How to Make Cookie and Cake Cutters Out of Aluminum
Cookie cutters and cake cutters can be made at home, using inexpensive, common household items, such as aluminum strips cut from a baking pan. A major benefit to making your own cookie cutters is that they can be molded into any shape you desire, which is particularly helpful for shapes that are difficult or impossible to find in stores. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Newspaper, old cloth or cardboard to cover work space Aluminum baking pan (not the disposable kind, preferably rectangular and the largest that can be found) Ruler Permanent marker Heavy-duty cutting tool, such as straight tin snips or straight tin shears Metal file String Paper Pen or pencil Pliers
Instructions
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1
Cover work space with protective material, such as newspaper, cardboard or an old tablecloth, and lay the baking pan upside down on the flat surface. Draw straight lines lengthwise across the bottom of the baking pan, using the permanent marker and the ruler. The lines should be at least 1 inch apart.
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2
Carefully cut away the sides of the baking pan and then cut along the lines you drew in order to create long strips of aluminum. File any sharp edges along the sides of the strips, so they will not be a safety hazard. Cut a piece of string that is the exact length of one of the aluminum strips. Set aluminum strips aside.
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3
With a pen or pencil, draw an outline of your desired cookie or cake cutter shape on a piece of paper. Use the string as a guide for determining how large the design can be while still guaranteeing that the aluminum strip will be long enough to form the appropriate shape.
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4
Begin bending and shaping an aluminum strip with your hands or a pair of pliers until it corresponds with the outline drawn on the paper. Overlap the two ends of the strip by at least 1/2 inch. The ends do not need to be attached in any way as long as they are bent in such a way that they stay right up against each other.
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5
Wash the cookie cutters with soap and water and thoroughly towel-dry them before using them with cookie or cake dough.
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Tips & Warnings
The aluminum baking pan used should not be the disposable kind. The metal must be sturdy enough to not bend when being pressed into the dough. Take into account a little extra length needed for shaping corners when folding the aluminum strip into its cookie-cutter shape.
Rough aluminum edges can be very sharp. Use care in handling them.
- Photo Credit Alcinoe, Wikimedia Commons
