Counter space, well spent.

Most toaster ovens live a pretty limited life: toast in the morning, forgotten the rest of the day. The good ones, though, earn their counter real estate by actually replacing your full oven for the small stuff — reheating leftovers, broiling a piece of fish, baking something that doesn’t need to heat up the whole kitchen on a July afternoon.

The Cuisinart Custom Classic Toaster Oven Broiler covers toast, bagel, bake, warm, and broil from a single dial. The toast shade dial lets you call your exact level of doneness — light, medium, or dark — so you stop playing the “is it done yet?” game every morning.

The automatic slide-out rack is a small thing that makes a real difference. When you open the door, the rack comes with it, so you’re not reaching into a hot box with a flimsy fork. The front-access crumb tray slides out without flipping the whole unit upside down over the sink.

Built-in cord storage keeps the countertop from looking like a cable management problem. The coated interior wipes clean without much effort. BPA-free food-contact parts throughout.