Outside of skill, money, and time, I find that confidence is the biggest barrier between new cooks and putting dinner on the table. Confidence in cooking is more than just having the right equipment and necessary ingredients for a recipe. What are the steps you can take to trusting yourself in the kitchen?

The obvious answer to gain confidence at anything is just to do it more, but I’ve never found that advice particularly encouraging or helpful. Here are a few small, practical things you can put into practice in the next couple weeks that will improve your confidence in the kitchen and help you fall in love with cooking even more.

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I don’t often write about muffins or even make them at home because, to be honest, I just don’t like most muffins! The typical coffee shop fare tends to have big, domed tops and are often too sweet for my taste. I’m drawn to those dense hippie muffins that are packed with a good bit of whole grain flour and interesting flavors and textures — which is exactly the kind of muffin I’m sharing today.

These holiday-ready gingerbread muffins boast really subtle warm spices and just the right amount of dark sweetness. Let’s be honest: these provide a really good excuse to eat gingerbread for breakfast (in case you needed one).

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You probably don’t realize just how often you reach for these handy gadgets when you’re cooking. And that’s exactly what makes them great gifts! From an oil mister to a spice grinder to the best mandoline on the market these 11 actually great gadgets are about to make someone’s life ten times easier.

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Looking for a little something to get you into the holiday spirit? Something that could go under the tree just as easily as in your glass? I’ve got just the thing: let’s infuse some bourbon with holiday flavors. Throwing apples and cinnamon into bourbon feels like the cozy, boozy, slow start that this holiday season needs. You in? Great. Let’s seize the holidays.

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Who: Me Linh Coffee Garden
What: Coffee and weasel coffee producer
Where: Da Lat, Vietnam

Let’s do an experiment: think about coffee. Maybe you’re drinking a cup right now. Let’s follow that brew backwards. Let it jump out of your cup and back into the bag. From the bag, go back to the roaster. Let the bean fade from deep roasted brown to raw tan. Pack the beans up by the sackful and send them back to the grower. Now picture tall, shrub-like plants, standing close together, row by row. Maybe your coffee plantation is tiered on a hillside, dotted with rows. Imagine long, sagging, straight branches on the plants, covered with saturated red berries.

Are you thirsty yet? Good.

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When it comes to buying gifts for a cook, you can never go wrong with kitchen classics. For cooks of all experience levels, beautiful, useful, long-lasting kitchen tools are always a good idea. From a gorgeous salt cellar to a classic Staub Dutch oven, here are 10 picks guaranteed to make your cook a very happy cook indeed!

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