X out of 10

[Note: this isn’t my Christmas loot, but rather loot I bestowed upon my mom, and that I personally and enthusiastically used no more than 5 minutes after the unwrapping of said loot]

Cooking hard-boiled eggs is a time-consuming, smelly, inconvenient pain in the ass. Once you’ve invested the time it takes to get a good rolling boil going, you have to drop the eggs in and basically wait until the next time you’re hungry, ’cause by the time the eggs are cooked, you’ve already gnawed your arm off in desperation (that’s true, I read it somewhere).

Maybe I just have issues. But regardless, Cuisinart’s CEC-7 makes the whole egg-cooking process a whole lot easier, not to mention much faster. Just use the included measuring cup to tell the unit how many eggs you’re cooking and how hard or soft you like them (it automagically computes the required cooking time based on the amount of water you pour in), then put the lid on, flip a switch, and wait obediently for the pleasant chime that lets you know that egg-time has officially begun. Oh yeah, minor safety note: you have to punch a pin-sized hole in the egg (using a pin hidden on the measuring cup) so that bad boy don’t explode during the cooking process. Straight out of the box, it took me about 10 minutes, start to finish, to cook four eggs hard.

The cute-as-a-button CEC-7 also includes a handy little poaching tray that you can use to make poached eggs in a hurry, and without a mess. Best of all, its great price makes it the perfect gift for your favorite, err, egg-eater?

X = 9.0 for good design and great functionality, but limited usefulness (unless you eat eggs all the time).

Buy the Cuisinart CEC-7 Egg Cooker at Amazon.com