Rural Missouri - December 2020 - 41

and Greece. " Most of our retailers have online stores rather
than store fronts, " says Tammy. " But we also have accounts
with places like Yellowstone National Park and the little tourist
shops that sell Yellowstone-themed sets of cookie cutters. "
Forget your traditional sugar cookie shapes. There really is
a unique cookie cutter for everyone. The options and shapes
are limitless. You can find your favorite animal - whether
it's a llama, moose, turtle or greyhound. You can search by
holiday or hobby. Or shop their selection with a special event
in mind, such as a baby shower or wedding. The aisles of their
warehouse are filled with bins of shapes such as leprechauns,
bicycles, haunted houses, sewing machines, lighthouses, hot
air balloons, baseball caps and charcoal grills, just to name a
few. Each has personality and a story to tell.
" We listen to our customers, " says Tammy. " We get some of
our best ideas from them. " One customer wanted a thousand
dog bones to make dog treats. Another wanted arrowheads.
They also do custom designs and keep a list of new ideas
they're hoping to add to their future inventory.
Cookie cutters aren't just for baking. They also work for
sewing projects and paper crafts. " We're also seeing a huge
interest from people making car freshies by using our products
as a template, " Tammy adds. " We love seeing the creativity of
our customers. "
Joel and Tammy recently started a home bending program
to keep up with demand. Seven employees pick up a box of
rings and a pattern a few times each week, bend the shapes
and bring them back to the shop for spot welding. It saves the
company time and allows for employees to work around a flexible schedule. " One of our home benders has young children,
so she works on our cookie cutters during the kids' nap time
and in the evenings, " Tammy adds.
" What's really fun is that it's so different every week. I bet I
worked for them for three or four months before I ever repeated
a pattern, " says Cindy Williams, a member of Platte-Clay
Electric Cooperative. " In the past few months I've done around
12,000 dog bones, which was an easy pattern and enjoyable.
Some of the cooler complex patterns are more of a challenge
but always fun to accomplish. "
Christmas time is their busiest time of year, of course, but
not just for baking. They make great gifts too. " Some people
even collect them, especially the cute miniature ones, " Tammy
says. " Another part of the business is we get to admire the
cookiers, the home bakers and decorators, who truly create art
with our cookie cutters. "
Joel and Tammy are grateful to be a part of the cookie cutter world. They love encouraging families to make and bake
memories together.
" We have a lot of fun, " Tammy says with a smile. " At family
parties and at Christmas, I am always the cookie person. And
that's OK with me. "

photo courtesy Sarah Lane Creations

For more information, visit www.cookiecutter.com or call 866756-6543.
Kaiser is a freelance writer from Hartville.
Top: Joel and Tammy Hughes started CookieCutter.com as a mailorder business in 1993 and expanded to manufacturing with the
purchase of the H.O. Foose Co. Previous page, center right and
bottom right: Kansas City bakers love showing off their creative use
of the company's cutters from holiday sweets to game day treats.

photo courtesy Janette Sedgewick

DECEMBER 2020 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP

http://www.cookiecutter.com http://www.CookieCutter.com http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Rural Missouri - December 2020

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