Small gifts that still get used: a few compact kitchen tools, plus the hard-to-find seasonings and pantry jars that famous copycat recipes depend on. Every pick is linked to the recipes on this site that call for it.
As an Amazon Associate, Copycat Spices earns from qualifying purchases. Product links below go to Amazon. We research and fact-check our recipes rather than test-cook them, and we haven't tested this gear: each pick is here because the linked recipes call for it.
Compact tools that fit in a stocking and come up in recipe after recipe.
A handheld frother whips milk into café-style foam in seconds, the step that makes a coffee-shop latte copycat feel right.
Tells you in a few seconds whether meat is done or bread is baked through. Many recipes on this site give a target temperature.
See it on Amazon →Divides dough, lifts it off the counter, and scoops chopped vegetables into the pan.
See it on Amazon →Freshly grated cheese melts more smoothly than pre-shredded, which is coated to stop clumping.
For brushing butter onto biscuits and rolls, or sauce onto wings.
The specialty seasonings and pantry items that specific copycats can't do without. Easy to tuck into a stocking.
The celery-salt-and-paprika seafood seasoning behind many crab-shack and seafood-chain flavors.
See it on Amazon →Fermented Korean chili paste. It gives Korean fried chicken glazes and gochujang noodles their sweet heat, and there's no close substitute.
A spoonful deepens chocolate flavor in brownies and cakes without making them taste like coffee.
Darker and smoother than natural cocoa. It's what gives restaurant chocolate desserts their deep color.
See it on Amazon →Vanilla with the seeds included, for the speckled look of vanilla-bean drinks and ice cream.
See it on Amazon →The savory boost in a lot of fast-food chicken and takeout fried rice.
Sesame, poppy, garlic, onion, and salt in one jar, for bagels, salmon, and avocado toast.
See it on Amazon →A sesame-and-seaweed rice seasoning for salmon bowls, musubi, and sushi bakes.
