I like to say I enjoy the simple things in life, I just do so in an elaborate way. Two of my favorite things are cooking and baking. My ideal weekend is spent in the kitchen crafting a new recipe or testing a new technique. Feeding the people I love is one of my favorite ways to show affection.
With my love of making (and eating) food weaving into many parts of my life, I've collected numerous kitchen gadgets and products over the years. Loved ones give me cooking gifts all the time, and this is a collection of the favorites I've received and the items I've added to my growing wish list. If you're looking for gifts for cooks in your life, they might bubble over with joy to receive one of these items.
I love to cook, but I hate shredding cheese. I've grated it, used my food processor, and even just purchased it pre-shredded. But none of those methods compare to the Kitchenaid cheese shredding attachment when it comes to efficiency and freshness.
If you want to get a gift for someone who cooks or bakes, they probably already have the KitchenAid base. This attachment will add to all the things their mixer can do.
My dream as a gal who loves to cook is to have an aesthetic Dutch oven for all of my cozy and comforting recipes. You know the ones: gorgeous but outrageously expensive. I recently attended a dinner party with friends when my fellow cooking fanatic made the most amazing bread in his Dutch oven. After expressing my jealousy, he told me that it wasn't a splurge but a lovely and affordable Dutch oven from Amazon! It's now on my Christmas wish list.
For all of us cooks who want our food and our kitchen tools to be beautiful, Drew Barrymore has given us the cookware line of our dreams. Everything in the line is dreamy, but this slow cooker set is also practical.
I love to cook, which means I also love to entertain. These are pretty enough to leave on the counter and the perfect size for serving appetizers and dips.
I'm going to toot my own horn a bit: I make the best homemade tortillas. But I don't make them as often as I would like because the process is long. But a tortilla press that can handle our weekly taco nights would make my life easier and full of more of my favorite recipes. I may be buying this cooking gift for myself this year.
Cast iron changes the game for those of us who love to cook. If you know someone whose prized possession is their well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, they might appreciate this popular cast-iron conditioning scrub. On its own or added to a gift basket, this is a truly thoughtful gift for the cook in your life.
As a cook and baker, I go through a lot of butter and cheese. But with just a family of three, we don't often use an entire block or stick at a time. I love that I can stop tossing poorly sealed butter sticks back into the refrigerator with these covers. Plus, I save on all the plastic zipper bags that usually store my half-used blocks of cheese.
We have homemade pizza in our home often. I love to make it, and my whole family loves to eat it. But, I don't have an endless amount of counter space to work with. These pizza stands are functional and beautiful, which means I need them in my life. No more teetering pizza pans over the kitchen sink.
For the cook in your life who already has everything, or is very particular about their kitchen gadgets, a traditional gift item might be the way to go. I know I can never have too many dish towels on hand, and I prefer they have a bit of personality. These punny dish towels are almost too cute to pass up.
Some of the best gifts for cooks aren't always what fits on their kitchen counter. As someone who has spent hours at a time cooking in a kitchen with hard tile flooring, these anti-fatigue floor mats are a lifesaver. What I love most is that they don't look like traditional cushiony kitchen mats, but they're actually pretty and fit the style of my kitchen.
I love a practical non-stick pan and a cast iron skillet that makes the world's best cornbread. But, neither of those is as lovely as this classy saucepan. For a cozy fall soup, a decadent sauce, or even an aromatic simmer pot (to cover all those garlic smells cooks often produce), this pot is beautiful atop your stove.
Real cooks know that garlic is the secret to just about everything. This garlic baker is the traditional kitchen gadget many kitchens are missing. Give the cook in your life a reason to make your favorite dishes more often with this handy garlic-baking tool.
A friend gifted me a personalized cutting board for Christmas a few years ago, and it's still one of my favorite gifts ever. I love that it served a practical need and offered a personal touch to my kitchen decor. If you're looking for a meaningful gift for a person who loves to cook, this one will probably touch their heart.
Those who love to cook also tend to be small kitchen appliance collectors. Meaning we have cluttered counters and messy cords during our cooking adventures. These handy stick-on cord organizers keep your appliance cords tidy when they aren't in use. As someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, I get excited about anything that helps me keep it clean.
As cooks, we expect to spend a large part of the dinner party in the kitchen. But we also love encouraging guests to join us. This hot plate does just that! Serving appetizers and warm dips atop an aesthetic stone hot plate invites guests to linger at the counter and chat while the cook finishes the main course.
Everyone is taking the sourdough bread journey lately, and even the cooks who swore they couldn't bake are getting in on the trend. If you're going to make bread right, you need a dough-scoring knife for beautiful bakes. The newbie bread maker and the seasoned baker will love this thoughtful gift.
Cook Up Some Great Gifts
Even if you don't know your own way around the kitchen, you can still give a unique gift to a cook you know. Rather than gifting things they may already have or going for the expected, try one of these ideas to show them you gave their present some thought.
