I saved this article from last year and have been waiting the entire time to post it now. Like many of you, I am an avid baker year-round. But at holiday time, I do tend to up the quota. I balance between going back to favorite recipes and then searching stacks for something new to create. Cookies are at the top of this quest. Last year I think it was some Mexican Anise cookies and an Apricot/ Oatmeal Bar which sounded better than they actually tasted.
But one staple are always the Cut-outs. I have an old family recipe that makes a LARGE quantity. I halve that and it is still enough for us. I was also gifted a smart Wilton recipe that does not require chilling and produces a softer sugar cookie. And also, a standby of gingerbread that makes some really sweet red fox cookies in addition to the gingerbread men. A few years back I was gifted a set of Nija cutters that were also fun for the darker dough.
Just like cufflinks, cookie cutters have been a collectible for me. Something small to bring home after. They are small and easy to store. I have a lobster and crab from a trip to Providence decades ago. A hibiscus flower from Florida. Roller skates from a winter trip to New Jersey years back. A whole collection of leaves and acorns which are great for fall colors in a batch. Many snowflakes and Christmas trees. I have been thinking about a simple batch of various trees this season in different shades of green. How about a holiday sweater cookie cutter for silly decorating. I even have a series of bones and a fire hydrant for doggie treat bakes. I have a plastic sock cabinet in the basement with three drawers to keep them all sorted. And then I have a small cabinet for all the baubles, glitter and sugars on hand for decorating.
The article I am featuring is not about the cookies themselves, but the Cutter. Yes, there are the plastic and silicon "variants." But there is nothing that can take the place of the flimsy thin tin-plated steel cutters. This is a feature highlighting the Clark family from Rutland, Vermont. Ann & John Clark, along with their son Ben estimate they have a market on a very small pool of cookie cutter manufacturers in the US. They make around 65% of everything that is made and sold here.
The article talks about how they pivot to spot trends and what new original shapes they can add to the classics that come back year to year. I am hoping you are able to see the short video loop at the top of the story that shows the mechanical process of bending that thin steel ribbon easily and perfectly into a little tree. The Clarks can make 600-1000 "prints" an hour which makes it economical. They also speak to the advances in 3-D printing which will likely put a permanent crimp into their market. It also refers to the National Cookie Cutter Museum in Joplin MO. And explains the art of a design; they need to have minimal edges with no places of narrowness where the cutter can easily bend or burn the dough while baking. For me it was a moment of wonder where 'I never thought about where these came from." Buy a new and unusual shape this season and mix up a batch of bright colored frosting for a day of diversion in your kitchen!
NYT Times cookie cutter feature 12/23
