How to Think Outside the Cutter

I consider myself to be a go-getter. I do what I want and I don't usually take "no" for an answer. Unless it's illegal, and then "no" is totally cool with me. And also only if it doesn't involve laundry. Laundry and I are *so* not friends. And sometimes when people are mean, I just stay home and sulk and maybe watch pointless internet videos until my eyes want to fall out of my head. I guess I'm only kind of a go-getter.

But with cookies, I go all out. And I like to make the cookies I want to make. Not the cookies the cookie cutter companies tell me that I want to make. They're not the president of my cookies. And until they start cleaning my living room, I am not going to let them tell me what to do. (But I'm still okay if they want to send me presents on my birthday or something.)

Sometimes I see a cutter and I fall in love with it. And I want to keep it forever and make cookies of dreams. And sometimes I don't. Sometimes I see a cookie first and I have to find a cutter that's willing to put aside it's differences and make things work out. It happens a lot at my house. I'm basically a cookie/cutter therapist. I kind of have a system for it now. And I was thinking that if you're having some cookie and cutter love troubles going on at your house, you might be able to use that system.

The first step is choosing your design. You can sketch it or use some clip-art you love.

If you are a good visualizer, you can skip this step. If not, trace just the outline of your sketch or clip art. And then look at it. See where it juts out or where it's long or straight or curved. Flip it sideways and upside down. I can see that this design is long and skinny at the bottom and has a bigger, bubble shaped top. See if you can think of a cutter you own that has similar edges or shapes. Then get looking through your cutters. I find that I often discover the perfect cutter while looking for a different one, so keep your eyes open.

When you've found a few cutters that might work, lay them out next to your sketch to see if they really do look similar or if you were just making that up in your mind.

Pick 2 or 3 of your favorites and trace them on a piece of paper.

Re-sketch your design inside each of the traced outlines, modifying it to fit the lines of the cutter.

Pick your favorite sketch and make some cookies! I know it sounds crazy, but you can do this. After thinking through the whole process a couple of times it will become easier and you'll start to look at your cutters as edges and jags and curves instead of just it's traditional shape.

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