Did you know that the library is prepared for your holiday baking needs with more than just cookbooks – that we now have baking pans and tools available for checkout? I have to admit that I’ve made use of this collection a few times already (and my coworkers seem happy with the results!). If you just need a dino pan for your kid’s birthday but don’t need to make a dino cake every week, don’t shell out for your own cake pan, just borrow one. Aren’t planning on making yule log cakes all year round? We’ve got a yule log pan for that! Below, I’ll highlight a couple of the pans we have, the recipes I made in them, and my absolute favorite baking book. If you want to see all the pans we have, they’re in the catalog here!

The All-Purpose Baker’s Companion by King Arthur Baking

King Arthur Baking (previously King Arthur Flour) is my absolute number-one go-to for baking recipes. They have tons of recipes on their website as well, but this way, I won’t use up all the paper in the printer with all the wonderful recipes I find. It also has general baking information like ingredient substitutions (including making things gluten-free) and various tips and tricks for when something just isn’t working. I mean, it’s over 500 pages! You can’t go wrong.

Wilton Tart and Quiche Pan

If you like chocolate, this Bon Appetit recipe for a Chocolate Ganache Tart is a winner! This way my first time making a tart like this, and I was happy to note that it released easily from the pan. The crust is made from ground-up nuts, making it gluten-free; the flavor is just simply nuts, chocolate, and salt. You can customize it a bit based on what type of nuts you prefer.

And my pro tip? If you don’t want to shell out for fancy sea salt, kosher salt is a nicely chunky, and cheaper, alternative – that’s what you’ll see in the dish in my photograph. That way, people can sprinkle on the salt right when they cut a slice!

Nordic Ware Geo Bundlette

I actually ran out of white sugar recently, so I went looking for a recipe with other sweeteners. This recipe for Maple Bundt Cake is made with, of course, maple syrup, as well as brown sugar.

I actually only used 2/3 of the maple syrup called for, and I didn’t make any sort of glaze – because I also ran out of maple syrup! But honestly, I think it turned out excellently. With the lower amount of maple syrup, the cake was less sweet, and tasted very much like a pancake. Sprinkling a little powdered sugar on top would have been a good way to add a little extra sweetness, but I honestly liked them just the way they were.

Wilton Football Pan

Bonus fail photo! I recommend buying some of that spray that contains both oil and flour – it’s made a huge difference (as in, my cakes now actually release properly, like the bundlettes above). Oops!