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"With temperatures as low as 12\u02DAF in New York this week, it officially feels like winter. And while it&amp;#039;s not everyone&amp;#039;s favorite season, it does mean it&amp;#039;s time to gear up for some cold-weather classics in the kitchen, like hot soups and hearty stews. Here are five great tools to help keep you warm this winter.  Slow Cooker: On a cold winter night, nothing beats coming home to a hot cooked meal. A slow cooker does the time-consuming part for you, braising through the day so all you&amp;#039;re left to do is serve and enjoy! Our favorite is made by All-Clad ($180) but the Hamilton Beach Set &amp;#039;n Forget is a great value at $60.   Travel Mug: If you&amp;#039;re gearing up to spend some time outdoors or on a lengthy car ride, a good travel mug can keep your coffee, tea, or cider piping hot for hours. The Sipp Vacuum Insulated Tumbler from Thermos ($22) kept drinks hot for over 6 hours in our tests and it&amp;#039;s easy to use.  Cuisinart Soup Maker &amp;amp;amp; Blender: We&amp;#039;re big fans of this nifty appliance from Cuisinart, which functions like a full-sized blender with a built-in heating element, allowing you to heat and cook up to six cups of soup in a single vessel, no pot and no messy pouring required. ($200 at Williams-Sonoma)  Pressure Cooker: If you come home craving tender beef stew or pulled pork, a pressure cooker is the tool for the job. It cooks up to 70% faster thanbraising on top of the stove or in the oven. We love the Tramontina ($130) and the Fagor Futuro ($140).  Wafflemaker: Waffles are great for a warm, weekend-morning breakfast. And whether you make them from a mix or from scratch, once they&amp;#039;re covered in syrup or powdered sugar, they&amp;#039;re pretty hard to beat. For classic waffles, our top choice is the Chef&amp;#039;s Choice Classic WafflePro ($70). For thicker, Belgian style waffles, opt for the WafflePro Express ($95, also from Chef&amp;#039;s Choice) or the Flip Belgian Waffle Maker from Oster ($38). Want to see how we test everything? Sign up to take a free public tour of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a24350/winter-kitchen-tools/>