You’re likely going to think I’m insane with the number of cookie cutter posts I’m about to make — and by that, I mean posts about vintage cookie cutters, not posts that are all the same lol.
(I’ll try to spread the posts out a bit, so it doesn’t look like “the cookie cutter site,” but having taken out so many of my old cookie cutters and photographed them, I’m too excited; like rolled-out cookie dough, I can’t just let them just sit there!)
Only another collector of cookie cutters could understand the need to make so many posts about cookie cutters!
My cookie cutter collection began with my childhood memories of making cookies with my mother and grandmother. The aluminum cookie cutters were common back when grandma purchased them brand new. And they remained relatively common enough so that they were not only readily available at rummage sales and thrift shops, but inexpensive too. So I got in the habit of snatching up baggies of them, no matter if the whole bag was a bunch of duplicates. (Which happens quite a lot, much to my husband’s amusement/annoyance lol)
I began with the vintage aluminum self-handled cookie cutters in that “tin” color, but quickly ended up with the vintage copper colored aluminum cookie cutters too.
Since I began my collecting in Wisconsin where many aluminum manufacturing companies (Mirro, Standard Aluminum Co., etc.) were located, it’s been very easy to get my cookie cutters. Most of the ones shown here are circa 1940s; though many of these cookie cutter designs have been made for decades.
Though for all my vintage aluminum cookie cutter collecting, I do not have as many complete sets as I would like. Even with the common sets. For example, the set of four suits or “bridge set” still eludes me. Everyone saved that heart for Valentine’s Day; but few seemed to have saved the club, spade, and diamond as well.
But “not having yet” is simply the fun that keeps collectors hunting for more. So I can’t say I’m at all disappointed to keep looking!
So now, the question is, Laura, which one of these vintage gingerbread cookie cutters is like the one you remember?
We had that angel too. I had forgotten her. The Christmas tree, the rabbit, horse and deer and that holly leaf too. The gingerbreadman on the right is the one we still have somewhere I hope. It is sad to not know where they are.
Deanna, I see you are looking for the four suits cookie cutters..in my wanderings, I just came across this site:
http://www.atticshoppe.com/cookie-cutters/cookie-cutters.htm
They had the suit cookie cutters with handles in case you’d like to take a look.
I love the old cookie cutters, too…my mom still has hers, but I’m not sure they’re still safe to use. Any thoughts on that?
Happy hunting,
Marianne
Hi Marianne, I don’t know why vintage or even antique cookie cutters wouldn’t be OK to use, especially the old aluminum ones — I use mine all the time! Regular use doesn’t harm them, or people eating the cookies, in the least. So enjoy ’em! And thanks for the tip on cookie cutter hunting 🙂
i have cookie cutters that were my great-grandmothers and grandmothers….they include the heart, diamond, club and spade….most of the older ones i have are tin (with solder) my daughter thinks they are too old to use, but i love them!
I just inherited my mother-in-laws aluminum cookie cutters, but there is corrosion or something on them. How do I safely clean that off? Thanks.
Hi Mary,
It’s difficult to say without taking a good look at them, but what I often see on vintage aluminum cookie cutters is a light rusty brown color which is really grease (you know how things can get kept in a kitchen), and that can usually be removed with a good grease-cutting dish soap and the pressure or light scraping of a fingernail 😉 If it’s something else entirely, I’d need to know what it is…
I am vintage cookie cutter crazy too. 🙂 I not only collect the aluminum cutters but the HRM type also. I love them all!!!!I am trying to think of new ways to display them. Oh, I had the same problem with the card sets too(spades, heart, diamond and club). I just bought some this AM still in their original bag which cost .39 cents back then. I want to open it, but then I don’t……
I love mine, they were my grandmother’s. my grandmother passed away 2 years before I was born and my mom let me us them when I was little. I love using them and now I got 2 very young daughters that love to help me bake. 🙂 I got 17 of them but mine looks like they are copper.
What is the shape of the copper cookie cutter that is in the photo beside the bell?
Hi Melissa,
There’s a lion next to the bell; a holly leave above it.
I was on here the other day because I just found another bag of old cutters and I was looking for some answers. I thought I would come back and post and Magic Erasers do a nice job cleaning and shining up dingy cutters. Try it, it cuts through the dingy finish. I am working on an angel’s hand that has some old, caked oil and blue Dawn and a toothbrush are great, as are an old denture brush (not mine, used for my kids’ retainers 🙂 and Bon Ami.
The funniest thing is, I do not like housework and doing dishes. BUT, give me an old piece that I have found at an estate sale, tag sale or church sale and I am obsessed with getting it clean. How crazy is that?
Thanks for the info…did you ever get your bridge set? I have at least 3 of them, which I didn’t even realize. I just toss them into an ancient potato chip can. After reading your post I found that I have many that you have, which was fun.
Happy collecting!
Oh, Susan, I so agree with you on the general cleaning vs. cleaning as a collector! If you are interested, at our other blog, you can find some pretty obsessive tales of such things:
http://www.wehaveyourcollectibles.com/2013/09/05/antique-school-desks-back-to-antiquing-basics-or-how-to-clean-antique-furniture/
http://www.wehaveyourcollectibles.com/2013/09/24/preserving-the-integrity-of-an-old-glass-preserves-bottle/
http://www.wehaveyourcollectibles.com/2015/01/06/how-i-spent-my-afternoon-cleaning-old-feed-sacks-a-how-to-guide/
(The glass jar was the worst!)
As for the cookie cutters, my collection grows — and, yes, I think I do have at least one poker set now 😉
If you have photos or any other tips to share, let us know!
Deanna
Just found this blog while trying to find more info on some cookie cutters from my childhood. I have the Santa, angel, Holly leaf and reindeer. From your post, these are from the 40’s? Can you tell me any more information? Thanks in advance
Aluminum cookie cutters were made for a number of years… It can be near impossible to date them without the original packaging.