I am at the midpoint of my holiday cookie baking.  I have a lot of fun each year making sugar cookies that I decorate with royal icing. In past years I have made snowmen, reindeer, and Jack Skellington cookies to name a few.

I am always on the lookout for new cutters to add to my collection. I take a few things into consideration when buying new cutters that you may find helpful. I usually ask myself the following questions:

1. What is the cutter made from –  plastic or metal (and what kind of metal)? 

Plastic cutters keep their shape well, but may crack or chip. Some plastic cutters can stain if the cookie dough contains food coloring. Check plastic cutters to make sure they are BPA free and dish washer safe for your health and convenience.

Metal cutters can bend and lose their shape. Sometimes I select a metal cutter with the intention to bend it into a new shape. Copper cutters are sturdier than most other metal cutters and will hold their shape nicely.  Copper cutters are more expensive and can discolor over time.

My own cookie cutter collection is about 50% plastic and 50% metal. In my own experience, my cookie doughs release from my metal cutters slightly better than from my plastic cutters.

2. How many designs can I make from this cutter?

I once bought an expensive copper cutter in a coffee mug shape to make cookies for a themed party. I justified the expense because I knew I could also use the cutter to make suitcase cookies. I have since used this one cutter to make scuba mask cookies, ski goggle cookies, menorah cookies and birthday cake cookies.

A well shaped and proportioned cutter can yield multiple designs with the right royal icing application. When choosing a cutter, I pick up it up and rotate it a few times. Then I visualize how many designs can be made from the cutter. It isn’t scientific, I just use my imagination and have fun. If I purchase the cutter, I trace the shape onto paper and sketch a bit to see how many designs I can create. I find it helps to have a plan. Every decorated cookie I make begins as a sketch.

This photo show how I took a carrot cutter and made vintage tree light bulb cookies from it.

3. If I don’t think I can make other designs from this cutter, do I LOVE it?

When ever I make any purchase, of any kind, I ask myself this question. When it comes to cookie cutters, I own a few specific shapes that I bought simply because I loved them!  For example, I rarely use my  crab shape cutter or my fleur de lis cutter, but when I do the cutters remind me of my travels and bring me joy.

If you are looking to add many cutters to your collection, or to start a collection, I recommend the “Betty Crocker 101 Cookie Cutters” set. I found the “Betty Crocker 101 Cookie Cutters” set on sale for $9.99 at my local supermarket. I was so excited to find it because I have only seen photos of it on other blogs!

The set of plastic cutters is BPA free and it is full of interesting shapes, letters and numbers too.

The set includes the following shapes:  alphabets (26), numbers (9), 3 circles (small, medium, large), 3 hearts (small, medium, large), 3 circles with scalloped edge (small, medium, large), 3 stars (small, medium, large), 2 bears (small, large), santa, gingerbread man, ball ornament, angel, deer, pine tree, snowman, candy cane, bell, stocking, baseball cap, football helmet, trophy, football, boot, foot, hand, hat, flag, hexagon, square, triangle, cat face, T-Rex dinosaur, Stegosaurus, fish, dog, dog bone, bat, 2 pumpkins (small, large), ghost, haunted house, moon, witch, cat, skull, heart with arrow, double heart, tiara, tulip, 10 petal flower, 6 petal flower, duck, bunny face, running bunny, egg, butterfly, carrot.

Have fun finding new cutter shapes and creating your own designs.  I hope my shopping tips were helpful.

Do you have a favorite cookie or holiday cookie tradition?

Share it in the comment section- I would love to hear your cookie stories!

Best of luck with your cookie baking for the holidays and throughout the year!

All the Best,

Jenn