a timer before you begin baking.
10. Whisk — Many recipes call for whisking ingredients, so don’t forget this vital tool. After a few times baking, you may decide you’d like to have a few whisks of various sizes to help you make your treats even more perfect.
11. Sifter — While fewer recipes you’ll find these days require the sifting of ingredients, you’re still bound to run across a few that ask for sifted flour or other ingredients to make the treat lighter and airier.
12. Baking sheets — Baking sheets are essential to baking cookies, pastries and other delicious treats. Here’s one of our favorites.
13. Cooling rack — Having a set of cooling racks will help you prevent cookies from overcooking and enable you to use your baking sheets while the previous batch of cookies are still cooling.
14. Bowls, assorted — You’ll probably always be amazed by how many bowls you use while baking (we always are!), so go ahead and stock up on a variety of different sized mixing bowls now. You’ll thank us later.
15. Rolling pin — A good rolling pin will help you make bread, cookies, pie crusts and more. We’re partial to the French variety of rolling pins, which are tapered to aid in rolling out thin, uniform circles of dough.
16. Pastry brush — Recipes that require an egg wash or other liquid brushed along the top need a pastry brush. It can spread butter, oil or glaze on food, giving the tops of your baked goods a delicious look and taste.
17. Pastry cutter — Essential for pie crusts and a number of other doughs, pastry cutters help avoid overworked dough while cutting the chilled ingredients, such as butter, into one another.
18. Parchment paper — Parchment paper is ideal for baking. It protects your baking sheets (does anyone want to spend all day scrubbing dishes?) while helping your treats bake more evenly without having to grease the pan beforehand. Our favorite parchment paper is made by NORPRO, and we love it because of its environmentally friendly design.
19. Wax paper — Just like parchment paper, wax paper is an absolute must for some recipes. You’ll use wax paper in recipes like no-bake cookies, candy making and more.
20. Electric mixer — Okay, so maybe you can do everything an electric mixer can do by hand, but do you want to? An electric mixer can help you get the job done faster and easier. Don’t feel like you need to buy a stand mixer right away, though: For many beginning bakers, a hand mixer does the job just fine.

Did we forget any tools you’ve found to be absolutely essential? Let us know in the comments below!

Top Homemade Treats for Valentine’s Day

A month has passed since the last of the pecan pie was scraped from the dish and the stale gingerbread house was tossed out for the birds. Now, with Valentine’s Day on the horizon, we are excited to share some of our favorite ideas for festive candy and treats to share with your friends, family and coworkers!

With so many school Valentine’s Day parties, we have found the perfect treat that your kids can help to prepare for their classmates. These white chocolate dipped wafer cookies absolutely scream Valentine’s Day joy! We love the strawberry-flavored wafer cookies for their bright and cheery pink color, but the vanilla and chocolate flavors will work as well. All you need to do is heat some white chocolate wafers until smooth, dip one end of the cookie into the mix, and then dip into a small bowl of sprinkles. Lay on wax paper until dry, and then wrap in a clear cello bag with a bright length of ribbon. Kids will love choosing their favorite sprinkle combinations and sharing with their friends.

Conversation Hearts have long been a divisive Valentine’s treat – you either love them or you hate them. However, we doubt anyone would turn down one of these adorable conversation heart cookies inspired by Martha Stewart. Easily cut homemade or store bought sugar cookie dough into a heart shape using one of our cookie cutters, and choose your own fun sayings to print on the top!

Sweet Treat Supply also has a huge variety of candy molds that are perfect for Valentine’s Day! Choose any of the classic heart molds in both drop and lollypop forms, or choose a flirty shape like our chocolate lips mold for your crush. Whether you choose to fill your mold with chocolate, colored candy drops or hard candies, they are an easy option that anyone will be thrilled to receive.

Regardless of the treats you choose to create for your crowd this Valentine’s Day, Sweet Treat Supply has all of the tools to make your items even more festive! From pink and red oil-based food colorings to edible glitter, sprinkles and pearls, you can create a work of art for your sweetie this year. XOXO!

Best Treats to Give as Gifts

The holidays are the perfect time to show your appreciation for your loved ones and all that they have done for you over the last year. However, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the thought of buying an individual gift for each person, especially those whose tastes you don’t know as well. Fortunately, today we have compiled a list of delicious holiday treats to give as gifts that are perfect for everyone on your list, from your co-workers, to your neighbors, to your children’s teachers.

Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods
The combination of salty and sweet flavors is one of the hottest food trends today. Using our Peter’s Caramel Loaf, melt in the microwave or on the stovetop, stirring regularly. You can also add one ounce of confectioner’s sugar to each pound of caramel to thicken it for the ideal gooeyness. Roll your pretzel rods in the caramel mixture and immediately dust with or roll in your favorite holiday sprinkles. We also love this treat because it is so easy to package! All you need are a few caramel pretzel rods, a brightly colored cello bag and a string of sparkly ribbon.

Cupcakes in a Jar
Mason jars are still one of the hottest items on the baking scene, and are a great way to present your baked treats in an easy and portable way. Using your favorite family recipe or one of our delicious premium cake mixes for quick convenience, bake a tray of chocolate, vanilla or red velvet cupcakes. Using an 8oz jam-sized mason jar, drop one unwrapped cupcake into the bottom and pipe with your favorite creamy frosting. Repeat once more for a double layered effect. For an even more personalized effect, write little notes to recipients on the top of the jar lid, or try printing out your most recent family picture and wrapping it around the jar for an edible holiday card!

White Chocolate Party Popcorn
Party popcorn is one of our favorite treats all year round, and it could not be simpler! All you need is microwave popcorn, white chocolate candy melts and sprinkles of your choosing — we tend to stick to red and green this time of year, but any sprinkles will do. Simply melt the candy melts in the microwave on medium heat, stirring every 45 seconds, and once fully liquefied, slowly pour over a bowl of fresh popped popcorn, mixing as you pour. Kids will love shaking the sprinkles over the mixture, but be sure to add sprinkles quickly while the candy melts are still sticky, otherwise you risk all of your sprinkles falling to the bottom of the mixing bowl. Serve either in a small paper bag or out in a large bowl at your next event!

Peppermint Bark
One of the best items to make in a large batch is chocolate bark. For this version, all you will need is a bag of semisweet dark chocolate drops, peppermint extract, white chocolate melts and crushed up candy canes. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil, shiny-side up to prevent sticking. Stir in one ounce of peppermint extract to the melted dark chocolate and spread evenly across the baking tray. Leave aside for ten minutes to allow the chocolate to set. Then, repeat the process with the white chocolate, immediately sprinkling with the crushed candy canes, gently pressing the candy into the white chocolate. Set aside for about an hour at room temperature to allow the chocolate to harden, then break apart into small pieces and wrap in bags or small boxe
s for serving.

We would love to hear if you have tried any other holiday gift recipes! Comment below or share on our Facebook page!

Last-Minute Christmas Candies

Christmas is only a few days away now, which means it’s time to start distributing your Christmas candies to neighbors, coworkers, friends and family. If you’re one of the many people who never got to making Christmas candies during this busy season, you might think you missed out on being able to give homemade gifts to friends, but we have a few last-minute Christmas candy ideas to keep you from having to make a run to the store. Give yourself an afternoon to make these delicious last-minute gifts, and your friends will love their treats.

 Here’s a roundup of our favorite easy Christmas candies:

Martha Stewart’s Peanut Butter Swirl Bark — Four ingredients are all you need to make this delicious bark. If your recipients love peanut butter, they’re sure to enjoy this delightful and gorgeous bark.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy Bars — It’s entirely possible that you have all of the ingredients for these bars in your pantry right now. The delicious peanut butter and chocolate combination makes this treat a must-have!

Triple Chocolate Covered Peanut Clusters — This recipe uses the slow cooker to make most of its cooking time hands off, which is perfect when you need to wrap gifts! Once the chocolate melts in the slow cooker, add the peanuts and drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper to cool. It’s that simple.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites — Combining peanut butter, caramel and chocolate with salty pretzels might be the tastiest thing you could do this holiday season. This recipe makes about 100 pretzel bites, so plan accordingly!

Cool Mint Patties — Making popular supermarket candies at home is the surest way to prove you have magical powers. You can keep it a secret that this recipe is a snap to make with only seven ingredients.

Chocolate Mint Candy — For the mint lovers in your life, this chocolate mint candy has to be on your must-make list. This recipe yields about two pounds of candy, which might be the perfect amount for your Christmas snacking needs.

Choc-Cherry Fudge — If you’re looking for an easy fudge recipe, this might be your winner. Maraschino cherries with their stems attached really make the presentation of this fudge something special. The best part? No need for a stove or oven!

Salted Chocolate Pecan Toffee — This recipe doubles easily, so make a couple of pans of this delectable toffee, and you’ll be able to knock out all of your Christmas candy-making in one pass. With chocolate, pecans and a hint of saltiness, what could be better?

Salted Caramel Charms — Salted caramel is a huge hit again this year, so be sure to take advantage of the sweet and salty craze with these gorgeous truffles. Only requiring four ingredients, you know this recipe can’t be too difficult!

Gingerbread Cake Balls — What says “Christmas time!” more than gingerbread? These cake balls offer a new twist on an old favorite and are sure to impress anyone who receives them.

Looking for more Christmas candy ideas? Check out our Pinterest board! Have a Christmas candy that you love to make every year? Let us know about it in the comments below.

Christmas Candies You Should Make in December

Christmas is right around the corner, which means one thing around here: It’s time to plan out the candies we’re making!  Christmas candy is a must for holiday parties and a perfect gift to give to neighbors and coworkers, so now’s the time to choose a few candies to make during December.

One of our favorite Christmas candy options around here is traditional chocolate candies molded into holiday shapes. It’s great for candy making beginners and experts, and if you stock up on a few different types of candy molds, you can make all of your Christmas candy in a snap!

To make chocolate candies, choose a chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa butter to give the chocolate plenty of sheen and temper the chocolate (for an easy chocolate tempering tutorial, click here). Next, pour the chocolate into your different holiday candy molds — we recommend evergreen trees, stars and Santa’s face for a cute variety of chocolates to give to family and friends. Let the chocolate cool, and then your chocolate treats are ready to go!

Another classic holiday treat is fudge, which might be one of the quickest and most simple sweets to make.

For our super-simple fudge, you’ll need:

• 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp water 
• ½ of a 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk 
• ¾ c. chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Microwave the semisweet chocolate chips, water and condensed milk together on high, stopping each minute to stir until the chocolate is smooth. Once the chocolate is fully melted, add in the walnuts and vanilla and pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Chill the fudge until firm, then cut and enjoy!

For a change from traditional Christmas candy, we love making peanut butter truffles! Better Homes and Gardens has a delicious recipe for this tasty dessert, and it only requires a few easy ingredients and a little bit of time. This recipe allows for a little customization, too: You can add in finely chopped peanuts and use whatever quality of dark or bittersweet chocolate you want!

What’s your favorite treat to make for friends, family, coworkers and neighbors this time of year? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook!

How to Decorate Holiday Cookies

Whether you are young or old, one of our favorite activities to do as a family around the holidays is to sit around the table laughing, sharing stories, and decorating holiday cookies. However, thinking about the potential mess of smeared icing and scattered sprinkles can make some nervous. Today, we have compiled a helpful guide to icing and decorating your own holiday cookies to make a memorable and delicious treat for your family.

The first step to creating a fun collection of holiday cookies is assembling some festive cookie cutters. Some of our favorites for the holidays are the classic Gingerbread Boy, Candy Cane and the Snow Covered Tree. Kids will love rolling out the dough with a rolling pin and stamping their own shapes, but be sure that there is an adult around to put the cookies into the hot oven!

Next comes the sweetest part of the cookie making process: the icing! We love using the soft and fluffy CK Buttercream Frosting on our cookies. Delicious and easy to use, it is the perfect canvas for any cookie. You can apply it right from the can or whip it up in the mixer on low with any of our professional food colorings for a rainbow of frosting colors. Or, if you want to add more of a seasonal twist to your frosting, add in a few drops of candy flavoring oils: Peppermint and cinnamon are our favorites this time of year.

Your kids will love the last step, making their cookies truly unique by dusting on colored sugar or fun-shaped sprinkles. These Christmas Light Bulk Candy Sprinkles are perfect for any sugar cookie, or go the more classic route with White and Red Decorette sprinkles for a custom-designed candy cane look.

The options for holiday cookies are truly endless, and with the holiday season creeping up on us, it is the perfect time to start experimenting with decorations for your holiday party or just a snowy afternoon snuggled up inside with your family. For more ideas on how to decorate holiday cookies this year, check out one of our favorite guides, courtesy of Real Simple Magazine.

What are you favorite ways to decorate cookies this time of year? Leave a comment and let other readers know your secrets!

The Beginner’s Guide to Making Holiday Candy

No matter which holiday you are celebrating during the winter season, it is a great time of year to show your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers how much you appreciate everything that they have done for you this year with a little bag of sweet treats. With all of the peppermint and chocolate candy options, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin! Luckily, today we have assembled a handy beginner’s guide to making holiday candy to whip you into shape for the holiday season, including how you can use some of the tools you already have to make delicious delights that everyone will love!

Candy Molds

Whether you fill it with hard candies, mints or chocolate, everyone will love all of the fun festive shapes of our favorite holiday molds. At such affordable prices, candy molds are a great place to stock up with a variety of options to give your dessert tray personality. The cute mini Pine Cone Mold is ideal for chocolate, and the Tree Sucker Mold would be perfect to fill with bright colored candy melting wafers. When making lollipops, do not forget the most important part — the sucker sticks!

Fillings

While red, green and white candy melts are always safe and reliable options around the holidays, this is the time of year to be adventurous and make your candies as bright and colorful as the ornaments on your Christmas tree.  Or, try dipping your favorite crunchy snacks like pretzel sticks or twists into our premium chocolate melts and then dip in your favorite multi colored sprinkles, or even crush up candy canes and dip chocolate melts into the powder.

Packaging

The holiday season is no time to be shy with your candy packaging. Now more than ever is time to go over the top with bows, curled ribbon and bright colored packaging. From gold and silver doilies to red and green twist ties for cello bags, Sweet Treat Supply has you covered, whether you are bringing a tray of treats to a friend’s party or giving out small bags as favors. For a real blank canvas, try putting your candies inside one of our simple White Cake Boxes. If you have children who are eager to help with the candy preparations, but you are hesitant to have handling hot candy melts, they will love decorating the boxes!

We all know how easy it is for the holiday season to become jam packed with gift shopping, school activities and office holiday parties, and it is tempting to grab the first tray of holiday cookies at the grocery store as you dash out the door. However, with so many simple options in the candy making world, it is a fun way to add a personalized and handmade touch to your gifts and treats that everyone will love and appreciate!