Let the mystique be gone surrounding mister bottles. These gems shouldn't be tucked away, but in use daily in your kitchen for split-second additions to innovative meals.

The decorative (often brushed aluminum or stainless steel) non-aerosol canisters are sold in gourmet stores and online under a number of brands starting at about $10. Many are dishwasher safe. Some come in multi-bottle sets, so you can use more than one mixture per recipe.

The misters were originally created to spray olive oil and then quickly picked up by dieters who wanted flavor without many calories. Oil is just a start, though. When you place your favorite vinegars, wines, juices or other liquids inside, they become an easily pumped high-flavor fine mist for grilled, sauteed, roasted, basted or other dishes. They can be used before cooking or afterward just before serving.

The fun — and often, overlooked part — is that you can use surprising ingredients or mix-and-match for unique flavors. Anything liquid goes, as long as it is not thick (those can be diluted first with water), and fresh herbs or spices can be added for additional pizzazz.

Use these hazelnut cookies for inspiration. After cooling, I electrified them with a delicious chocolate-sherry mist.

HAZELNUT COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE-SHERRY MIST

1/4 cup stevia sweetener (or equivalent sweetness of sweetener of choice)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon espresso powder or granules or instant coffee powder

2 cups hazelnuts

4 large egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Chocolate syrup, to taste

Sherry, to taste

Yields about 30 cookies.

Place racks in center of oven. Preheat oven to 325 F.

Spray baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray.

Place stevia, salt, espresso powder and nuts in food processor and process until fine. Transfer mixture to mixing bowl.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.

Fold nut mixture gently into egg whites. Add vanilla extract and almond extract and mix until blended.

Spoon batter by rounded teaspoonfuls. Flatten slightly onto cookie sheets but don't crowd.

Carefully place in oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden on top. Completely cool.

Place chocolate syrup, enough water to thin it and sherry in mister bottle. Spray over cooled cookies.

— Adapted from Clean Eating magazine

CRISPY BREADED VEGETABLES WITH ROSEMARY-BALSAMIC VINEGAR MIST

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

2 cups multibran flakes cereal, crushed

1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped

Ground cayenne pepper, to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 eggs

1/4 whole-wheat flour

4 cups total chopped raw zucchini, raw mushrooms, raw red onion and roasted sweet potato (see Note), all cut into bite-sized even pieces

Yields 8 servings.

Place balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl and mix with rosemary. Place in mister bottle. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix cereal flakes, basil, cayenne pepper and parmesan cheese together in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper.

Using a separate medium bowl, beat eggs with a fork for 1 minute. Put flour in another large bowl. Making sure vegetables are dry, dip them, about a cup at a time into the flour and into beaten egg. Scoop them out of eggs with a slotted spoon, draining well. Then dip into dry mixture, coating well.

Place vegetables on baking sheet, making sure they do not touch each other. Spray lightly with mister bottle of balsamic vinegar-rosemary mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes. Carefully turn over with a utensil and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. Good served with creamy salad dressing as a dip.

Note: To roast sweet potato pieces, place in preheated 300 F oven for about 10 minutes, after first spraying lightly with aforementioned rosemary-balsamic vinaigrette from mister bottle.

— Adapted from dLife-TV/CNBC

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.