If you know someone who loves to bake, chances are good that you frequently enjoy the fruits - or cookies, cakes breads, etc - of their labors in the kitchen. While they do enjoy what they're doing, why not use the holidays as an excuse to pay them back with something that every baker either wants or needs? This list has eight of our top ideas for the baker in your life and, even though some of them are on the expensive side, keep in mind that you'll probably have a chance to enjoy anything that the create with these tools, too.

Topping the list of great gifts is a stand mixer. They're great for mixing up just about anything you could want to bake, from cookie dough to bread dough. The standard is the KitchenAid 4 1/2 quart mixer, which is a great choice for the casual baker, but if you're really serious, you might prefer to get a more powerful machine, like the 7-qt Viking mixer.

A silpat will keep cookies from over-browning on the bottom and sticking to baking sheets as they cool. They are also useful outside of the oven and can be used for rolling pie crusts, kneading bread dough and working with sugar during candy-making - all without worrying about anything sticking to your work surface.

The Baker's Edge Pan is ideal for brownies, cakes and other things that are traditionally baked in large sheet pans. Due to their unique design, everything will bake up evenly and consistently, and the nonstick surface makes for easy cleanup.

Pizza stones are a must-have item if you want to turn out perfectly crispy pizza crusts every time you bake. The stone absorbs far more heat than a baking sheet will, which means that it cooks the crust from the bottom up quickly and evenly, ensuring that your pie comes out exactly the way you want it - something you can't always count on with a regular baking sheet. Add a pizza peel and a pizza cutter to make it a gift pack.

If you get into artisanal bread baking and want to try for the perfect crust and chewy crumb that makes a great baguette, you'll definitely want to get a digital scale. It ensures precision with all of your recipes and makes it easy to convert grams to ounces (and vice versa).

King Arthur's Boxed Set of Baking Books may not have every single recipe that you could ever want to try, but it is a collection that comes a lot closer than most. It includes King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion and The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.

Who doesn't love a chocolate chip cookie? Not only can you find some great recipes in the book set mentioned above, but you can really improve the quality of the cookies by using high-quality chocolate and you can't go wrong with Callebaut. Stock up on their semisweet chocolate chips, chocolate chunks and white chocolate chunks and your baker will be prepared for all kinds of cookie making. For a really intense dark chocolate flavor, pick up a bag of cocoa nibs, too.

A sourdough starter is the gift that keeps on giving. With only a few cups of flour and water, the starter will be thriving and your home will (hopefully) be filled with the scent of freshly baked sourdough bread. The starter requires minimal care, but taking care of one seems to inspire even the most reluctant bread-bakers to try their hand at making a loaf or two.