Halloween-inspired cooking gadgets help chefs celebrate the holiday season.
Instead, I've come to think of all of the holidays between October and January as opportunities to spend time with my family and cook comfort food. I love to bake, but the summer months are often too warm for it. So, when the weather gets cold, the oven starts to work overtime.
They may not be the latest in high tech, but I'm glad that Halloween-inspired kitchen gadgets, like the ones pictured here, exist. Tools like the pumpkin-shaped baking tin by Wilton make it possible for me to celebrate the fall holiday season without having to gorge myself on candy corn and fun-size chocolate bars. I also love to give cakes and sweet breads as gifts, and I think the little pumpkin cakes are so darn cute.
I also like the idea of having a set of pancake molds that look like jack-o-lanterns and ghosts. I'll only use them once a year, but at least they will be an excuse to invite over a bunch of friends for brunch the morning after Halloween parties or haunted house visits. They probably also double as cookie cutters, so I can make batches of spooky cookies for my dining-room table or for friends and family.
The Wilton baking mold makes eight mini-pumpkins and is available on Sur La Table's Web site for $30.00, and the pancake molds are available at Williams Sonoma, along with the rest of their line of Halloween-inspired cooking gadgets.