I consider myself a minimalist and like to use everything in my house as often as possible. I don’t like the idea of storing an item away, only to use it once or twice a year. So, after my annual Christmas baking day, I was packing up my cookie cutters as usual and realized that I could actually use them all the time! Here are 10 new uses for cookie cutters. If you have any more ideas, please leave a comment!
1. Use them to make pancakes or waffles for a special breakfast. I actually did this for my 3 year-old on Christmas morning this year and she was thrilled! It would also be great for a birthday, first day of school, or a spontaneous treat on a weekend morning.
2. Cut sandwiches into shapes. This makes a fun surprise for a lunch!
3. Make shapes from play-doh. If you have letter cookie cutters you can spell words, or you can create scenery with image cookie cutters.
4. Take them into the snow, and squirt food coloring into them. You can leave a message for your kids, or just let them have fun making shapes in the snow!
5. Make fun-shaped desserts such as brownies or little pies. We used them on cakes made from my daughter’s Easy Bake Oven and then gave them to some neighbors!
6. Use on children’s plates to create serving sizes. This works well for picky eaters, or for those who have a hard time eating their fruits and veggies. You can fill up a cookie cutter with the food, and let them know that’s how much they need to eat. They’ll be more likely to eat it from a fun shape than just as a pile on a plate! If it’s a larger fruit or vegetable, such as a watermelon or cantaloupe, you can just make the shape directly from the food and serve it.
7. Fill up a pitcher with water and add some food coloring. Then lay some cookie cutters out on a cookie sheet. Fill the cookie cutters with the colored water, and if you’d like, add extra little objects (such as Swedish Fish in blue water). Freeze them, and you’ll have fun-shaped ice cubes. You can play with these, put them in a pitcher of water (the kids will be more likely to drink water with fun ice cubes!), or use them as an alternative to sugary frozen treats.
8. Use them as stencils to write words on a poster or create a scenery.
9. Use them as stamps by just pressing them on a stamp pad, and then on a piece of paper. This would be a fun way to decorate stationary or envelopes.
10. Use them as a sandbox toy. Pour some water in a small area of the sandbox, and the kids will have a blast making letter and shapes in the sand.