Help! I don't have a cookie cutter for that.

Have you ever wondered how people can make such cute cookies with cutters that you have never seen in a store? Well, I'm not sure how other people do it, but I'm here, today, to tell you how I do it.


Pictured above are a few of the cookies I've made without using a cookie cutter. I just started this whole baking all the time thing, so I don't really have a lot of cookie cutters. I mean, I have a bunch of Christmas ones and a few other random cutters, but nothing like the cookies I've made recently. So how did I make these? Let's find out!

First, a little background. When i was a senior in college, we'll say fall semester, I accidently stepped on my computer screen. This was about 3 years ago. At this point, my computer was 1 year old. It's a laptop, and I had it sitting open in the floor. Long story short, I got up, it was dark, and I stepped on my computer. *Crunch* Luckily, it was still workable. Now, 3 years later, I still use the same computer, albeit with a little zebra duck tape holding the screen to the keyboard. 
Because my computer screen will lay almost completely flat, it makes tracing super easy. Yes, that's what I do to get my templates. I just search for a picture I like online, then I trace it. However, I don't trace it exactly. Most of the time, I will make the picture a bit bigger in order to leave me room to ice the cookies. Sometimes, I use a zoom function to make the picture bigger. Trace it, then zoom out to get the details. 

Demonstrated on the example above, I sort of outlined the image. Outlining is good for scripts or really detailed images. 
I cut out the image outline, so the cookie will be a little bigger than I actually need it. Then, I place my template onto my cookie dough and use a small knife to cut out the image. 
As you can see, the image will turn clear. This is due to the grease in your cookie dough. It also makes the template sort of plasticky. These are very easily reusable due to the texture that the grease leaves the template in. Don't have anywhere to store these? That's okay too, because these are also disposable. And think, it only cost you a sheet of paper and a little bit of time. Not so bad, eh?

And that's how to make your own cookie cutter. Easy, right? I use this all the time, because to be honest, I just don't have the money to go out and buy whatever cookie cutter I need for, I dunno, a one time use, maybe. 
This is what works for me. I hope it works for you too!