Making homemade ice cream used to be hard work, but the results were so much better than the store bought ice cream. Today, you don’t need to hassle with cranks, salt and ice. Simply store the bowl in your freezer until you’re ready to make your dessert. Add your ingredients, turn the machine on, and wait for 20 to 40 minutes.

The Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker measures 10 inches in diameter and is 15 inches high, which is good if you have limited counter space like I do. It also comes with a 3-year limited warranty and an instruction book that includes a variety of recipes for ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet and frozen drinks. Priced at $50, this is the mid-range of ice cream makers. KitchenAid is hopelessly expensive, and then there are the ultra cheap models ($20 and under).

If I were to buy an ice cream maker, it would be this one because it’s one of the most popular and Cuisinart is a good brand. With the summer and wedding seasons coming, I see this as a great gift.

My first reaction when I saw smore maker was, “How cute!” I found myself drawn more the the Hershey’s Kiss-shaped fondue maker because I could see myself making a variety of fondue. However, my kids would enjoy using both appliances.

The smore maker is designed to look just like a marshmallow sitting on a Hershey’s candy bar. It comes with four marshmallow forks, heating elements, and a plate to hold your fondue or smore ingredients. You can get the original smore maker, without the bonus.