I’m a Pastry Chef and I Swear by These 5 Bakeware Tools My Grandmother Loved

Grandma knows best, right? Well every time I tried to skip sifting the flour when we were baking together, my grandma would remind me of that saying. Well, she was right. Sifting flour (when the recipe calls for it) is so important for the textural outcome of any baked good. No one wants a dense cake! This Zulay sifter holds up to three cups of flour, has a single mesh filter, and its wood knob crank ensures good turnover, so no flour gets packed into a corner. Added bonus: It's made of rust-resistant stainless steel that's ultra-light, so sifting those large batches isn't a workout.

Is it just me who can only remember having lemon pound cake at Grandma’s? I doubt it. The only thing stoppping you (or me) from having lemon pound cake all the time is the right pan! Enter: a bundt pan. All of my grandma's pans were Nordic Ware, and now so are all of mine — these things last a lifetime. This Nordic Ware Bundt pan is made of lightweight, non-stick aluminum, so your cakes will release easily.

Nothing reminds me more of the holidays than making cookies with my grandma. Because a cookie press does not require any complicated chilling and rolling (and because that's what she did with her mother), we started this tradition when I was just a little kid. Luckily for us, cookie press technology has since improved! With the OXO Good Grips Cookie Press, all you have to do is press the cookies out with a lever. Easy! Not to mention, this press is made of plastic (aka no rusting) and is a breeze to take apart and clean. This cookie creator comes with 14 cookie plates so you can make all different shaped sweet treats. Plus, they have a Christmas Disk Set that I know is already on my holiday wish list.

Mini quiches? That's so '80s, right? Let's bring them back! My grandma would be thrilled (she kept them going way into the 2010s). Mini quiche pans can do so much more than hold quiche. Think: mini frittatas, flourless chocolate cakes, panna cottas, you name it. The only problem with the tradiitonal mini quiche pan is what a pain it can be to get the deliciousness out without any crumbling or cracking. That's where these little silicone tools come in, since they're super flexible, durable, BPA-free, and easy to clean. Heat and cold resistant, they can go from oven to fridge to dishwasher to freezer without a problem. These mini silicone pie pans make every baking project extra cute. Just imagine putting out a platter of mini cheesecakes during the holidays!

My grandma made the best cookies (so does yours, right?). She always used a cooling rack, a trick which truly changes the texture of a cookie post-bake, and something few of us actually take the time to use. My problem using a cooling rack (besides the fact that I usually eat all the cookies before they reach room temp) is that I just simply don't have enough counter space to lay out all those racks. That's why this triple tiered drying rack is so genius. This steel drying rack is reinforced with non-stick coating, super sturdy, and collapses down so you can easily stow it away until next time. Psst... it works for cakes, too!