Do I really need a cooling rack? What’s the deal with cookie scoops? Is parchment paper the same as waxed paper? We took these questions and more to the Betty Crocker Test Kitchen’s pastry chef, Carrie Franzen—the brain behind Betty’s Christmas cookies and many more desserts. Carrie shared her list of essential, nice-to-have and semi-pro tools to help us make sense of all the baking equipment out there.

(For the record, the answers to the above questions are: yes, you need a cooling rack; once you get a cookie scoop, you’ll wonder how you lived without it for so long; and no—parchment and waxed paper are very different!)

The Essential Cookie Making Tools

Just as cookies are relatively simple baked treats, the tools needed to make them are too. You likely have basics, like:

• a mixing bowl,
• a wooden spoon for stirring,
• rubber spatulas in a couple different sizes for scraping out your bowl and
• a silicone spatula or flat, thin metal spatula for removing hot, fragile cookies from their baking sheet.

In addition to these basics, you’ll need the correct cookie sheets and measuring tools, plus a cooling rack. Here’s what we consider to be cookie baking essentials and the qualities you should look for when purchasing these tools.

Cookie sheets

The best ones are shiny, silver-colored aluminum sheets without sides. These sheets reflect your oven’s heat, so cookies bake evenly and brown properly. While it’s helpful to have two cookie sheets, so you can prep one batch while the other one is in the oven, you can get by with only one. Just remember, you need to allow your cookie sheet to cool in between batches for perfectly baked cookies. Here’s how to speed up cooling, without warping your sheet: Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes (or until sheet comes to room temperature), run under cold water and dry completely.

Cookie Sheets to Avoid:

• Dark-colored or nonstick sheets, as they can result in overbrowned cookies.
• Insulated cookie sheets can lead to under-browned cookies.
• Jelly-roll pans may prevent cookies from browning evenly, because they have four sides.

Measuring cups and spoons

You will need liquid measuring cups, solid measuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s important to use the correct tools (and measuring technique) as it will result in the right amount of ingredients and ultimately a dough that turns out correctly.

• Solid measuring cups, typically made of metal or plastic, should be used for dry ingredients, like flour, brown and granulated (white) sugar.
• Liquid measuring cups, typically made of glass or plastic, are used to measure milk, oil and other ingredients. Always check your liquid measurement by looking at eye level.
• Measuring spoons are used to measure small amounts of both dry and liquid ingredients, like baking powder and vanilla.

Rolling Pin

A rolling pin can be a loose term. It could mean your grandma’s solid maple pin or just something basic you pick up at your local kitchen store. (If you’re really in a pinch, a wine bottle will do the trick.)

A Cooling Rack

A metal cooling rack is essential to making perfectly baked cookies, because cookies don’t stop baking the moment they leave the oven. Setting your hot cookie sheet on a cooling rack for a minute or two allows cookies to set up enough that you can remove them without breaking. Leave the cookies for much longer though, and they’ll brown too much on the bottom. Transferring from the pan to the cooling rack will allow air to circulate all around the cookies and stop them baking.

With these tools, you’ve got what you need to whip up a batch of cookies. When you’re ready to invest, consider the following tools.

Nice-to-Have Cookie Making Tools

Once you’ve got the basics, you don’t need to buy anything more. But if you do want to upgrade your tools, invest in ones that improve your technique and the quality of your cookies.

Here are some tools that are nice to have when making cookies, plus qualities you should consider when purchasing these tools.

• Cookie scoop
• Oven thermometer
• Electric hand mixer
• Kitchen ruler

Cookie Scoops

Cookie scoops have spring-loaded handles that pops cookie dough out of the cup of the scoop with a click of the handle. They look like mini ice cream scoops. Scoops come in all shapes and sizes—a #70 scoop is equivalent to one level tablespoon, which is a great size for a cookie, but note it’s always best to test your scoop because sizes vary by manufacturer. At around $15, this tool is relatively inexpensive, super convenient and best of all, it ensures a better end product, as cookies of similar size will bake up in the same amount of time. While not strictly essential, we’d put this scoop high on our list of favorite tools.

Oven Thermometer

Ovens are great at many things but displaying their actual temperature accurately is not always one of them. Ovens are often up to 50F degrees off, which is why we recommend buying an oven thermometer. These easy-to-find—try your local hardware store—and inexpensive tools (typically about $5-10) will help ensure that you’re baking cookies at the correct temperature.

Electric Hand Mixer

There’s nothing wrong with using a wooden spoon to mix up your cookie dough—after all, it was good enough for grandma—but if you’ve got one, electric hand mixers are extremely efficient tools for mixing dough. Their speed helps incorporate butter and dry ingredients and some air pockets, which will lead to a nice crumb.

Kitchen Ruler

Dedicate a ruler to the kitchen, so you don’t have to guess how thick your dough is or the size of your cookie cutter. Precision really does leads to better results in baking.

Semi-Pro Cookie Making Tools