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Once you feel that first chill in the air and switch out your coffee orders to Pumpkin Spice, you know that joyous time of year — Christmas — is right around the corner.

The holidays bring cheer, but more than that, they let me indulge in my favorite treats without any of the guilt I feel at other times of the year. I have a massive sweet tooth and try my hardest to limit myself to one breakfast pastry a week during the rest of the year.

However, once it’s December 1st, I can’t stop myself. After all, I can always get back into healthy eating in the new year. I might as well splurge, indulge, and celebrate the year that’s passed.

I spend my time off work whipping up my next Christmas treat — there’s never a time when someone could walk in and not be offered minced pies, a slice of fruit cake, or a Christmas cookie decorated with sugar icing all made by myself.

Over the years, the holidays have been the time when I get to show off my baking skills. Cooking is a place to show creativity, while baking is following the rules. Even a tiny measurement, like 5g of additional flour, can make your pastry too dense. And having reliable baking equipment is essential to how your good your baked goods turn out.

For anyone getting into baking or just looking to pick up a few new baking dishes, here are my recommendations:

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Caraway

Caraway is known for its high-quality products and their bakeware set is the same. They’re easy to clean and care for, plus, the surface heats evenly and doesn’t have too many hot spots, giving you evenly cooked food.

Caraway’s Bakeware set will give you everything you need. Their bakeware is ceramic coated and doesn’t contain any chemicals. The Bakeware set even comes with organizers, limiting the mess in the kitchen. Since they’re non-stick, you can reduce your levels of oil and butter and make your dishes a little healthier this holiday.

I’ve always been drawn to this set and their 18X13” Baking Sheet and 18X13” Cooling Rack is perfect for making Cinnamon flavored Christmas Cookies — the ultimate start to the festive season.

Great Jones

Traditionally known for their beautiful cast irons and dutch ovens, Great Jones bakeware is not to be slept on. Their designs are classic and cute, and with 3 different sizes for mixing bowls, you’re covered for all sorts of recipes. Plus, the bowls are safe for the microwave, dishwasher, and freezer.

You can choose from various sheets, cooling racks, hot dishes, and even a Breadwinner, which is what I use to cook up the delicious Snow-topped holly cakes. The fruit, flour, and nuts cook perfectly, but the Great Jones Breadwinner bakes it all evenly.The tin is creased with a non-stick coating, including a wavy corrugated bottom which makes releasing baked goods easy and effortless, resulting in less scratching.

Xtrema

Xtrema offers hand-crafted, non-toxic bakeware. All their products arrive in a timeless black color that can adapt to any kitchen. Their Roasting Tray and Grill Pan are something you’d never usually see in the baking section, but they still made me consider picking them up — maybe to grill some dried fruit to add on top of a cake…

I picked up the Xtrema 9” Pie Pan, which moves from the oven to the table quickly and always produces an incredible pie crust. It showcases the Apple Pie that we share as a family on Christmas Eve. I add in an extra touch of cinnamon and nutmeg to make it more festive and top it with some Baileys Ice cream.