6 Tips for Safer Holiday Baking

Because of the popularity of baking shows and Instagram influencers, more amateur bakers are adding sparkle to their sweets with adornments like glitter and luster dust.

“It can be confusing, though, because not everything that is sold for cake and cookie decorating is actually safe to eat,” says Kierin Baldwin, a chef-instructor in the pastry and baking arts program at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported cases of heavy metal poisoning from baked goods decorated with nonedible luster dust.

Anything you’re using to dress up your treats should be clearly labeled as edible, and, by law, the label should list the ingredients, Baldwin says. “If the label says ‘nontoxic,’ ‘food safe’ or ‘food grade,’ that means it’s safe for it to come into contact with food—not that it’s actually safe to consume,” she says. She also cautions against sprinkling dragees (those shiny, little silver balls) on your cakes or cookies. They can contain silver or other metals, so they aren’t meant to be eaten.

“Generally, baked goods are low risk because they go through a heating step that kills pathogens,” says Abby Snyder, PhD, an associate professor of microbial food safety at Cornell University. “But good hygiene and food handling practices in the kitchen are still important.”

 The biggest food safety mistake people make is letting raw ingredients (or the utensils and surfaces they’ve touched) come into contact with cooked food or spread from their hands to other food or surfaces. 

“It’s as simple as cracking an egg on the countertop and getting bits of raw egg on your hands and the counter,” Baldwin says. “That egg now comes into contact with everything else you handle or put on the counter.” Keeping hands and surfaces clean is especially important when baking with children because they touch everything.

“Consumers may not necessarily consider it a risk the way they would, say, raw chicken,” says CR’s Mujahid. “but consuming any kind of raw flour can potentially lead to significant illness.” Salmonella and E. coli can contaminate the grains used to make flour in the fields where they grow. The pathogens can be deposited by wildlife defecating on farm soil or irrigation water being tainted by livestock waste. In fact, there have been several E. coli outbreaks linked to flour.  The powdery nature of flour means that it can easily spread across kitchen countertops while people bake. Taking the time to wipe your counters with a diluted bleach solution will help prevent raw flour from accidentally ending up on your cooked creations.

Licking beaters and sampling raw cookie dough may be a favorite childhood memory, but safety concerns make the practice off-limits these days. In addition to the risk posed by uncooked flour, raw eggs can contain salmonella. If you’re using eggs in a glaze, royal icing, or something else that’s not baked, use liquid eggs or egg whites that have been pasteurized in place of raw to reduce the risk.

Cookies, cakes, quick breads, and brownies can be kept covered at room temperature for a few days. Refrigerate anything made with cream (like cheesecake) or that has a custardy consistency (like bread pudding, pumpkin pie, or lemon squares).

It matters which cinnamon you use when you’re making snickerdoodles, spice cakes, or pumpkin pie. Consumer Reports tested 36 cinnamon powders, and found a third of them had concerning levels of lead. Fortunately, there were five cinnamon powders with very low lead levels. Any of them would be a safe choice to use this holiday season.

Want to upgrade your baking game? Consider these top-rated cookware—a great stand mixer, nonstick sheet pan, and a  Dutch oven great for bread baking—from CR’s tests.