Vintage Cookie Cutters, Molds, And Presses And Where To Find Them

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The history of cookie cutters goes back as far as ancient Egypt. People have been using cutting devices and shapes for as long as people have been baking, but the cookie cutters we know and love today didn’t come about until the 1600s. By the 1800s holiday shapes became the norm. They have taken numerous shapes and styles over the decades.

Recently I thrifted an assortment of cookie cutters and I had no idea how old they actually were when I bought them. I thought that they may be from the 1950s or 60s, but based on comments from my readers as well as my research, it is likely that the cutters I found are actually from the 1920s through the 1940s. They may also predate WWII because aluminum during that time would have gone to the war effort and people would have gone without.

Ever since, I have been fascinated with vintage cookie cutters. (To be honest, the love for vintage cookie cutters goes way back to my childhood when I made cookies once with a family friend.) I prefer to thrift my kitchen items for multiple reasons; it is typically much cheaper to buy used items than it is to buy new, it is more sustainable, and I love the vintage charm of older items. I love imagining their “past lives.”

You can find cookie cutters at your local thrift stores and Goodwill or Savers. Other great places to find vintage cookie cutters are flea markets and online thrift shops including Etsy, where I find most of my own cookie cutters.

This holiday season, I have embraced cookies and have been topping off my cutter collection. I will admit that I am not much of a baker, but I am learning and cookies are now a solid part of my new holiday traditions. Cookie cutters come in all kinds of styles from molds, classic cutters, cookie stamps, and presses. I’m going to collect an assortment of vintage ones for you to find here. Go ahead and click on the photo to shop this post. All the cookie cutters you see here are from Etsy are affordable options.

If you are here because you saw my vintage gingerbread men cookie cutters on my Instagram stories, scroll down towards the bottom of this page where I have linked numerous gingerbread men cookie cutters. I have found numerous listings for the large vintage cookie cutter (with the original box) that I have found for myself. Because these are one of a kind items, the sellers typically have only one so when it is sold it is gone. If any of the links I have here have been sold, you can enter the name of the cookie cutter into the search bar on Etsy and similar ones may pop up if there are any available.

Cutters and Molds:

Click on the photos to link to the item.

Antique Cutters: Antique cutters over a hundred years old typically have flat backs to be pressed down and they were commonly made from tin. Most antique cutters go for a pretty penny, but I have found some reasonably priced ones here.

Vintage cutters: I have collected a variety of vintage cutters for you here. These are mostly from between the 1930s-the 1960s. Earlier cutters had wooden handles while cutters from the 1960s- the 1970s often had raised metal handles. More modern cookie cutters have no handles at all.

Wood, tin, and clay molds: The majority of the molds below are new, but you can find an assortment of incredible vintage and antique cookie molds called molds or springerles. I have included a few vintage treasures in this compilation. Truly beautiful antique cookie molds can cost you hundreds of dollars. I have only linked more affordable ones here. Cookie molds can also be used for pie dough to decorate a pie.

Cookie Stamps: I have not yet learned the history of cookie stamps, but I love the idea. You can find numerous cookie stamps today, particularly snowflakes or even personalized ones form Etsy. Another popular way to stamp cookies is with decorative rolling pins with stamped designs.

Vintage gingerbread cutters: Gingerbread people are so festive. The first Gingerbread man is believed to have been created by Queen Elizabeth I (or at least her chefs) when she gave each visiting dignitary a cookie to match their likeness. With anything royalty, it became a trend and everyone was making gingerbread men. They were most likely made with molds at the time, but today we make them primarily with cookie cutters. I found a whole collection of cute vintage gingerbread cutters just for you.

Wood butter and biscuit presses: Most commonly used to press decorative butter, wooden butter presses also made adorable cookies and biscuits, but they do cost more and are difficult to find.