Cheesecloth and enameled cast-iron are great gifts for your average home-cook, but what about the folks who like to have a fun in the kitchen while producing tasty treats for friends and family? For them, look to odd resources for clever and surprising gifts that will help them create food while delighting their playful sides. Here are a few options to get you started:

– Just like the Seinfeld-immortalized obsession with muffin tops, the chewy edges of a pan of brownies are — for many people — the very reason to bake the chocolatey goodness in the first place. With lasagna, those crusty sections of caramelized cheese around the outside provide beautiful contrast to the gooey interior. So why bother with middle pieces at all? These pans are crisscrossed with a maze of metal, doubling the corner sections and making every piece an edge. $34.95 (brownie pan), $49.95 (lasagna pan), bakersedge.com

– R2 always seemed to have the tools for the job, from a shocking electro-discharge to leg-mounted jets, but did you know he's also an effective way to season your food? Fill up his internal reservoir with your personal mix of peppercorns, then just twist his noggin whenever you need a blast of spicy seasoning. $19.95, thinkgeek.com

Lightsaber Chopsticks, Space Invaders Cutting Board, and more, after the break:

This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2009.