I love to collect & use vintage plastic impression cookie cutters (the ones that imprint an intricate design as they cut). However, new users may be frustrated as impression cutters are more challenging to use than outline cutters. Here are a few tips that may help.

Using Impression Cookie Cutters

1. These cutters must be generously floured between each and every cut or the dough will stick in the cutter and ruin the cookie. Pay extra attention to narrow or small parts of the design, as those are more likely to stick.

2. It helps to use a mixture of half flour and half powdered sugar instead of straight flour for dusting work surfaces and cutters. This avoids a tough or floury-tasting cookie. (For chocolate cookies, you can use cocoa powder.)

3. Despite generous flouring, you can still expect the cookies to stick when you initially lift the cutter. Turn the cutter 90 degrees and tap the side of the cutter on a hard surface to coax the dough from the cutter.

4. To quick-chill cookie dough, plop it on a piece of plastic wrap, put another sheet of wrap on top and then press the dough flat, to a thickness of less than a half inch. The put it on a metal cookie sheet and pop it in the fridge. This process also makes it easier to roll out the chilled dough.

5. When you are ready to roll your dough, do sprinkle work surfaces and rolling pin generously with your flour mixture. But after rolling, also take a (scrupulously clean!) hand and smooth flour mixture across the entire surface before cutting out the shapes.

6. Don't roll the dough too thick or it will be more likely to stick. This is especially true for vintage Wilton cookie cutters, which have very tall impression ridges.

7. Some people swear by insulated baking pans, but I love my light-colored cookie sheet with no sides. I use parchment paper on top of the sheet, and then I can just slide the whole piece of parchment onto a cooling rack when the cookies are done. Later, I peel the paper away from the cooled cookies.

8. Every cookie on one pan should be about the same size and thickness; otherwise the smaller or thinner ones will get too brown before the larger or thicker ones are done. I try to position my cookies so that the larger parts of the design are toward the outer edges of the pan, which seem to brown fastest.

9. Try to cut as many cookies as you can from every rolling of the dough, as each subsequent rolling will give progressively poorer results.

10. You have many decorating options. Before you bake the cookies, you can sprinkle them with colored sugars, arrange shaped sprinkles on them, or paint them with egg yolk-based paints (one egg yolk plus one teaspoon of water plus food coloring). Or you can bake them plain and then decorate the cooled cookies with glazes or icings (the most popular icing being royal icing due to its durability, but it isn't the tastiest option.) Check the Internet for ideas and recipes.

Other Tips

1. Pies

You can also use impression cutters to decorate the top crust of a  2-crust pie. You'll need to roll the crust between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper. Peel the top paper off (but don't throw it away yet.) Because the dough is rolled so thin, you can't just press the cutter down into the dough. You need to slip one hand underneath the dough and press it up into the design of the cutter, being careful to squeeze it against all parts of the design so the design prints properly.

Replace the top paper and then flip the whole crust upside-down and peel the other paper off. Then flip the crust over again onto the top of the prepared pie, centering your design. Last, carefully peel the remaining paper away and then your "designer" crust is ready to be sealed and vented as usual.

2. Cleaning

Most plastic cookie cutters are top-rack dishwasher safe (which is one of the things I love about them!) But you need to be careful to secure them so they cannot drop down to the bottom rack, where they could melt and be ruined. I sometime use a little basket designed to hold baby bottle parts!

But I never put my rarest or most prized plastic cutters in the dishwasher, or any that have fancy painted designs on the back. Those, I lovingly wash by hand, using a toothpick to remove any dough from hard-to-reach spots.

3. Storage

Most plastic cookie cutters are quite durable, but it's best to avoid storing them in a jumble, as this can damage the cutting edges. (Vintage Wilton cutters have more delicate edges and are particularly susceptible to this kind of damage.) One idea would be to store them flat in boxes, with pieces of cardboard separating the layers. Many of these cutters have eyelets so they can be hung for display.

It's best to store your cookie cutters in a temperature-controlled environment, as heat can cause soft plastic cutters to warp so that they are no longer flat.

With proper care, your impression-style cookie cutters can bring you decades of joyful use. Happy baking!