A Few Favorite Things-Fall Baking Tips and Essentials

A few favorite things-fall baking tips and essentials is a mini guide to help you prepare your pantry for fall baking.

apples in a basket

Fall is a great time of year to refresh your kitchen. You are gearing up for bonfires, sports, halloween parties and most of all the holidays. Since I tend to do the some of the same things every year I thought I would share how you can get your kitchen ready for fall and the holidays beyond.

fall baking items

Update Your Spices

All spices have expiration dates. Can they be used after they expire, yes, they will however lose their flavor after a while so it’s best to keep them fresh. The fall is the best time to update spices, ensuring they are the fresh helps make all your cooking and baking be more flavorful, especially if your gifting goodies.

Not only should you update your spices, you also need to update:

Baking soda

Yeast

Baking powder

These need to be fresh to ensure that your baked goods will rise when needed.

spices on spoons

Baking Spices To Have On Hand

While this list has some of my favorites yours may vary. If you’re someone who bakes a lot it’s essential to have a variety of spices on hand. Instead of buying spice blends like pumpkin spice, apple pie spice, or even chai spice just use the spices you have to make them. By doing this, you use up the spices faster so they don’t expire and you don’t need to worry about spending additional money on a spice blend you may only use once or twice a season. 

Here are some favorite spices:

Allspice

Cardamom

Cinnamon (preferrably Saigon or Vietnamese) it tastes a bit sweeter than other cinnamon          

Ginger                                                                       

Ground cloves

Nutmeg

** You may say I don’t really need cardamom, but if you’re interested in making your own spice blends you may need it. Also, if you’re a big fan of chai and want to make your own mix you will need it.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe

1/3 cup    Cinnamon

1 tbsp      Ginger

1 tbsp      Nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp  Ground Cloves

1 1.2 tsp  Allspice

 

 Makes 1/2 cup 

Store in an airtight container.

Apple Pie Spice Recipe

2 tsp                Cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp          Nutmeg

1/2 + 1/8 tsp    Allspice

1/2 + 1/8 tsp    Cardamom

 

Makes 2 Tbsp

Store in an airtight container.

Baking Supplies

Here are some key items you should have on hand for baking:

Baking Pans – Having both round (for cakes) and square (for brownies and bar cookies) baking pans are great for all kinds of baked goods. Loaf pans for all your favorite sweet breads, such as pumpkin and banana bread. Finally, a bundt pan with a pretty design.

Pie Plate – Essential if you love pies, including savory pies, like chicken pot pie.

Rolling Pin – To roll out pie crust, or cookie dough.

Liquid Measuring Cup – They come in so many sizes but a 2 cup one is a good one to have on hand.

Baking Sheets – Baking sheets to bake your cookies, but also to catch spills from pies and cobblers or pasta dishes. I also love to have a quarter sheet pan for smaller batches of baking and roasting.

Cooling Racks – Have several of these on hand, especially if you love to bake cookies. 

Measuring Cups – Measuring cups are a staple in any kitchen, these Measuring Cups are great because they have all the measurements etched in so they won’t disappear from being washed in the dishwasher. They also have all the measurements that that most sets lack. 

Muffin Pans – Not only great for muffins and cupcakes but also a good way to make mini egg bites or mini pancakes.

Measuring Spoons – Another kitchen staple, these Measuring Spoons are perfect for fitting into your spice jars.

Cookie Scoops – Having scoops in multiple sizes lets you make different size cookies. They can also be used to scoop ice cream or muffin batter into pans.

various baking pans

Flat Spatula – Necessary for removing cookies from the sheet pan, flipping pancakes, cooking eggs, etc.

Regular Spatula – These come in a variety of sizes, I love to have a large, medium, and small one on hand.

Mini Spatula – Great for removing brownies, blondies and smaller cakes from their pans. This is a great mini spatula.

Offset Spatula – Perfect for frosting cakes, brownies, or spreading batter in the baking pans.

Pastry Brush – For brushing a glaze over a tart or an egg wash over a pie, etc.

Cake Cutter – If you love cakes, a good cutter is essential in helping you serve a nice slice.

Whisks – Whisks come in various sizes, try finding a large, med, and small whisk. The small or mini whisks are great for small amounts of liquids, think beating an egg, or making a dressing.

Pastry Cutter – Yes you can use a fork or your fingers, but sometimes a pastry cutter just works faster in getting pie dough together.

Bench Scraper – These are useful if your baking lots of bread or moving dough.  Also great in scraping up the dough from the countertop.

Baking Scale – Is the most accurate way of getting the right measurements. It’s great to have on hand if you come across a  recipe that uses grams instead of cups. If you are making sourdough bread or are interested in learning how too, a scale will be required. They are easy to find and inexpensive.

Parchment paper-Perfect for easy cleaning and removing baked goods from pans. You can even purchase them precut in different sizes, especially handy for cake pans. They can be reused a few times, particularly when baking cookies.

Cupcake and Muffin Liners-They make for easy cleanup and come in different colors and designs.

spatulas and whisks in a jar

Baking Pantry

When the middle to the end of August hits I start prepping for fall baking. One of the first things I grab at the supermarket are pumpkin puree and cranberry sauce. I never wait until time gets closer to grab them because sometimes when you’re looking they are out of stock. 

Here are some suggestions on what to grab at the beginning of the season:

Flour – Whatever type you use, gluten-free, all-purpose, self-rising, bread flour. Grab a couple of them.

Sugar – White, light brown, and dark brown sugar. I also like to have turbinado or raw sugar on hand to provide a nice crunch to the tops of muffins.

Butter – Use good quality unsalted butter. Grab a few and store in your freezer to keep it fresh.

Vanilla Extract – Find good quality vanilla extract, yes it’s pricey but sometimes vanilla is what makes the dessert. Don’t use imitation vanilla extract.

Oats – Perfect for oatmeal and granola, but also great as a streusel topping on muffins or cakes.

Pumpkin Puree – This is a fall pantry staple, not only can you use it in baked goods, but you can also use it in pancakes, soups, smoothies. Keep in mind that this is just plain pumpkin not the pumpkin pie filling. Here is a great recipe using pumpkin puree GF Pumpkin Bites with Coffee Glaze.

Storage

Containers – These Oxo Containers are easy to find, come in sets or individual and are great for storing all your baking needs. They keep your baking supplies fresh and your flour bug free.

 Glass Jars/Bottles – Recycling glass jars is an economical way for storage. Consider jam jars and jars and bottles with unusual shapes. They are great for storing granola, simple syrups, or displaying flowers. Ball canning jars are also a great option, you can purchase plastic or wood lids for storage instead of the traditional lid used for canning. Another option is Weck Jars they are a bit more expensive but are a pretty way to gift goodies or use as storage.

filled storage containers with baking supplies

Extras

Chocolate – Having different types of chocolate available enhances your baking. A nice mix of dark, semi-sweet and milk chocolate is ideal. If you have a favorite chocolate bar keep that on hand to add to chocolate chip cookies or chopped and used in desserts. 

Cocoa Powder – Find a good quality cocoa powder, perfect for baking but also hot chocolate.

Nuts – Pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds are key players in baking. They can be great snacks, but also perfect toppings on muffins, crisp, cobblers. Not to mention a great addition to granola.

Instant Espresso Powder – A great flavor enhancer to brownies and chocolate baked goods and does not leave behind a coffee taste.

Graham Crackers – For s’mores, but also pie crust. 

Powdered Sugar – To dust over baked goods, but also to make glazes and frosting. 

Cranberry Sauce – Whole berry or jellied are both great options. Besides being a side to turkey, this is delicious in baked goods or oatmeal. Here is my favorite recipe using whole berry cranberry sauce Gluten-Free Holiday Breakfast Cake

Sprinkles – For cupcakes, cookies and cakes.

Cinnamon Sugar

Cinnamon sugar is another fun thing to have available. It’s easy to make and perfect for french toast, topping your favorite coffee, on donuts, in your oatmeal, sprinkled on top of cakes or muffins. Make a batch at the beginning of the season so it will be ready to use when needed. Store it in a salt shaker for easy sprinkling.

Cinnamon Sugar Recipe

1/2 Cup  Granulated Sugar

1     Tbsp Cinnamon

Mix and store in an air tight container.

 

cinnamon sugar in a salt shaker

Apples

I feel apples should have their own category. Having extra apples available at all times makes it so easy to make  desserts like this Cozy Gluten-Free Apple Cake, and even dinners. There are a variety of different apples that can be used for baking: Honey Crisp, Granny Smith, Gala, Pink Lady, and Jonagold to name a few. Apples are prefect for applesauce, muffins, crisps, cobblers, cakes, and most importantly apple pie. They can be stewed, caramelized, or baked whole and stuffed with spices, nuts, sugar and topped with ice cream or drizzled with caramel sauce.

Apples in a basket with flowers

A Random Assortment of Extras

A few other items to consider that are not essential to baking but could come in handy:

Toffee Bits

Mini M&M’s

Butterscotch morsels

Mini Marshmallows

Peanut Butter Chips

Raw Honey

Almond Extract

Light Corn Syrup

Molasses

 

I hope this guide helps give you ideas to get your kitchen ready for fall. 

If you love coffee, I put together this guide:

 A Few Favorite Things – Coffee Bar Essentials.

Maria

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