Anyone else looking for handy kitchen gadgets for holiday cooking and baking? Since I’m cooking more of the big-ticket dishes this year, so I’ve been cruising my favorite culinary purveyors for fun new tools. And now that I’ve landed on these, I’m not sure how I ever cooked without them.
How have I been zesting lemons on a cheese grater all these years?!
So whether you’re new to roasting turkey for Thanksgiving or just looking to upgrade your cooking and baking arsenal for the upcoming holiday season, definitely give these a look.
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Related: 10 of our readers’ favorite pie recipes for the holiday season
We’re not huge meat eaters in my house, so when I do make it, I rely heavily on a meat thermometer to make sure I get it to a safe temperature. So naturally I’m coveting this Yummly Smart meat thermometer at Amazon that tells you not just when the meat is safe to eat, but also the temp it should be for medium rare, well done, etc., based on what you’re making. Plus when to flip. No more frantically googling “poultry temp done when,” while I’m roasting turkey.
So I’m not normally super into single-task kitchen items, but I have to say that this glass bulb baster at Williams-Sonoma is an exception. There’s just no easier, more precise way to get that crispy skin on your Thanksgiving turkey or roast chicken. Especially if you don’t want to drip hot fat onto the bottom of your oven for later clean-up (been there).
Take it from a woman who’s transferred multiple batches of hot soup into a standing blender, you need one of these! I love that this new KitchenAid cordless immersion blender can be charged ahead of time to go cord-free. If you’re planning to purée anything — soups, dips, broth — this holiday season, this will make your life easier. Trust me.
Related:7 tasty, healthy soup recipes for fall and winter!
If you’re still using your cheese grater to zest citrus fruits, stop it! This microplane grater from Williams-Sonoma will rock your world. And leave your knuckles nick-free, whoo! Also great for fluffy, snow-like parmesan. Yes please.
If you’re someone who uses turkey leftovers to make soup or broth, or who preps ahead of the holidays (wow, teach me your ways!), I think these Souper Cubes that Kristen discovered will come in handy. I like that they’re reusable (unlike the those Ziploc freezer bags) and let you portion out the servings.
A good pair of oven mitts is essential during the holiday cookie baking season. These oven mitts Liz swears by are fantastic because not only do they protect your fingers and hands, they help keep your wrists protected as well.
Related: Holiday baking substitutes to make your cookies and pies a little healthier
If you’re doing anything with dough this holiday season, I’d recommend the Oxo Good Grips scraper and chopper. I love that you can divide dough sections evenly, without it sticking to the chopper, and that you can use it to scrape up the leftover bits when you’re done.
It’s not specifically a Thanksgiving tool, but hear me out on why you need an Echo Show in our kitchen for holiday cooking. It boasts a trove of video recipes, which is awesome if I’m trying a new technique, like spatchcocking a turkey. I can set multiple timers and ask her to do all my conversions, hands-free, which is so nice if I’m cooking several dishes at once. Plus, I can ask Alexa for a recipe, scroll to the one with the best reviews, and have her add the ingredients to my shopping list.
To me, making gravy is one of those, “a minute to learn a learn, a lifetime to master” skills. But if your in-laws are arriving soon and you don’t have a lifetime, go for this cool OXO fat separator instead. So useful for siphoning off the fat in other dishes, too.
It’s a known fact that the pie crust always finishes baking before the rest of the pie. So avoid the burned edges with this lovely pie crust shield at Amazon, which I’m pretty sure is the ultimate of handy kitchen gadgets. Before I bought mine, I covered the pie with aluminum foil mid-way through baking, but these have been a game changer. And more sustainable, yay!
