Gingerdead Men Cookie Cutters

These cookie cutters just make me laugh.

I've seen all kinds of gingerbread cookie cutters - men, women, ninjas ... even some with bites taken out of them. But these cutters look inside the gingerbread men and show you the BONES.

Yup. Bones. Inside gingerbread men. They're Gingerdead Men!

Sure, you could use these for Halloween, but they'd be a riot for Christmas, too. Got a doctor in the family? Or someone who works with X-rays? Or a nurse or medical student? I'm sure they'd get a laugh out of these.

Or maybe even an athlete who's been known to crack a bone or two? Or someone who's interested in archaeology? Or just someone with a quirky sense of humor.

These would be a perfect sweet gift - either the cutters themselves or a box of baked and decorated cookies.

Speaking of decorating, the design isn't overly complicated, and the area to be filled is wider than some cutters I've used, so these would be a little easier for kids to decorate.

And wouldn't these be perfect for home made dog treats? hehe.

The way these work is that you stamp the cookies first, then cut them out with the other side of the stamp/cutter - they're one piece, so there aren't pieces you could lose or misplace.

While there's just one cutter design, you can give your cookies a little more individuality by cutting the cookies at slightly different angles - up, down, sideways - to make the fellas look like they're looking in different directions.

If you don't want to stamp the cookies, you can just the cutters for regular gingerbread men, and decorate any way you like.

I thought these were much cooler looking with the "bones" filled with white icing, but they also looked good undecorated - the impressions are deep enough that you can see the design really well without decorating.

I also tried brushing some cookies with an eggwash for a shiny look on the raised areas - there are a lot of options for decorating these!

I used a basic vanilla cookie recipe for these, but of course they'd work with any roll-out cookie recipe, whether it's vanilla, chocolate, or gingerbread.

If filling the indents with icing seems like too much trouble, you could also sprinkle these with powdered or colored sugar and brush the sugar off the raised areas. The decoration wouldn't be as permanent (and a bit more messy), but it would still look good on a cookie tray.

Who's it for: Anyone who likes interesting cookie cutters!

Pros: Fun! Easy to use.

Cons: None I can think of.

Wishes: It would be cool if there were several sizes of these, to make a whole gingerdead family!

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Sweet Spirits Day of the Dead Cookie Cutters

Whether you celebrate The Day of the Dead or not, the Sweet Spirits cookie cutters/stamps are crazy fun.

I tested them on a basic shortbread cookie recipe, and what I really really really love about these cutters is that the design on the stamp is deep enough that you can see the design really well, even if you don't decorate the cookies.

Yeah, they'd be a lot crazier looking if you decorate them - and how much fun would these be for kids! But they're just plain fun without the added icing.

While these are probably aimed directly at Day of the Dead, they'd be fun for any monster-themed party - kids love monsters, right? Or just for fun. They're crazy looking and they'd be a lot of fun to decorate in multiple colors.

I have some spring-loaded cookie cutters and two-piece cookie cutter-stamps, but these are different. The stamp is on one side, then you flip it over to cut. First you make the impression in the dough, then you cut out your cookie. So easy. And it works really well.

Besides using these for edible cookies, these would be fun for crafty things, like making clay ornaments. Not me, by they way. I'm not that crafty. But I could see someone else using them for that.

And these would be great stocking stuffers for anyone you know who likes baking or who likes unusual cookie cutters.

Hint: If you need these in a hurry this year, check out World Market if you have one near you.

Who's it for: Me. Um, I mean anyone who loves cookie cutters. Or cookies. Or Day of the Dead.

Pros: Easy to use. Crazy fun designs. Bright colors.

Cons: Not as universal as flowers or stars.

Wishes: None I can think of.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Dig Ins Dinosaur Cookie Cutters

Dinosaur Cookie Cutters by Fred.

I will admit that I have a rather ... humongous ... cookie cutter collection. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to add to my collection. These days, though, I'm not looking for another star or flower.

I was particularly smitten with the Dig Ins dinosaur-themed cookie cutters from a whimsical company called Fred.

What I was most amused by was that they aren't just dinosaur outlines, but they impress the cookies with dinosaur bone designs. So the cookies are like you just dug up some dinosaurs. Neat, right?

I have a few cutters that work like this. Some are a single piece, but these cutters are each two pieces, with the cutter separate from the part that makes the impressions, so it's a little more versatile. You could, for example, impress the bone pattern into dough that you're not cutting into cookies.

At the moment, I'm not sure why I'd do that, but I'm sure there could be a reason.

Dinosaur ice cream sandwiches.

Or ... impress the bone design into bread before making toast or a grilled cheese sandwich? That might be interesting, yes?

While it's not exactly cookie-baking weather here, I used the cutters for making cookies that I used for making ice cream sandwiches for a magazine article I was writing. I liked the way they came out, and I think kids would totally love them.

The one problem I had - and it's a me-problem and not a cookie cutter problem - was that I decided to cheat and buy a premade cookie icing in a tube. When I cut the tip, I made the hole a little too large, so I had a little trouble piping the finer lines on the cookies.

If I was making a lot of cookies using these cutters, rather than just a few as an example of one possible shape for the article, I would have used my own icing and I would have used my smallest piping tip, and everything would have been perfect.

Who's it for: People who like quirky cookie cutters. Or people with kids who love dinosaurs.

Pros: Easy to use, easy to clean.

Cons: The cookies are a bit on the large side. That means the portions are larger, but on the other hand, smaller cookies wouldn't be able to have as much bone detail.

Wishes: I totally love this set - I could see doing a second set with different dinosaurs.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

3D Printed Cookie Cutters

A few years ago, I was on a mission to find a pi cookie cutter.

Not a cutter to cut pie cookies, or cookie pies. Or even pie-shaped cookies. I wanted a cookie cutter in the shape of the Greek letter pi.

I wanted it for pi day (March 17) and I wanted it just because I'm goofy and geeky. I looked for hours online and couldn't find one for sale anywhere.

Eventually, I found an obscure website where a guy would make cookie cutters from copper by hand. No doubt quenched in the tears of virgin unicorns. They were that expensive.

I let the idea rest. It wasn't that important.

Recently, I saw a mention of a guy who was making 3D printed custom cookie cutters ... well, you know I had to contact him. In no time at all, I got a reply:

So, to get started, you can send me an image of something that you'd like to make. I make cookie cutters and cookie stamps (the latter having detail on the inside in addition to the cutting edge). Cutters are $8 and stamps are $10. As far as the designing goes, the less detail the better. I ask customers to keep in mind that when baking, some of the detail will be lost.

Turnaround time is generally 1-2 weeks. It is possible that I can get them done sooner but, since I'm also Assistant Manager, it's unlikely. The 1-2 weeks is also a cushion in case I experience some error with the printer (the hardware and software can both throw me curveballs every once in a while).

Well, that's reasonable.

I emailed him a pretty version of the letter Pi, and he asked me if I wanted red, green, or orange cookie cutter, and what size I wanted. In no time at all I had a brand new cookie cutter. Easy peasy.

I haven't actually tested the cookie cutter yet, but ... seriously ... it's a cookie cutter. It's not like there are moving parts or anything. The cutting edge is plenty sharp to get through cookie dough, and the shape is exactly what I wanted.

Who's it for: People who want a cookie cutter shape that might not be commercially available. Like for company or school logos.

Pros: You get exactly what you want.

Cons: You need to have a drawing or a shape they can follow, so you can't just ask for a three-horned dinosaur with a spiked tail and long eyelashes. Not that anyone would ask for that, but you know what I mean - they won't design your logo for you.

Wishes: I wouldn't mind if the cutting depth was just a little bit deeper. This is fine for cookies, but sometimes I use cookie cutters for other purposes.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Aerolatte Cappuccino Art Stencils

When I first saw the Aerolatte Cappuccino Art Stencils, my first thought was ...
Cupcakes!

Seriously. If you're not into tall frostings, or you're covering your cupcakes with a poured ganache or you feel like your smooth frosting needs a little bit of glittery sugar design ... why not use a stencil?

I mean, seriously,

What I liked is that these weren't really coffee-motif stencils (although I'm not sure that you'd stencil a coffee bean on top of your latte) but they're a little more all-purpose, with a leaf, snowflake, swirl, winky face, heart, and star. So they're just as good for cupcakes, cookies (oooh, sugar cookies!), and cakes as they are for drinks.

The stencils are made from a fairly thick plastic and come in a metal case so you can keep them all together. Just hold the stencil over whatever you're decorating and sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon, or whatever on top of the item. Simple.

They're probably dishwasher safe, but this is one of those moments when I have to say - why bother? You're probably not dripping goopy stuff through the stencil - so they're simple to wash by hand. Or just rinse.

Although I haven't tried it (yet) I'm thinking these might also be fun to use along with a food-safe airbrush. Normally when you're using an airbrush with a stencil for regular painting, you attach the stencil to the item being painted, which might be iffy when we're talking about spraying food coloring onto frosting. Holding the stencil away from would make the designs less distinct, with fuzzy edges. But then again, we're talking about cake, not about labeling containers of plutonium. If the star looks more like a breezy flower, it's not going to be terrible.

Who's it for: People who need stencils rather than free-handing designs.

Pros: Easy to clean, easy to store.

Cons: They're small, so you'll have to remember where you put them - they could disappear into the bottom of a drawer easily.

Wishes: It would be nice if there were multiple sets - seasonal, holiday, etc.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Cake Boss Airbrush #Giveaway

My husband sort of laughs at me when I say I'm not very artistic. I think it's true. Or mostly true. You see, I can't really draw realistic things very well.

But I'm fine with abstract swirls and colors and swooshes.

So when I received an airbrush kit from Cake Boss, I was excited, enthusiastic, and just a little bit scared.

Would I make a mess of things, or would it be acceptable? I wasn't really expecting anything stunning or professional or pretty, or anything beyond "that's not too bad."

What I ended up with, on the first try, way wayyyyy beyond my expectations. And it was a heck of a lot of fun. And it was a lot faster than I expected. I whipped through a dozen cupcakes and looked around for something else I could airbrush.

Luckily, the dog was moving too fast, or she might have had a pretty gold gloss on her.

Before I used the airbrush, I did a little research online about what kind of food coloring to use. There are some that are formulated for airbrushes, but some people said that regular food coloring was okay, too. I decided that since this was a brand-new airbrush and I wanted the best results, I'd buy airbrush coloring. It was easy enough to find, I picked up a few basic colors and some pearl and gold as well.

I frosted some cupcakes with buttercream, let the buttercream dry long enough until it had a nice crust, then had some fun with colors. And I was more than pleased with the results.

These were no doubt the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made, and every one was a little bit different, which made them much more interesting, right? And. as a side note, this was an amazingly good chocolate cupcake recipe, too!

The cupcake recipe is HERE.

And keep in mind, this was my very first try, with no training and no instruction. I just twirled and sprayed and twirled and sprayed.

If I can do this, anyone can. YOU can.

The buttercream recipe is HERE.

Who's it for: Anyone who wants to have fun decorating cakes, cupcakes, cookies ...

Pros: Easy to use. Fun! Fun! Wheeee!

Cons: If you don't do a lot of decorating, an airbrush is an investment.

Source: I received an airbrush for myself from the manufacturer, and they are supplying one for the giveaway as well.

 GIVEAWAY IS OVER.

To make it a little bit easier for someone to decorate baked goods, I've got a Cake Boss airbrush kit to give away. Doesn't this look like fun? And it's really simple to use!

If the widget doesn't load right away, give it a couple seconds. This is worth it. I know someone will have a ton of fun!