In case you missed the first part, go back here to see the first edition of the first ever NYC Nom Nom Official Gift Guide. And don’t forget about the first ever giveaway (information at the bottom of the posts). Lots of firsts… I love it!
For Part 2, I’ll start with something I have owned since college and get a ton of use out of. This 3-tier Cooling Rack doubles as a trivet and is great for putting under hot cookie sheets. It is the perfect contraption for cooling cookies and you can find a set for $10 (and these are nonstick coated, which mine are not).
And I love that it collapses (since my cabinet space is limited).
Next is a gift that I literally received TODAY: a That’s My Pan personalized pans (Thank you, Kim!). These make for awesome gifts because you can personalize them for your favorite foodie.
You can order them online and the I haven’t tried it out yet, however, it seems a sturdy, nice quality pan and it has a lifetime guarantee. Original 9×13 pan is $26 including engraving. They also have cutlery, recipe boxes, pie pans, and tons of other things that you can personalize. How cool! And you can personalize the pan cover, too! (I love pans with covers… makes brownie transport nice and easy!)
I saw the WonderCup on a blog and knew I had to have it immediately. I measure a lot of peanut butter since I make a lot of chocolate peanut butter bars and cups. This solves the ridiculous problem of not only having to scrape it out of the jar, but then having to smush it into the cup and then get it back out of the measuring cup and into your bowl (without winding up covered in the sticky mess).
This allows you to pull down the plunger to your desired measurement increment (in cups, tablespoons, etc), fill it with your desired sticky substance, and then plunge it out, cleanly. It’s currently less than $6 on Amazon. It’s perfect for basically anything you need to measure that’s sticky, including syrup and honey.
My next recommendation is a spice company that my aunt recently turned me on to, Penzeys Spices. They make high quality spices and you can really taste the difference. Their vanilla is sensational and I really like the two different cinnamons that came in my gift box (the Baker’s Assortment 9 Jar). I never really realized that there were such contrasting versions of cinnamon!
They currently have a special on their mini gift boxes (which have Four 4 ounce samples on a particular theme: general sampler, baking, or grill & broil) for $7.95 through the end of 2010.
Another gift suggestion is for someone who really loves to make (or eat) chocolate. I bought these Mini Peanut Butter Cup Molds a few months ago and I now use them all the time to make, you guessed it, mini peanut butter cups (in all different types of chocolate)!
You just melt chocolate and put a little dollop in the bottom of the mold. Then you take your finger and swirl it around and up the sides so you have a little hollowed cup. Then you mix up some peanut butter filling (recipe here) and add a small dollop to the chocolate cups. Then you just pour the melted chocolate over top of the filling, tap it down to smooth (and add a little kiss with your fingertip if you want it to look more homemade) and put it in the fridge to harden. Fantastic, easy, and makes you look like a master candy maker! They are a whopping $2.39 on Amazon. Personally, I would much rather these be made of something that is dishwasher safe, however, these definitely serve their purpose.
While on the topic of chocolate, my final recommendation is a cocoa brand that I first sampled at the New York Coffee & Tea Festival, Best Friends Cocoa. I have been meaning to write about them for months! I was honored to have the ability to interview the owner of this family company about cocoa and how one comes to own a cocoa company. I will be posting the interview, and some highlights of the Festival, in the next few weeks! What I love about this cocoa is that not only is it low-fat (since it’s real cocoa and not “hot chocolate”), it tastes great! I LOVE their cinnamon twist flavor.
(And yes… I did take this opportunity to stage a countertop photo shoot with my favoritist hot chocolate mug/saucer set… thank you Wegmans,Ithaca, NY, circa 2002)
I’ve even made some great diet chocolate “shake” drinks by combining some almond milk, Best Friends Cocoa, and frozen cherries. DELISH! (Cocoa is not just a winter drink!)
So now back to the fun again… THE GIVEAWAY! I will be giving away a set of my favorite product of 2010, the Betty Crocker Baking Cups, to one lucky reader. It will also come with a printed copy of the Super Secret Axelrod Brownie recipe (which you can make in the cups!)
Here are the rules: Leave a comment below about which product from the NYC Nom Nom Official Gift Guide (there are three parts, all posted on Thursday, December 9th, including a special on wine products) you covet the most. Please be sure to leave me your name and an email address. (Limit: one comment entry per person… so no comment spamming!) If you would prefer to email me, you can feel free to do so at sara@nycnomnom.com.
You can earn additional entries by posting a link to this blog on Facebook, Twitter, your website or just emailing it to all your friends (one entry per post). Just send me a screenshot or link to NYC Nom Nom from the post/email (flex that “@” key!)
I’ll be taking entries through midnight, EST on Tuesday, December 14th and do the drawing on Wednesday, December 15th.
Happy Holiday Nomming!
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