It’s a shame to think how many households at this very moment have a collection of cookie cutters stored away with the holiday decor. Cookie cutters of all shapes and sizes, sitting in gallon Ziplock bags or old cookie tins of Christmas past, just waiting for the one or two times per year they get to make their appearance.
Let’s make sure your family doesn’t make the same mistake by wasting these small but mighty shapes throughout the year! Here are 15 unconventional uses for cookie cutters, from craft projects to home decor and other year-round culinary uses you may never have thought of!
Cookie Cutter Craft Projects
Paint Stampers – Squirt a few dabs of your favorite colors onto a paper plate. Then, gently dip your cookie cutter shapes into the colors and place down firmly on the surface to which you want to add some fun-colored shapes! Plain wrapping paper is a great idea for this!
Soap Molds – Silicone and plastic molds can get expensive, so give your cookie cutters a try. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet with your chosen metal cutters down and slowly add your soap mixture from the top. Let dry following the soap instructions.
Upcycled Crayons – All those broken crayons lying around can be given a second chance at life! Using a wax paper-lined cookie sheet, place broken crayons inside metal cookie cutters and bake in the oven until melted together. Let cook and enjoy fun shapes to color with!
Salt Dough Ornaments – Flour, salt, and water is all you need for a long-lasting dough recipe! Follow a favorite you find online and use cookie cutters to create interesting ornaments you can decorate with paint, glitter, ModPodge, and more. Add a small hole and some string to hang.
Pumpkin Carving – Create silly or spooky designs on this year’s pumpkins with your cookie cutters by placing them where you’d like the cutout to appear and holding a wood block up to it. Then, gently hammer the shape into the flesh of the pumpkin! Finally, pop out the excess.
Cookie Cutter Home Decor
Bird Seed Feeders – Add something sweet for the birds in your backyard! Cook 1 packet of unflavored gelatin according to instructions, let cool and add birdseed, mixing it well. Scoop the mixture into cookie cutters; then, using a straw, poke a small hole to tie twine so you can hang outside. Pop in your freezer for 30 minutes and enjoy!
Mason Jar Memories – Have some vintage or heirloom cookie cutters that have been in the family for years? Add them to a Mason jar with some fun photographs, little sayings on paper, and anything else to store special memories and keep them on display in the kitchen!
Tealight Candles – Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, place your cookie cutters down, adding a small candlewick to the center of each, and pour your preheated wax in while pressing down on the cutters. Let cool naturally or place in the refrigerator.
Kitchen Banner – Sometimes, the best home decor is the practical kind. Put those cute cookie cutters on display in your kitchen by lining them up and threading through them some rustic twine or colorful ribbon and hanging high on the wall.
Napkin Rings – Creating a beautiful tablescape for a holiday or celebration? Use a coordinating cookie cutter as your napkin rings. Make sure you know your seating count and have one per place setting.
Cookie Cutter Culinary Additions
Melon Cutters – From watermelon to honeydew, a simple way to prepare and serve your melon all year long is to cut it out with whichever cookie cutter shapes feel most festive. Great for littles!
Sandwich Shapers – Nothing is more fun than opening up your lunchbox to discover butterfly- or video-game- controller-shaped sandwiches! Keep some silly-shaped cutters in your utensil drawer to shape up your child’s lunch.
Fried Egg Molds – Warm up your frying pan and crack your eggs directly into your metal cookie cutter with a little nonstick cooking spray, and breakfast will be transformed!
Jello Jigglers – You’ve seen traditional Jello molds, but did you know that cookie cutters make great wiggly-jiggly Jello cutouts? You can pour the Jello mixture into the cutters, leaving ⅛” of space at the top so you can pop them out easily and keep refrigerated before serving.
Pie Crust Decorations – Move over, Martha Stewart! Take inventory of your smallest cookie cutters in the collection and cut out a few shapes from the excess dough to adorn the crust. Tiny leaves and acorns look beautiful on an apple or pumpkin pie for fall!
