Sugar cookies at Christmas is a tradition in most families. You may remember a few of the cookie cutters your mom or grandmother used when you were young. Probably was a drawer in the kitchen with a dozen or so cookie cutters. Imagine collecting cookie cutters of every variety and style. Joyce Moorhouse of Randolph, Minnesota has done just that and currently has about 40,000 by her estimate.
Joyce received her grandmother, Alma’s cookie cutters in 1954. She recalls spending time with her grandmother as a young girl and making hearts out of the left over dough for her grandfather. When she had a family of her own it became a holiday activity for the whole family to bake and decorate Christmas cookies. Before she knew it she had about 400 cookie cutters and the collection began to multiply. At first, she would hang them above the kitchen cabinets. She noticed when visitors would come into her kitchen their eyes were drawn to the collection displayed up high. Christmas designs were the most popular followed by Easter images.
Joyce was an avid cookie maker and looked for special cookie cutters. One time she was looking for a specific design and the tin smith who created her cookie cutters was too busy to make it. Her husband Al stepped in and took the challenge. He designed and made the exact cutter she was looking for and to the quality required for her baking needs. From that first project a family business was born.
Al started ASM Cutters in 1993 to create and manufacture custom cookie cutters. A home business which grew over thirty years to manufacture and deliver more than 300,000 handmade, precision cookies cutters nationwide. People would send a picture or drawing of a pet, house, car, tractor or anything they desired a cookie to resemble. Some were individual orders of one specific design and others were large orders of 500 to 1,000 of the same style. A national hotel chain ordered their image for all their franchises to use for baking cookies.
Joyces passion for collecting led her to explore garage sales, thrift shops and online sales for unique cutters. Many cost only a nickel while others were a bit more expensive to procure. The best cutters are metal but many manufactured during World War II when materials were hard to find were made out of plastic. The plastic ones may be good collectibles but do not work as well as a metal cookie cutter. The recommendation is to not wash the metal cutters but wipe them clean and dry to best keeping.
One of the rarest cookie cutter sets is a four-piece Peanuts cartoon edition made in 1971. It is still in the original packaging. The unusual and hard to find cutters are the most fun to procure and Joyce has found some of these on e-bay auctions. Her collection has been the subject of a couple national magazine articles and a CBN television special. Joyce has also served as the president of the National Cookie Cutter Club.
On December 6th at the Randolph Historical Society museum Joyce will be on hand with a display of some of her Christmas cookie cutters. The event is from 11am to 3pm and will feature Christmas cookies decorating, a drawing for a cookbook Joyce has compiled and kids get a free cookie cutter. Joyce says the secret for the best sugar cookies in the butter in the recipe.
Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1cup butter, softened
1teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
1egg
2 ½ cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1teaspoon baking soda
1teaspoon cream of tartar
Frosting
2cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2tablespoons milk or half-and-half
Instructions
In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, almond extract and egg until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Heat oven to 375°F. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough 3/16 inch thick. Cut into assorted shapes with cookie cutters, or cut around patterns traced from storybook illustrations. If cookies are to be hung as decorations, make a hole in each 1/4 inch from top with end of plastic straw. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
In medium bowl, beat all frosting ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Tint with food color if desired. Frost and decorate cookies as desired with frosting and colored sugars.
