A cookie cutter comes in two terms, if we are using American English we mean cookie cutter and if we used the Commonwealth English then we say biscuit cutter. The origin of the phrase “cookie cutter” is recently of American origin. Although this baking tools comes in two names, they have only one function that is to cut out a cookie, biscuit, or dough in a particular shape that we desired.
There are several types and variations for cookie cutters and these are the cutout, detail imprint, cookie mold and cookie press. Cutouts are the simplest type of cookie cutters, these would cut the dough in decorative forms and of different shapes. This type of cookie cutters is usually made up of plastic, stainless steel, aluminum, copper or tin. Stainless steel cookie cutters are better compared to other types of cutouts since it resists rusts.
Another variation of cutters is the detail imprint, it is similar with the cutouts but the detail imprints of the cutter is marked on the surface of the dough. Using this type of cutter, will give you more variation with the designs you want for your cookies.
On the other hand, a cookie mold is usually made up wood, ceramic or plastic. Using this type of cookie cutter when pressed on the cookie will produce and embossed design. A particular example for this type of cookie mold is the springerle molds. This kind of cookie mold, is being used in making a German biscuit, named Springerle, from the which the name of the mold came from. Traditionally this type of molds are usually made up of wood, and pear wood is the most sought after mold due to its weight and durability.
Lastly, another type of cookie cutter is the cookie press, a hand operated press uses a plunger to push the cookie dough out and produce cookies of several shapes and forms. While the automated cookie press, the cookie dough is extruded out in various decorative shapes. The advantage of this automated press is that, you can produce large batches of cookies in a short time, as compared to the hand operated press, wherein its rather time consuming. A tip on using a cookie press, the cookie dough should have a soft texture, and the cookie press should not be used in cookies that used a solid ingredients like oatmeal and chocolate chips.
