2-in-1 Lemon and Lime Squeezer #ZulayKitchen

I've long been a fan of lemon, lime and orange squeezers as opposed to hand-squeezing or using a reamer. For one thing, when I use a squeezer, I don't get my hands as messy. And for another thing, it's just easier. You get more juice. And no messy hands.

Oh, I already mentioned the messy-hand thing, huh?

Seriously, though, I have dry-skin issues that sometimes leads to tiny cracks ... too much hand-washing after getting my hands messy makes it worse, and getting lemon or lime juice into those cracks not only makes it worse, but it hurts like heck. So, if I can squeeze citrus without getting my hands soaked in citrus, I'm a happy camper.

I've been wanting to try one of the dual squeezers for a while. It makes sense, so when I got a chance to test one from Zulay Kitchen, I knew I had to try it. Lemons and limes are the most squeezed citrus in my house, but lemons don't fit in lime squeezers, while lemon squeezers aren't real efficient when attacking the limes.

So, a dual purpose squeezer makes a whole lot of sense. One tool can handle two types of citrus (or really, two sizes of citrus) and if you happen to need both lemons and limes, you only dirty one tool.

This would be a great stocking stuffer for anyone who cooks or who uses citrus to make drinks.

Who's it for: People who need to juice lemons and limes often enough to want a gadget to help with the task.

Pros: You only need 1 tool for 2 different types of citrus; works just like the single squeezers.

Cons: Can't think of any.

Wishes: Would be cool if it also accommodated oranges, but I a tool that handled all three might be too bulky. But still, it would be cool.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review

Gingerdead Men Cookie Cutters

These cookie cutters just make me laugh.

I've seen all kinds of gingerbread cookie cutters - men, women, ninjas ... even some with bites taken out of them. But these cutters look inside the gingerbread men and show you the BONES.

Yup. Bones. Inside gingerbread men. They're Gingerdead Men!

Sure, you could use these for Halloween, but they'd be a riot for Christmas, too. Got a doctor in the family? Or someone who works with X-rays? Or a nurse or medical student? I'm sure they'd get a laugh out of these.

Or maybe even an athlete who's been known to crack a bone or two? Or someone who's interested in archaeology? Or just someone with a quirky sense of humor.

These would be a perfect sweet gift - either the cutters themselves or a box of baked and decorated cookies.

Speaking of decorating, the design isn't overly complicated, and the area to be filled is wider than some cutters I've used, so these would be a little easier for kids to decorate.

And wouldn't these be perfect for home made dog treats? hehe.

The way these work is that you stamp the cookies first, then cut them out with the other side of the stamp/cutter - they're one piece, so there aren't pieces you could lose or misplace.

While there's just one cutter design, you can give your cookies a little more individuality by cutting the cookies at slightly different angles - up, down, sideways - to make the fellas look like they're looking in different directions.

If you don't want to stamp the cookies, you can just the cutters for regular gingerbread men, and decorate any way you like.

I thought these were much cooler looking with the "bones" filled with white icing, but they also looked good undecorated - the impressions are deep enough that you can see the design really well without decorating.

I also tried brushing some cookies with an eggwash for a shiny look on the raised areas - there are a lot of options for decorating these!

I used a basic vanilla cookie recipe for these, but of course they'd work with any roll-out cookie recipe, whether it's vanilla, chocolate, or gingerbread.

If filling the indents with icing seems like too much trouble, you could also sprinkle these with powdered or colored sugar and brush the sugar off the raised areas. The decoration wouldn't be as permanent (and a bit more messy), but it would still look good on a cookie tray.

Who's it for: Anyone who likes interesting cookie cutters!

Pros: Fun! Easy to use.

Cons: None I can think of.

Wishes: It would be cool if there were several sizes of these, to make a whole gingerdead family!

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Sweet Spirits Day of the Dead Cookie Cutters

Whether you celebrate The Day of the Dead or not, the Sweet Spirits cookie cutters/stamps are crazy fun.

I tested them on a basic shortbread cookie recipe, and what I really really really love about these cutters is that the design on the stamp is deep enough that you can see the design really well, even if you don't decorate the cookies.

Yeah, they'd be a lot crazier looking if you decorate them - and how much fun would these be for kids! But they're just plain fun without the added icing.

While these are probably aimed directly at Day of the Dead, they'd be fun for any monster-themed party - kids love monsters, right? Or just for fun. They're crazy looking and they'd be a lot of fun to decorate in multiple colors.

I have some spring-loaded cookie cutters and two-piece cookie cutter-stamps, but these are different. The stamp is on one side, then you flip it over to cut. First you make the impression in the dough, then you cut out your cookie. So easy. And it works really well.

Besides using these for edible cookies, these would be fun for crafty things, like making clay ornaments. Not me, by they way. I'm not that crafty. But I could see someone else using them for that.

And these would be great stocking stuffers for anyone you know who likes baking or who likes unusual cookie cutters.

Hint: If you need these in a hurry this year, check out World Market if you have one near you.

Who's it for: Me. Um, I mean anyone who loves cookie cutters. Or cookies. Or Day of the Dead.

Pros: Easy to use. Crazy fun designs. Bright colors.

Cons: Not as universal as flowers or stars.

Wishes: None I can think of.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.