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Some simple cutout cookie cutters

A cookie cutter is a tool to cut out cookie dough in a particular shape. They are often used for seasonal occasions when well-known decorative shapes are desired, or for large batches of cookies where simplicity and uniformity are required. Cookie cutters have also been used for, among other uses, cutting and shaping tea sandwiches.

Types & Variations

• Cutout: Most commonly made of copper, tin, stainless steel, aluminum, or plastic. Cutouts are the simplest of the cookie cutters; the cutter is pressed into cookie dough that has been rolled flat to produce the shape of the cutter's outline.
• Detail imprint: Commonly made of copper, tin, or plastic. Detail imprints are similar to cutout cookie cutters, except that detail imprints also mark the surface of the dough.
• Cookie mold: Usually made of wood, ceramic, or plastic. Springerle molds are the oldest examples of such. A cookie mold typically has an ornate design debossed into the surface; the mold is pressed into the cookie dough to produce an embossed design.
• Cookie press: Automated or hand operated press used to make large batches of cookies quickly. The cookie dough is extruded onto the baking sheet in ornate shapes that would otherwise be too difficult or time-consuming to create by hand.

Alternate definition

"Cookie cutter," when used as an adjective, is defined as a "lack of originality or distinction" ^[1], a reference to the uniformity that results from the use of a cookie cutter.

References

See also

• Cookie decorating