Bake Some Magical Treats For Your Wizards & Witches With Harry Potter's Mini Cookie Cutters
Written: Sep 04 '03 (Updated Sep 04 '03)
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Pros: Four shapes, sturdy cutters, nice packaging design.
Cons: No longer manufactured by Wilton, will discolor easily if not cleaned properly.
The Bottom Line: Add a little magic to your cookies and baked goods with Wilton's Harry Potter Mini Cookie Cutters
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| Freak369's Full Review: Wilton Harry Potter Mini Cookie Cutter Set Of 4 |
At this years ComiCon I was the recipient of a lot of gifts. It's the one time of year that I get to meet up with friends who live in Los Angeles, Arizona and as far away as New York. Knowing my love of cookie cutters and the boys obsession with Harry Potter [alright, I'm a fan too], one of the guys from Ink Works handed me a small Harry Potter basket - some type of a promotional pack he came across at a toy convention. Inside it were small Potter related products including the Wilton Mini Cookie Cutters. Now, this is sort of like a triple score for me - Harry Potter, cookie cutters and it's a Wilton product. I've had the chance to use these more than a few times and I'm pretty happy with them but I do have to say one thing - if you aren't into decorating cookies then don't even bother buying these cutters. The cutters have a minimal amount of detail to them so in order to get them to actually resemble the "real thing", you'll need to break out the icing and toppings to get them up to speed.
Enchanted Cookie Alert!
This set of cutters includes shapes from the ever-popular Harry Potter series of books and films. There's the quick and mystical Golden Snitch, Winged Key, potion bottle and star. The cutters are all about two and a half inches in size but this varies since they are all different shapes. Working with them is easy providing that you tap the cutter into some flour first to prevent sticking. There are no gripper on these so getting the dough out of them and preserving the shape of the cookie may take a little bit of practice. The bottoms of the cutters aren't sharp so these are safe for kids over the age of six to use. The recipe that's included [on the back of the card] is for a basic sugar cookie but I suggest using something like shortbread or a non-rising type cookie recipe since you will want these to be flat and not spread when baking. The Snitch and Winged Key are the ones that require the most attention when baking but if they come out of the oven looking nothing like the cutter, just press it into the dough, allow it to cool and pop the inner section out of the cookie blob. This is also a great trick to use if the dough was handled a little too much while being transferred from your work area to the cookie sheet.
Decorating
As I mentioned, the backed cookies will look somewhat like the shapes of the cutters but you'll need to decorate them in order to get them to look like they are Harry Potter items. The Golden Snitch is the easiest, gold royal icing in the center and white on the outside. You can accent the wings of the Snitch with small gray streaks but that's just a suggestion, not a necessity. The potion bottle and star are the easiest to decorate and kids have a blast with these. One of the easiest ways to decorate them is to take hard clear candy [Lifesavers work great for this] and smash them up into small pieces. You can use these to create a stained glass effect and all that's needed after baking is to pipe some royal icing around the edges. For the Winged Key, you can use the same gold royal icing as the Snitch as well as the white for the wings. If you've never used royal icing, visit the Wilton website for instructions, tip and hints.
Care & Cleaning
Since these are made of copper they need to be cleaned well before storing them to avoid having them turn or get pitted. I wash them by hand with a soft sponge and use an old toothbrush to get into the detailed areas. Air drying them on the dish rack before popping them into a plastic bag ensures that they'll be around my kitchen for many years to come. I've never put these in the dishwasher so I can't comment on how they hold up in that regard. There aren't any care or washing instructions on the card so use your best judgment when cleaning these. So far these have held up nicely but the upcoming Halloween season will be the true test.
Things To Know
There were several different Harry Potter cookie cutters sets made, some plastic, others metal. This is one of the best since it features two official Potter designs. Some sites jumped on the bandwagon and started selling "Harry Potter Cookie Cutters" that were just basic metal cutters sold for two to three times their regular price because they had some resemblance to something in a Potter book or movie [rat, owl, train, castle, magic wand etc]. These weren't officially licensed products, didn’t have any authority to use the Harry Potter name and weren't worth the price they were being sold for. If you are ordering these online make sure you are getting an official Harry Potter product and read the return policy of the site to see if you can make a return if the product you receive isn't want you wanted or expected.
These cutters can be used for making cookies but they can also be used for cutting out shapes for small mini sandwiches or brownies. The metal cutters work a lot better than plastic ones and are often deeper so you have more options open to you. You can also use these on top of cakes or cupcakes once they've been decorated. Other Harry Potter items include sprinkles, special frosting colors, baking pans and cups, preformed cake toppers and candles. If you are planning a Harry Potter birthday party, these cutters will help you add to the event as long as you set aside a little extra time to decorate them.
The Bottom Line
I am sure that these will be seen in clearance sections or on sale at a reduced price this Halloween season. There's noting wrong with the cutters but they do leave a little to be desired when it comes to looking the way they are displayed on the card. If you are someone that loves to decorate cookies, then this is the set for you. These are the perfect size for kids to use since there are a lot of areas they can use to grip the cutters. I do suggest a little bit of parental supervision when children are using these, ever though the cutting area isn't sharp it can still be a danger if kids start fooling around in the kitchen. The variety of the cutters / shapes of the cutters are good but without investing a little bit of time into decorating them, they don't look all that appealing.
As always, thanks for the visit …
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Other cool cutters ...
Wilton Spooky Cookie Cutter Set
Wilton Copper Halloween Cutters
Wilton Jack O Lantern Canister Cookie Cutter Set
Wilton Halloween Mix
Wilton Black Colored Sugars
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): = free =
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