In The Kitchen... Cookie Cutters

Some of Myrna's collection

 Cookie cutters and biscuit cutters have been used for many, many years. Many like some of mine are cherished cutters of our parents and grandparents. When I use them I bring back so many memories of Christmas baking and warm biscuits baking on a cold Minnesota winter day.   Sue says the first Christmas gift she bought with her own money for our mom was a red plastic gingerbread man cookie cutter...she says she probably thought she might get more cookies that way!

 Between my daughter and I we have a collection going back to my Grandmother and some newer ones that she has bought or gotten as a gift. The collection is large and we do use a lot of them when we bake together and she uses more of them when she makes cookies on her own. 

 There are many styles of cookie cutters ranging from the earliest where you traced out a pattern and your local tinsmith made the cutter for you to the newer plastic and colored metal cutters. 
At one time I did own some tupperware cutters which I finally disposed of as they were not good cutters and hard to use and clean. The copper cutters are from my younger married years and the later plastic cutters are my daughters. Every year we make snowmen as that was always my kids favorite cookie shape and bells as that is mine. 

I really prefer the open metal cutters but always use the ones from my grandmother and mother every Christmas. You can use the smaller cutters to cut other things such as fancy sandwiches and canapés. Try cutting some shapes out of your pie crust to decorate the top of the pie and attach with egg wash. 

Some of Sue's collection

 Biscuit cutters are necessary to make nice shaped biscuits as they are sharper than a water glass and will cut a straight sharp edge. I also use them to make round cookies as there are a lot of different sizes. If you are making filled cookies or hand pies you will also want some of the larger biscuit cutters.   
Sue has a set of these square cutters, and a linked cutter, usually used in food service and restaurants; both leave little waste when cutting.  She also has these sets of multiple sizes, conveniently in metal tins, so they stay together.  You always have the right size!

 Really useful for things other than cookies, maybe some play dough for your little ones, they can be found in most supermarkets and specialty shops and make nice souvenirs from a vacation or stocking stuffer items. Try them as a gift for your kids teacher or a favorite relative.

You need cutters for these recipes:

Cream Wafers

Fresh Peach Turnovers

Grandma Hinderman's Christmas Cookies

Cornmeal Biscuits

Sally Ann Cookies

Ice Cream Sandwiches