Better cookies than our Full Sized oven!

A few weeks ago, I purchased the Cuisinart TOB-165 Toaster Oven with Convection Cooking to replace another toaster oven that was ruined because SOMEONE in my house left it on too long and the elements got damaged *fumes*. 

I work in the small appliance department of a local retail store, and one of my coworkers has the same toaster oven and was VERY happy with it.  Plus, I've seen many different reviews on this particular Cuisinart Toaster Oven, and decided from the excellent reviews, it was worth the financial investment.  I wasn't disappointed!

In my home, we usually do not use the toaster oven for toast or other breakfast foods...I had already bought a KitchenAid toaster for that.  My parents use the toaster exclusively, and I usually don't have to heat things in the morning because I either work nights or I'm not interesting in breakfast (as I'm not a morning person anyway).  However, I like using a toaster oven for things like baking small amounts of cookies, broiling cheese for French Onion Soup, and reheating things like coated chicken strips without burning the huge full sized oven.  Heck, it's only for me anyway!

I've made homemade cookies almost every day the past month with this little oven, and they turn out perfect every time!  I have the dough ready in the fridge, and I just pop in a few balls of dough into the toaster oven, and start the convection baking. 

Seriously, this little toaster oven makes better cookies than the full-sized oven!  They come out with a beautiful golden-brown tint that the conventional oven refuses to produce.

And it preheats super-fast too.  I barely get finished putting the cookie dough on the tray when the "temp ready" signal goes off!

I've also, as I mentioned, use it for reheating food, for example, beer batter fish fillets.  In the previous toaster oven, even when it was working well, burned parts of the fillets, and made them smell strange....."fishy".  They came out soft and greasy-feeling.

In the Cuisinart toaster oven, the same brand of fillets smells *wonderful*, and there just seems to be so much better flavor.  The batter coating is crisp and not greasy at all (a toaster oven that doesn't get hot enough will cause that).  Maybe the convection feature causes this, but all I know is that my food literally tastes better when heated or baked in this toaster oven.

The toaster oven is very roomy inside!!  I've already put 5 large chicken strips in this and had room to spare on the baking sheet for even much more!

The digital buttons, as others mentioned, have so many advantages.  It keeps the unit looking attractive because they're so easy to clean!  The color of the unit is a brilliant bright white that will most likely match whatever white appliances you may have that are not by the same manufacturer.

The only drawback I've had with this unit is that the convection function causes the things on our table to rattle!  We have NO counter space, so we have this on a corner of our kitchen table, with the toaster next to it.  The convection feature causes the toaster and the things near it to vibrate causing a bit of noise.  If you get one of these, it might be best to set it somewhere where the base is solid enough not to transmit the vibrations from the convection feature.  But all in all, I'd rather have a rattling toaster and perfectly done cookies!  :o)

I have not used this toaster oven for broiling yet, when I will I'll update.

All in all, it's worth the few extra bucks.  The cookie-lovers in your household will thank you!!