Dec. 12----For the foodie who wants to play with flavors, there is this: Smoked Brown Sugar and its siblings, Chili Smoked Brown Sugar and Whiskey Smoked Brown Sugar. Your mom certainly never mixed these into chocolate chip cookies. These are finishing sugars: sprinkle on, say, salmon, acorn squash, rumaki. Or add another dimension to desserts, whipped cream or after-dinner coffee. Our favorite? The kick in the chili version. These wood-smoked sugars are made by The Smoked Olive folks who created smoked olive oils. An 8-ounce bag is $14. For a store locator or to buy: thesmokedolive.com.
--A gift for the family's latke master this Hanukkah? Perhaps it's the spatula with a shape inspired by the menorah, the candelabrum important to the eight-day holiday. The shape works well for serving those delicious fried-in-oil potato pancakes. This version, made with heat-resistant plastic, is dishwasher safe. From the shop at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. It's $7.50. To buy: judaicashop.net.
--Should you be sipping a fine bourbon or single malt sometime this holiday season, sip in style with old-fashioned glasses from Pottery Barn. Each 4-inch-tall tumbler is adorned with an iron-and-pewter stag. The machine-molded glasses, dubbed Stag Coin Double Old-Fashioned, are $33 for two. Mountain cabin and fireplace not included. For a store locator or to buy: potterybarn.com.
--Give simple cookies a stamp of approval with this kid-friendly Baked for Santa stamp from Crate Barrel. It's made from rubberwood and features a food-grade silicone head that can be removed for cleaning. The head of the stamper is about 31/2 inches in diameter and worked well when we tested it with a basic sugar cookie. It's $7.95 -- the cutting board and cookie pictured are not included. For a store locator or to buy: crateandbarrel.com.
--Give the gift of a smile -- and let off steam -- with this Pig Cooking Lid. The flexible silicone disc is 81/2 inches in diameter and works in the microwave or as a lid for a stovetop pot. Best part: When steam accumulates, it's released through the pig's snout. Designed in Japan, the pig lid is dishwasher safe and available in pink at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. It's $23.95. To buy: mcachicagostore.org.
jhevrdejs@tribune.com
