This is goofy

October 4, 2006 8:41 AM

Where can I buy cookie cutters in Atlanta (or online)?

I thought these would be easy to buy, but, nope. I’m not looking for anything fancy - just flowers, stars, puppies and stuff. Metal or plastic, relatively cheap. You know, cookie cutters. The only ones I’ve been able to find are occasional pumpkins and ghosts because it’s this month, or the $15 heavy copper ones.

So far I’ve checked Target, Cook’s Warehouse, Bed Bath & Beyond, Linens & Things, Cost Plus World Market, various grocery stores, various party supply stores, and even a bastarding Walmart. Where do people buy frigging cookie cutters? Or are they all heirlooms?

I have several "maybes" in mind that I'll eventually check - Michael's, other party supply stores, the kitchen supply place across from Java Monkey, etc. - I'm hoping some of you can give me definite sources before I continue running all over creation for these things.

If anyone has suggestions for online sources with reasonable shipping rates, that would be great too. I’ve looked around a little and found a nice variety of cheap cutters on a couple of sites, but the shipping costs are ridiculous - I’m not paying $9 to mail a half-inch piece of tin. I’d like to buy somewhere from 6-18 and keep my costs around $1-2 per cutter if possible.

posted by jessicapierce to home & garden (22 comments total)

Kitchen Kapers has a bunch, but FYI the online Bed, Bath and Beyond and Linens 'N Things stores both have 100-piece cookie cutter sets.
posted by amro at 8:47 AM on October 4, 2006

Definitely check Michaels or Joann -- they have them.
posted by sugarfish at 8:50 AM on October 4, 2006

you can get cookie cutters of just about anything from Sweet Celebrations (www.sweetc.com) - the catalog is online but orders are still taken by phone (gasp). Most cutters are about $1 (this is typical - if you're paying less, you're getting way flimsier metal), but for the things you're looking for, you can get sets at a better price. Shipping is actual shipping plus a dollar, something non-usurious.

(Disclaimer: this is my parents' business, but the only bigger selection I've seen in cookie cutters is from the wholesalers...)

Wilton (www.wilton.com) has some neato plastic cutters, they're fun and colorful, that sell for about $1.60 each.

You can thank Martha Stewart for bringing the copper cookie cutter phenomenon back in style. And yes, people buy them, and specifically ask for them, even when there are stainless steel cutters available at a fraction of the price on the same shelf.
posted by whatzit at 8:54 AM on October 4, 2006

Seconding sugarfish. I just bought a giant tub-o-cookie cutters from Michael's. They definitely have them.
posted by jrossi4r at 8:55 AM on October 4, 2006

Should have specified: I'm looking for individual cutters, not sets.

Didn't Joann go out of business? If not, where are they?
posted by jessicapierce at 8:55 AM on October 4, 2006

Michael's, ACMoore, or other craft stores. It looks like there are a few Michael's in your area - try their store locator.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 8:57 AM on October 4, 2006

They will have sets AND individuals.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 8:58 AM on October 4, 2006

Michael's has individual ones as well.
Walmart should have had some... they're in the craft section, with the cake decorating supplies.
posted by jrossi4r at 8:58 AM on October 4, 2006

My stock answer for any "Where do I find in Metro Atlanta:

http://www.restaurantsolutionsinc.com/

I would suggest that you call first. This is a small family business as opposed to a mega-mart, so a real live human being will answer, and that person will usually have some kind of knowledge of the store's stock.

The only warning I will give you about Restaurant Solutions is that if you go there, you'll likely end up buying a LOT more than just the cookie-cutters. The place is a swirling vortex of shiny things that are completely irresistable to foodies.
posted by deadmessenger at 8:59 AM on October 4, 2006

ugh - that should have read "Where do I find (insert food-related hardware item) in Metro Atlanta"
posted by deadmessenger at 9:00 AM on October 4, 2006

Thanks for all the info so far. And yeah, Walmart should have had them, but did not. Every multi-department place I've been to, I've checked the baking, cooking, seasonal, and craft areas, then asked employees for help, to make sure I wasn't blind or retarded. The places I expected to stock them just plain don't - at least the locations I've been to.
posted by jessicapierce at 9:03 AM on October 4, 2006

Restaurant Solutions sounds like it has potential, but their search function is broken - a search for "cookie" results in 'No pages were found containing "c ".' - wtf. They're too far away (I'm in Edgewood) to just pop by to browse, so I guess I would have to call them, which seems a litttle ridiculous. "Hi, do you carry cookie cutters? do you have a daisy? what about an airplane. doghouse?"
posted by jessicapierce at 9:08 AM on October 4, 2006

Call the Viking store on Peachtree across from the Amtrak station.
posted by Frank Grimes at 9:12 AM on October 4, 2006

+1 for JoAnn and Michael's.

Didn't Joann go out of business? If not, where are they?

No - they are alive and well, with several stores in Metro Atlanta -- I know there's one in Kennesaw, and another in Alpharetta. Their site should have a store locator for a complete list.
posted by somanyamys at 9:35 AM on October 4, 2006

Fante's has a huge selection of singles and sets, with more pages for holiday-specific cutters linked from there. They're in Philadelphia's Italian Market, a few blocks from my apartment, actually, but they ship for a fairly reasonable $5.50 on orders to $10 and $6.50 on orders up to $30. I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but they are a fantastic business, their cutters are in your price range, and you can't beat their selection.
posted by The Michael The at 9:39 AM on October 4, 2006

The Cookie Cutter has a huge range, and decent looking shipping costs
posted by darsh at 9:55 AM on October 4, 2006

I got a bunch of them at Michaels about 8 years ago - they had a whole display of ones you could buy individually.
posted by Melsky at 10:20 AM on October 4, 2006

Do you have a Sur la Table store nearby? They have a giant rack of individual cookie cutters.
posted by boomchicka at 1:08 PM on October 4, 2006

Unless my memory fails me I can picture them at the Michael's on Lindbergh. Lots of them.
posted by cklennon at 2:28 PM on October 4, 2006

The Michael The, thanks very much for the tip on Fante's - their selection and shipping fees look great. At other sites I was seeing a lot of ~$7 to ship first item, ~$2 for each additional, which, come on.

Sur la Table doesn't seem to have any GA stores at all. The nearest Joann to me is in Kennesaw... no way.

I went to the Michael's on Lindbergh this afternoon and found a few 6-piece sets (Halloween, leaves), a few megasets (alphabet, etc.), and a very limited assortment of individual cutters. Heart, hand, foot, dog bone... about eight shapes in all. Seemed really weird to me, but the clerk said it was about what they always carry, not counting seasonal stuff.

Is it possible that cookie cutters are in general a seasonal item, because people bake more around the winter holidays?
posted by jessicapierce at 3:11 PM on October 4, 2006

Crate & Barrel has some individual cookie cutters, as well as a cheap (under $5) set of basic shapes. There's a store at Lenox.

And yes, I think cookie cutters are somewhat seasonal--at least they were when I worked housewares retail. Check holiday displays if you can make do with things like stars. You might get lucky (or you might just find a bunch of santas and crap).
posted by paleography at 6:35 PM on October 4, 2006

You could also try Downtown Dough (shipping $5 flat fee) and Cookie Cutter dot com (shipping starts at $2.95). They have tons. Between these two sites you can find any kind of cutter -- from flowers to armadillos to pipe wrenches.
posted by viachicago at 7:17 PM on October 4, 2006