I made a laser cutter cookie press 'ible about a year ago, but so many cookies have happened since then! Here's an update with the things I've learned about shaping cookies and some new designs.

Cookie presses/stamps are vastly superior to cookie cutters because they are so much faster to use. Also, they are SUPER easy to make (with the help of a laser cutter). Cookie presses fit pretty easily on those tiny scraps of leftover acrylic. I prefer to use acrylic that is at least 1/4 inch thick. These were pretty quick to whip up on Illustrator.

TIPS:

If you are able to make designs that you can cut all the way through, it helps a lot with having the shapes come through. Plus, then you can use the outside to have raised shapes, and the inside piece if you want imprinted cookies.
Otherwise, engraved shapes are fine too, but make sure you cut deep enough or the shapes won't show up well after they cookies cook.
The best way to press cookies is to make a 1-2 tablespoon size ball, then lightly squish it with your palm before pressing the shapes!

cookie presses.pdf
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Step 1: Designing Presses

You can design directly in Illustrator, but if there are others around who would like a specific shape, it is pretty simple to turn a sharpie drawn shape into a vector image.

draw the shape
take a photo
paste it in illustrator
use image trace on the image
expand image, then ungroup
delete extraneous parts
object>path>simplify for smoother parts
make outline for cutting.
cut the shape
remove the paper backing and wash thoroughly
make cookies!

Step 2: Making Cookies

The sugar cookie recipe I use takes 20 minutes from start to clean up and it works in either a regular oven or a toaster oven. It refrigerates/freezes pretty well too, so if you only feel like making a small batch at a time, you can cut off a small piece of cold dough, microwave for about 20s, then press and bake for 5-7 minutes. I use this recipe.

Step 3: Optional: Drizzle Chocolate on Top

They easiest way to melt chocolate is to take a handful of chocolate chips and a teaspoon or so of vegetable oil. Mix the chocolate chips and oil together and microwave for ~1 min, stirring every 20 seconds. Use a fork to drizzle on top of cookies. Unfortunately, this makes the designs difficult to see.