I just saw this cookie stamp in an old Bon Appetit magazine. Of course, making cookies is fun, but stamping them with the words “Home Made” gives them one last flourish to really make them special. The stamp is made by Suck UK and retails for about $17 in the US.

Even though I love the design and look of this item, I have my doubts. Sure, kids would probably have fun stamping the dough, but I could also imagine a lot of squished cookies. I also wondered how well the message of “Home Made” would stand up to the baking process. I don’t bake that much, but it just seemed that the words wouldn’t appear that well in the cookies I am used to baking.

I found only a couple of reviews of this cookie stamp on the web, with the best one coming from the blog Dear Pigeon. The author actually tried it out on a batch of peanut butter cookies, and it definitely worked. You can check the photos in her blog post. With that said, the author concludes that the stamp would work best with cookies that don’t rise a lot during baking and have some color to them.

Another review on Amazon UK also thought the stamp was a bit too big for standard-sized cookies. The stamp part is made of silicon and measures 3 inches wide, so you can judge how well it would fit your cookie portions.

Here are some sources to buy the stamp in the United States: Spoon Sisters for $17 and Amazon for $21.25 with free shipping.

Half baking sheets (also called jelly roll pans) are indispensable in the kitchen. You can roast vegetables and meats on them in addition to taking care of numerous baking duties.

A week ago, I decided that a quarter-sized baking sheet would be a wonderful size for kids. It isn’t that children can’t use half-sheets when laying out some food, but they can at least lug around the quarter sheet because it is more their size. These pans usually measure around 12 x 9 inches.

There are several companies that make quarter-sized pans and most of the options will cost around $10. Lincoln Foodservice is the standard in many commercial kitchens, and I purchased the Lincoln Wear-Ever non-stick pan through Dean Supply for $11.35. It is very sturdy and high quality.

You can also check out your local restaurant supply store to see if they are available, and a lot of online restaurant supply stores will also have inexpensive quarter sheet options. Just keep in mind that online restaurant service vendors may have a minimum order requirement and shipping costs often eliminate the price advantage.

On Amazon there are a few products available. Nordic Ware has an uncoated quarter sheet for $9, and Chicago Metallic has a similar one for $10.50. Chicago Metallic’s non-stick pan sells for $10. I already have a couple Chicago Metallic half sheets and really like them. They’re good products.

So if you want to get some baking kit for your child, try out a smaller pan made by a cookware manufacturer. A lot of cooking sets for kids have baking pans included, but they are thin and only one step up from toys. Why not get an inexpensive real pan instead?

UPDATE: I just realized that Lincoln Foodservice no longer sells baking sheets. The parent company, Manitowoc, sold the smallwares division of Lincoln to Vollrath in December 2009.

When I was at Williams-Sonoma the other day, I purchased a (new) old-fashioned chrome egg beater for my daughter to use while cooking. I think this piece of equipment will be a fun item to have in the kitchen. Of course, after researching these hand-cranked beaters on the internet, it seems that the newer versions have some pitfalls. Some people complain that the gears are made out of nylon and not metal, causing some concern that they may not last a long time. With that said, I didn’t find many buyers complaining that the gears have actually broken.

It also appears as if one company is China is putting out a lot of these under different names. The Norpro and Kuhn Rikon egg beaters look almost exactly the same except for the handle, and the Kuhn Rikon is identical to the one I purchased at Williams-Sonoma for $20. Other people complain about the items not working that well and jamming up, and I can definitely see this happening. When I was at W-S I tried all of the egg beaters in the store (and of the same model) and some worked more smoothly than others, and one tended to seize up quite frequently. If you want a new product, I would recommend going to a store and trying them out before buying one.

There are some other concerns too. One is that the whisk blades are rounded and not flat. Apparently flat blades cut eggs and ingredients better than rounded ones as the eggs tend to slip off the rounded surface more. Also, on the newer versions there is a metal center piece on the frame that extends too far past the whisk blades, so it can be hard to mix ingredients at the very bottom of the bowl. Looking at the original patent schematic above, the blades are flat and the metal frame hardly protrudes past the blades. This is probably a better design.

In the end, I wish I hadn’t purchased this item and will likely return it. In my opinion, I would not recommend buying a new hand-rotary egg beater from a kitchen store. The new ones are likely made with inferior parts and not assembled as well, thus causing them to run less smoothly.

With that said, many of these newer products appear to be based upon the old Ekco hand beaters. If you look on eBay you can find tons of vintage hand mixers for less than you can buy them new from a kitchen store. You might as well purchase a good working vintage Ekco (or other brand) that was made in the USA. They will add some character to your kitchen and probably work better.

Another stop I made yesterday was at Crate&Barrel, and they had some neat cookware for kids. With that said, it was more expensive than IKEA, but that is to be expected I guess.

The first item was this set of mini cupcake spatulas. You can find similar items from Le Creuset and Williams-Sonoma, but they are more expensive. I paid $9.95 for the two (a bit spendy), but even at Amazon the cheapest set will cost you around $9 once shipping is factored in. I wouldn’t use these for heavy duty, but they would be perfect for little hands and small jobs.

I also picked up a strawberry huller for $7.95. It is a cute little gadget from Chef’n that gets very good reviews. It is actually cheaper at Crate&Barrel than at Amazon where it costs $9.

Another handy gadget I picked up was the Oxo Mini Angled Measuring Cup for $3.95. It’s useful because it allows for kids to measure tablespoons without the mess of a spoon measure. Just pour the liquid in with the cup on the counter. This item is also available from Amazon for $4 with free shipping.

As I have a kids-sized knife coming in from Korin, I also picked up a small, non-slip cutting board for $7.95. It is 7×10 inches, which is a nice size for kids, and it is also reversible. The end rubber grips are also very sticky to prevent sliding. I looked at specially made kids cutting boards too, but I didn’t like the cutesy shapes. They seem less functional and have a lot of wasted board space. This board, however, can be used long after your kid grows up.

The last couple of items I purchased were a mini silicone cookie spatula for $7.95 and some non-slip mini prep bowls for $2.95 a piece. Those last items were probably not necessary, but they were rather neat looking and matched my larger mixing bowls.

The picture above is of all the equipment from Crate&Barrel. I think if I were going to narrow my purchases down, I would go for the cutting board, Oxo measuring cup, and possibly the strawberry huller. Total cost would be $20.

As I have been browsing kitchen equipment for kids these days, one thing has really struck me: smaller versions of adult cooking gear are often better than items made especially for children. When there were only a few suppliers of kids cooking equipment, the sets for children seemed novel and neat, but now that cookware for kids is a booming business, I’m starting to see a lot of cheap and overpriced ‘junk’ out there. And an item in bold primary colors marketed for kids can sometimes be more expensive than the real thing and not as good of quality.

Take the rolling pin as an example. A lot of kids sets have cheap wooden rolling pins that will likely seize up rolling duty after accidentally being left in some water or put into the dishwasher a couple of times. I can hear the wood roller bloating right now and coming to a moaning, screeching halt as I type. They simply aren’t made to last — or really be used that much either.

Sil-Pin from Fiesta Products, however, is a company that makes real rolling pins for cooks and also happens to make a junior line. These items get high marks on consumer sites and are also made to last. Sure, you can get a wooden rolling pin for less (the Sil-Pin Jr. costs around $14), but I would bet that a non-stick, high quality rolling pin would be much less frustrating for a child and last much longer. I would personally choose a miniature real tool over an upgraded toy any day.

Of course, you don’t always have to go for the best and most expensive piece of cooking equipment. What is important is to know your kids and put forth the effort to incorporate them into the kitchen in a fun way. You could even use an empty beer bottle as a rolling pin as long as they were having fun and learning. But if your child liked baking a lot, I would probably splurge for something better though.

With that said, I am sure there are many good rolling pins out there. If I were going to choose one, I would probably look into one of these:

Vic Firth French Rolling Pins ($14-24)

Sil-Pin Jr Rolling Pins ($12-15)

Curious Chef Non Stick Rolling Pin ($8.50)

Yes, I know the last one is from a kids cookware company, but I like how Curious Chef has put an effort into making better cooking tools for kids. I own some of their products, and I have been impressed with the quality so far.  Also, the Vic Firth is a full-sized rolling pin, but I think the handle-less styles would be fun to use and can be passed down when the child grows up.

The French company, Mastrad, makes colorful silicone kitchenware and also has a children’s cooking line. With that said, it can sometimes be hard to find all of their products here in the US. I recently brought back some Mastrad terrine molds from France, but now I wish I had picked up these cookie cutters too.

The face imprints add a nice touch, and they can also be used for ice cream sandwiches and other whimsical food creations. If you visit the French-language portion of the site, you can view the different shapes and uses for the cookie cutters.

Of course, I can’t find these on sale in the US, but if you search for the French product name “Mastrad moules-emporte pièces avec empreinte” you can find some European vendors selling them, and they may ship to the US. The price for three cookie cutters is around 16 € without shipping.

In the January Saveur issue they give some recommendations on which yeast to use when faced with the choice of fresh yeast, active dry, and rapid rise (instant). The short article advises to stay away from old-fashioned fresh yeast as it is extremely perishable and you may end up buying a block that is already dead. Active dry and instant yeast are much more reliable and can be found in most supermarkets.

The difference between active dry and rapid rise yeast is how they are prepared. Active dry goes through a harsh drying process that removes 90 percent of the moisture and kills up to 70 percent of the yeast organisms. It also produces a hard coating around the granules, which is one of the reasons you need to proof dry active yeast. In the proofing process you are dissolving the hard coating in warm water with some sugar to get the yeast moving again, but most importantly you want to see if it is still alive. No life means your bread won’t rise.

Instant rise yeast goes through a much gentler process. Fewer yeast cells are killed, but this also means that it is more potent, so many bakers will recommend using less of it. Saveur recommends using 3/4 teaspoon to one teaspoon dry active yeast, but King Arthur Flour simply recommends ignoring it and using as much as the recipe calls for regardless of type. Rapid rise yeast also does not need to be proofed in water, so it can be added directly to other ingredients.

When storing yeast, it is best to keep it in an airtight container in the freezer. It can also be stored at room temperature in a cool dark place if sealed properly, but the freezer is still a safe bet. Just make sure the yeast is not exposed to high temperatures as this will cause the organisms to become inactive, and always check the expiration date on the package.

One note of interest is that the process of making active dry yeast was developed before World War II so that troops could have fresh bread. Fresh yeast simply couldn’t make the long trips and weather the conditions under which soldiers existed. If you want to know more about all things yeast and how it works to make wonderful bread, you can go to King Arthur Flour for a more extensive article.

I am finally trolling the internet and going through my old bookmark folders to find my favorite food-related blogs. It has been on my to-do list for some time, and now I am finally getting to it.

As I add to my links (sidebar to the right), I will also be giving special attention to websites that truly amaze me. I am always impressed with bloggers who dedicate so much time to their passion, and food bloggers impress me even more. They cook, photograph, write and put it all in a neat little package for the rest of the world to salivate over. I love that.

Today the site that amazed me is Tartelette. As a person who loves good food and photography, this site is amazing. Just browse her blog entries and you will be impressed. The creator is Helen Dujardin who is French but living in South Carolina. She used to be a professional pastry chef at a restaurant, but now she describes herself as a recipe developer, food writer, food stylist, and food photographer. She also gives private pastry classes.

If browsing through her blog isn’t enough, you can also see her wonderful photos at her photography site: helenedujardin.com. I am definitely going to look into buying some of her photographs for my kitchen.

The Saveur 100 came out recently and I am just now going through it. The Jan/Feb issue consists of 100 tips, ingredients, food, restaurants, cooking tools, books and other related food insight.

From this issue, I am going to cull some of my favorites from the top 100, and the first one is The Fresh Loaf bread making website. I’ve never seen this site before, but it looks amazing and certainly deserves attention if want to make your own bread or already bake your own loaves.

According to the website The Fresh Loaf describes itself as providing “news and information for amateur bakers and artisan bread enthusiasts” and the site “contains featured recipes, lessons, book reviews, a community forum and recipe exchange, and baker blogs.”

The Fresh Loaf certainly does all of that, but the description also doesn’t do the site justice. Simply browse the baker blogs to get an idea of what you can do with the help of this site. In the blogs you will be lavished with picture after picture of fabulous looking bread with very detailed instructions on how it was created. Just looking at the pictures is inspiring (see above). So while the site does offer a lot of resources for the bread baker, even more importantly it offers inspiration.

The backbone of the site, however, is instruction. There is a bread baking handbook with useful information, and specifically I found the baker’s math section of interest as it gives you the basic proportions for ingredients and the math to adjust your recipes. There is also a lessons section that offers five instructionals such as “Your First Loaf,” “Glazing” and “Time and Temperature.” And if you ever have questions about baking a particular loaf or want to know what went wrong if you have less-than-satisfying results, there are plenty of places to post questions for individualized guidance.

This is a great site all around if you love bread.