Hello!

I purchased the 3-D Christmas cutters from Michaels a few weeks ago. These came in a set with snowflake, tree, soldier, angel, maybe something else. There are 2 cutters for each cookie. They have a notch and when you finish decorating them, you slide the one cookies into the notch of the other.

I haven't used them yet and now I'm thinking of returning them because I cannot figure out how to decorate the edges and backs of the cookies without destroying the fronts. My royal icing recipe doesn't dry rock hard, unless I wait days, by then the cookies would be stale. These would not look right either if the backs are not decorated.

Has anybody used these? If so, what did you do?

Thanks so much!
Barbaranne

I first saw 3D cutters while shopping at an antique store a few years ago, and just had to have them. They were from the 60's and had been a promotional item from Crisco. The set had four different animals you could make, and each one used 3 to 4 pieces for each animal. I soon discovered that as cute as they were, they were a royal pain to decorate! The notches where the pieces fit together would have to be filed away after baking, as they had a tendency to close during the baking process just enough that the pieces wouldn't fit. Then came the decorating dilemma. If you decorate the pieces before assembling, the pieces wouldn't fit. If you wanted to assemble and then decorate, it was a nightmare getting a flat surface to work on. My frustration with the cutters led me to create my own 3D designs that did not require any pieces fit together!

That being said, I still love the cuteness of those cookies! If I were you, I would decorate the backs first. After the icing has set for a while, I would flip them onto a soft surface (maybe foam covered in saranwrap) and decorate the fronts. The finish on the back won't be perfectly smooth, but enough that it won't look all that bad.

Honestly, these cookies disappoint me in that the cuteness potential is severely hampered by their difficulty to decorate. If you're up to the challenge, go for it! I would love to see what you come up with.

Aah, your first paragraph just confirmed all of my suspicions! I think I am going to return them. My 6 year old was with me and saw them, so I purchased without really thinking about it much.

Thanks so much for your reply! I appreciate the help! (Your cookies are cute by the way!

Barbaranne

When the cookies first come out of the oven I recut them with the cutter in case the spread. Also you can put parchment paper over the and press the with another baking tray to get them even thickness. You can cover the cookies in chocolate or flood them on both sides.....Just a thought

Thanks traceyjade! I did return the cutters a few days ago. I am going to remember those cutting tips when I make my next batch of detail cookies!