Hey Besties! The season has finally come when we can create our wish lists to feed our cookie decorating wants and needs! Or if you’re like me, you do a fair amount of your own holiday shopping! But regardless of whether you shop for yourself or share this cookie decorator gift guide with your loved ones, I’ve got you covered! After spending the whole year watching every penny on the rising prices of ingredients and tools, it’s time to shop for us!
And while cookie decorating supplies can add up, I can think of a million other hobbies and businesses that spend far more! So I’m excited to share our 2023 ultimate cookie decorator gift guide with you! We’ll cover the practical tools and products you’ve been eyeing, gifts to comfort you as a decorator and the luxurious gifts we’re to frugal to buy for ourselves but secretly want! So without further ado, let’s plunge into the gift guide! Cue the holiday music!
Wish List To Improve Our Cookies!
I know this community and we always put our cookies first! These are items that will improve your cookies, elevate your skills, expand your design options and make decorating easier!
Dehydrator for Cookie Decorating
Besties, I can’t stress enough how amazing a dehydrator is for cookie decorating. It’s the simplest way to immediately improve the overall look of your royal icing. While also saving you a ton of time. It’s a game changer and I don’t throw that term around lightly. For all the details on using a dehydrator for cookie decorating, THIS post explains it all. Here are three dehydrators I recommend if you’re not already using one!
We have and love this Gourmia dehydrator! Super easy to use and gives us all the benefits for every cookie we make!
However, for the same price (at the time of this writing), this 9-tray Ivation dehydrator is also a fabulous choice! Our 2nd dehydrator is the 6-tray version of this, and we still use it every day! You can fit a whole lot of cookies into 9 trays!
And for those who want something smaller, for hobby baking, this cute Septree model will become your new pal. Cookiers who make smaller quantities at a time are loving this unit!
Cookie Projector
If you are not using a projector, you are missing out on the simplest way to create amazing designs! I remember being SO limited in my designs until I purchased my little Bestie right HERE! It opens up a world of design options and there’s many reasons it’s the most popular projector among cookiers. For all the details, THIS whole post will get you up to speed!
Cookie Projector Mounts
If you get a projector, you’re going to need a mount! In THIS post I go in-depth on two different mounts we have and love. Completely different price points and setups, but we LOVE the both for different reasons. I also show you exactly how to set them up too for easy working!
If you want the workhorse that can do it all and will last for years, THIS mount really is the gold standard.
However, if you just need a simple mount, or if you’re like us and need a 2nd mount, THIS baby is worth every penny!
Airbrushing Beautiful Cookies
I’ll be the first to admit, we don’t use our airbrush every day. However, I also couldn’t live without out in our cookie decorating arsenal. I LOVE the designs I can make with my airbrush, especially when it comes to stenciling. Or if you’re really looking to add more dimension to your cookies, an airbrush really is the best way to achieve that.
Along with many other cookiers, we have, use and love THIS model. It’s such a reasonable price compared to many others out there and has worked perfectly for us every time!
The Best Stencil Holder
I recently shared THIS post, which includes a demo video to illustrate why THIS stencil holder is worth its weight in gold. If you do any stenciling, either by scraping royal icing or airbrushing, you need this stencil holder in your life. You’ll thank me later, I promise.
Edible Image Printing
Next to a dehydrator and projector, I honestly think every cookier should have an edible image printer. Being able to make photo and logo cookies is simply not possible without it! Unless you’re willing to drop 3K on an Eddie! And it pains me to see cookiers paying $10+ a sheet to buy edible images. You can print them yourself for a fraction of the cost! Save your dough and print them yourself! For under $200, you’ll be making cookies you previously couldn’t and it pays for itself in no time. THIS post shows you exactly how we make our photo cookies and more.
THIS is the printer we use, love and recommend to all cookiers. It works perfectly for us every time and prints vibrant, beautiful edible images. And HERE is the edible ink we love and lets us print hundreds of images with one set of cartridges! Lastly, THESE are the premium icing sheets that smell like heaven and we use for all our edible image printing. You’ll kick yourself for not starting to print your own edible images sooner!
Best Edible Paint
There are SO many metallic luster dusts and paint products on the market, it gets overwhelming really quickly. And it’s important to me to only use fully edible products. Non-toxic products can be beautiful, but if I wouldn’t feed my family a cookie covered in crayon, so non-toxic products aren’t appealing to me. After MANY different products, I am thrilled to share my favorite metallic, edible paint for decorating! Is it cheap? No. Is it beautiful? Yes! And is it fully edible? Also yes! My favorite colors are available here: Gold, Silver, Rose Gold and Pearl.
And if still haven’t snagged THESE metallic, edible markers, I don’t know what you’re waiting for! They are the easiest and fastest way to add metallic accents to your cookies! These are still one of my favorite new products of 2023 and for the price, they are a no-brainer!
This Is All About You!
Alright Besties, we all know cookie decorating is HARD work. Who would’ve thought?! But seriously, it can really take a toll, especially if you product large volumes! And while we specialize in bringing joy to others, it really is important to take care of yourself. We all deserve to take care of our bodies and also pay attention to our comfort while we work! So I hope you make yourself a priority this season and include some of these items on your list!
Decorating Comfortably
I know you spend a ridiculous amount of time standing at your counter mixing colors, because I do the same. Please, I beg of you, save your feet, knees, hips and back with some anti-fatigue mats. Not only are they comfy, but they actually will help you avoid real painful issues.
Guuuuurl, if you’re not wearing a pair of supportive slippers or house shoes, you are asking for problems! Do you know that my bare feet only touch the inside of my shower? That is it. Otherwise, I have supportive slippers on to save my feet. If you like cozy feet, THESE are perfection and stylish! Or if you’re like me and your feet get hot easily, THESE babies are like walking on clouds! Are they funky looking? Yes ma’am! Do I care? Nope! It is not a fashion show up in here and at a certain age, comfort trumps style.
Decorating Entertainment
A few months ago, we had a lengthy thread going in our Facebook group about what you all listen to while you’re decorating! I never could’ve imaged the amount of Besties listing to true crime! In my case, I almost always have music blaring and could never live without my AirPod Pros. Seriously, I couldn’t imagine not having these to listen to or chat on the phone with!
And for our Bestie booklovers, you can’t go wrong with an Audible subscription! As much as I LOVE reading actual books, my schedule just isn’t allowing for it as much as it used to. So I’m thankful for Audible to be able to stay on top of my reading while decorating!
Cookie Decorator Self Care
I know you wash your hands 100 times a day, because I do the same. The practical side of me uses THIS, even though it’s not pretty. It does the job! But then the girly in me loves THIS for a touch of luxury. One is on my nightstand and the other is in my purse…you have one guess which one is which.
I was introduced to THESE awhile back and my showering experience has never been the same! The easiest way to turn your shower into a spa treatment and I love every moment of it.
Speaking of showers, THIS is kind of like bringing the aroma of our cookies into a luxurious skin experience! It smells amazing and keeps my skin feeling like I live somewhere other than the frozen tundra, of Minnesota.
Rounding out or self-care section is THIS baby that works wonders! I received this last year and it is so helpful, especially for my neck after a long day of decorating.
The Pretty Things We Want But Never Buy Ourselves
This is where our cookie decorator gift guide gets really fun because we’re throwing practicality out of the window and indulging! I know this community and while we LOVE pretty and luxurious things, we don’t splurge on them for ourselves! Well Bestie, it’s time. We deserve it.
I will forever love THIS cake stand! I’ve had it for years and use it to display everything from cookies, to cakes, to breads. You simply can’t go wrong with a classy, glass cake stand! It’s also a great housewarming gift, especially if you gift it with something yummy and pretty inside!
These beautiful serving platters were one of our Bestie giveaway prizes earlier this year! I LOVE these for all kinds of serving needs. They are simply stunning and so versatile which is what I always look for in great serving pieces!
Coming in hot with yet another Bestie giveaway prize from the spring are THESE mixing bowls I adore! If you haven’t ever noticed, I LOVE to share products I LOVE with you! These come in a variety of color sets, with watertight lids and they are microwave and dishwasher safe! Function meets style and I’m here for it!
If you have cookie stencils, welcome to the prettiest way to store them! I’m in love with THESE beautiful binders! Would a boring binder do? Yes. But is that as fun or pretty? Absolutely not. Ready to store 40 of your stencils with room to hold more!
And actually, you really should check out the glitter turntables and scribes that THIS same shop offers. These are actually going on my holiday list this year to add a little bling and sparkle to my decorating! Offered in many different colors, they just make decorating more fun!
If you’ve been here before, you’ll probably know I’m a HUGE sap when it comes to family and heirlooms. Which is why I fell in LOVE with THIS! The idea of having one of your signature recipes engraved into this beautiful piece of wood in your own handwriting is simply stunning! I immediately fell in love! You can completely customize with drawings, photos, anything!
And to round out our wish list of things we WANT but don’t really NEED, is THIS! When I saw this, it was an immediate add to cart for me. It made me smile and it’s a fun way to tie in my decor with what we do! I hope you think it’s cute too!
The 2023 Cookie Decorator Gift Guide!
I hope this guide was helpful for you as you do your own shopping or make your wish lists! I know it helped me and inspired some more fun prizes in future giveaways in our Facebook group and page! Feel free to share this with those who shop for you and also share with fellow cookiers who might be looking for holiday shopping inspiration! Happy Holidays, Besties!
Oooh, I should also let you know that this is not our only gift guide of the season! There are a couple more coming for bakers and also affordable gifts and stocking stuffers! So stay tuned! If you’re not already receiving our weekly newsletter, this would be the perfect time to subscribe below! Don’t miss out on the rest of the gift guides and holiday baking content!! Happy Baking, Besties!