Our Favorite Christmas Cookie Cutters for Holiday Baking
Courtesy of Food52
'Tis the season for all things merry and bright, which includes one of our favorite holiday traditions: making dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies. What's not to love about the smell of freshly-baked cookies filling the kitchen and the sounds of festive music playing in the background while decorating those treats with loved ones? In addition to having a great recipe, cookie cutters that are on-theme are another must. To ensure that your cookies keep their shape while baking in the oven, you need to start with cold dough. "I'm usually making cookies with the kids, which means chilling the dough in smaller portions to offer a quick roll-out before getting them right into the oven," says Rachel Diaz Pirard, co-owner and pastry chef of Casa Ora in Brooklyn, New York. Working with cold dough should also help with sticking, but if you find that the dough is still adhering to your cutter, she recommends drying the cutter and making sure there's no dough residue on it; lightly dusting your cutters with flour before pressing them into the dough will also help.
As far as decorating goes, Belinda Wei, co-owner and chef of Dear Bella Creamery in Los Angeles, California, is all about chocolate. "I will find anything to dip in chocolate, especially cookies, which I do a half dip on," she says. "This is my favorite way to decorate cookies because it adds a velvety layer of texture, gives a touch of decadence, and toppings stick really well to it." For frosting, buttercream is her go-to as the texture is a nice contrast to the cookies, plus sprinkles sit on top rather than sinking in.
When it comes to cleaning cookie cutters, both chefs recommend steering clear of the dishwasher. "Wash them by hand with mild dish soap and towel dry to prevent moisture from eroding the metal," Pirard advises. "The packaging may say dishwasher-safe, but I never recommend it for long-term use of the cutters."
Top Picks
Best Gingerbread Cookie Cutter: Martha Stewart Collection Gingerbread Cookie Set
Best Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter: Ann Clark Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter
Most Detailed Cookie Cutter Design: Temucy Christmas Cookie Cutters
Most Splurge-Worthy Cookie Cutter: RBV Birkmann Holiday Cookie Cutters
Best Mini Cookie Cutter: Christmas Mini Cookie Cutters
Related: These Are the Holiday Cookies Our Food Editors Make Year After Year
Best Gingerbread Cookie Cutter
We can't help but smile whenever we look at this baking set, which includes a gingerbread cookie cutter and coordinating turner. It's a Macy's exclusive that was designed by Martha herself. The turner is dishwasher-safe, but the cutter (which measures 2.4 x 1.9 inches) should be hand-washed.
Shop Now: Martha Stewart Collection Gingerbread Cookie Set, $10.39, macys.com.
Best Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter
This cookie cutter shaped like a Christmas tree creates the perfect canvas for decorating. You can keep it simple with just a layer of green frosting or go all-in with ornaments and a topper made of sprinkles and other edible ingredients. The Ann Clark Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter measures four inches tall and is made in the U.S.A. of certified food safe steel.
Shop Now: Ann Clark Christmas Tree Cookie Cutter, $6.99, amazon.com.
Most Detailed Cookie Cutter Design
When you want to press details as well as cut out festive shapes in cookie dough, this set is exactly what you need. Each has a stamping component that etches details into the cookies. If you just want the general outline, each plastic cutter can be taken apart to separate the shape cutter and stamper. The set comes with six different designs: Christmas tree, mitten, reindeer, Santa, stocking, and snow globe.
Shop Now: Temucy Christmas Cookie Cutters, $10.99, amazon.com.
Most Splurge-Worthy Cookie Cutter
These festive cookie cutter sets from BV Birkmann come in a variety of shapes, and choosing which one to buy might be the hardest part. There are four different four-piece cookie cutter sets, and each is a slight variation on the holiday theme. The "Christmas Classics" set has a Santa, reindeer, stocking, and toy soldier cookie cutters while the "Trip to the Treelot" set includes different sized Christmas trees and a truck. Each cookie cutter is made of rust-resistant, sturdy stainless steel, which hopefully means they'll be a part of your home baking arsenal for years to come.
Shop Now: RBV Birkmann Holiday Cookie Cutters, $50, food52.com.
Best Mini Cookie Cutter
They say that good things come in small packages, and that's definitely true of this adorable set of mini cookie cutters. It's a six-piece collection of stainless steel cookie cutters, with classic Christmas and winter-themed shapes like a Christmas tree, snowman, gingerbread man, snowflake, star, and candy cane. Each cutter measures around 6 x 5.13 inches, and hand washing is recommended.
Shop Now: Christmas Mini Cookie Cutters, $9.95, surlatable.com.
Best Grinch-Themed Cookie Cutters
This whimsical baking set has (almost) everything you need to cut out and decorate Grinch-themed Christmas cookies. There are seven cookie cutters shaped like iconic characters from the movie (including the Grinch, his dog Max, and Cindy Lou Who), plus piping bags and decorating tips for embellishing your cookies with frosting. The cutters are made of stainless steel, and everything in the kit fits nicely in a festive storage box.
Shop Now: Williams Sonoma The Grinch Christmas Cookie Kit, $29.95, williams-sonoma.com.
Best Cookie Cutters for Filled Cookies
If filled Christmas cookies are your jam (see what we did there?) look no further than these spring-loaded, ornament-shaped cookie cutters. Each of the four cutters in this set has a stamp that leaves an embossed design on the cookie, plus a thumbprint-sized depression that you can fill with creamy ganache or fruit jam after baking. These cutters work best with sugar, butter, or shortbread dough, and measure approximately 3 1/2 x 4 inches.
Shop Now: Williams Sonoma Ornament Thumbprint Cookie Cutters, $19.95, williams-sonoma.com.
