subject: Cookie Cutters: 4000 Years In The Making [print this page] Cookie Cutters: 4000 Years In The Making Cookie Cutters: 4000 Years In The Making
At some point in our history some one thought that circles were just too boring a shape for all cookies. Cookie cutters were the answer, but how did they evolve? Here are just a few bits of info on the history of these famous kitchen tools for your enjoyment.The modern day cookie cutter was not invented by one individual, but rather has evolved over time. In fact, you can go back as early as 2000 B.C. and find Egyptian ceramic or wooden baking molds that were used to bake up biscuits or cakes. Even back then they yearned for a bit more creativity, though pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles were still a ways off!Fast forward to the 16th century and we see the popularity of the gingerbread man start to grow. written history tells us about the first gingerbread cookies appearing in Queen Elizabeth I's court in England. It appears she had these cookies made as small, edible replicas of some of her more extinguished guests. Off with their heads! (and arms and legs... and gumdrop buttons.) As these gingerbread cookies started to become popular requests from bake shops in the 17th century, shops started using metal cutters to expedite the process of producing them.As Europeans migrated to America, so did some of their trends and customs, including the gingerbread man cookies and the cutters used to make them. It wasn't long before American metal workers started producing the cutters (in several shapes and sizes) and making them available to the general public. By the 19th century tin cookie cutters were being sold from shops and peddlers.By the mid 1800's commercial machinery had developed in both the United States and Europe to the point that all sorts of products were moved from being made by hand to produced in factories. By the turn of the century many businesses were creating and distributing cookie cutters in this way, offering them in catalogs, advertising them, and even importing them from abroad.While tin had been the main material for producing cookie cutters, they started being created from other materials as they became more available. During the mid 1900's we saw aluminum and plastic being used.Cookie cutters continued to grow in popularity as more shapes were created. During the 1970's and into the 1980's more women became domestic and worked on their own crafts at home, including decorated cookies. During this era we also witnessed an increase in spendable income, allowing people to spend more on such hobbies. As with many other products, there was a trend during the last quarter of the century to make manufacturing less expensive, and more cookie cutters were being manufactured in the likes of Malaysia, China, and other countries. However, cookie cutter production somehow survived being moved completely out of country and there are still a good number of cutters being made in the United States.Now you can find cookie cutters in just about any shape or size. Copper is now a commonly used material for cookie cutters, but plastic and tin are still the most commonly found. If you can't find a particular shape, there are cookie cutter companies that will create a custom shape for you. Likewise, you can buy your own kit to design and create your own cookie cutter.While cookie cutters are being bought for the obvious purpose of cutting out sugar cookies, there is also a lot of people that search for, bid on, and buy cookies simply to collect them. There is even an official Cookie Cutter Collectors Club (CCCC) that meets regularly and has a big following. There are at least a couple of Cookie Cutter Museums, and enthusiasts even enjoy a "National Cookie Cutter Week" (started by the CCCC) during the first week of December. Of course this marks the beginning of the biggest time of the year for decorating cookies: the Christmas season. Even if you don't care for the holiday, who can resist biting into a yellow frosted star cookie?
