Karen Resta, the original author of this roundup, is a writer specializing in food culture and history, cooking, pastries, and restaurants. She's also a former pastry chef and has traveled to Budapest, Kyiv, and Paris during their fashion weeks as a photographer and writer, always finding the best authentic pastries along the way. She now spends a lot of her free time baking at home and recommends quality within your given budget. Having the right tools available and knowing how to use them well (it can take practice, like anything else) makes all the difference, and she curated this list with that in mind. Crust cutters were chosen to include a variety of tools, including traditional pastry wheel cutters for lattices, as well as punches, molds, and cutters for newer crust designs. The cutters we tested range from fun kitchen gadgets for beginners, to cutters for serious home bakers, and tools fit for a professional kitchen. The instructions suggest using this like a large cookie cutter—by pressing it into the rolled-out dough from above. But we found this method didn't cleanly cut through all of the dough without an extreme amount of pressure. Instead, we laid our dough over the cutter and gently rolled it with a flat rolling pin, cleanly pressing the lattice shape into the dough from below and making perfectly clean cuts. Not only was the lattice pattern crisp and elegant, but the resulting pie baked up with a delicate lattice crust that was as beautiful as it was crispy. If you’re looking for a pie crust cutter that will make your pies stand out, but still cover the majority of your pie, this might be the one. The sunflower design is a unique and beautiful upgrade to a simple vented pie crust. Old-fashioned looking itself, it’s made of silver tin-plate steel, and it wouldn’t look out of place displayed on a kitchen wall.

As you can see, this is a great tool to have in the kitchen whether you’re a beginner home cook or a pro. It can replace some of the work done by food processors or electric mixers, which is helpful if the power ever goes out or if more than one person is cooking at the same time. We sliced dozens of pieces of pie dough with both the straight and fluted wheels on this cutter. The wheels are a little looser than some of the other pastry wheels we tested but performed well in both instances without veering off-course. The wheel guard that attaches to the handle is a little longer because it's protecting two wheels instead of one. We noticed that if you tend to hold the cutter at a low angle, the guard may drag in your dough while you're cutting. If that happens, you'll know to hold the cutter at a slightly higher angle for perfectly clean cuts.

Cookie Cutters

Regardless of how you wash them, you'll want to handle them with care because they tend to be sharp. Follow the instructions recommended by the manufacturer; some can go in the dishwasher, and others, often those with wooden handles, require handwashing. You can't go wrong with the Spring Chef Stainless Steel Dough Blender. It's suitable for home cooks and pros, and it's offered in a larger size. If you're looking for a set, we like the Spring Chef Dough Blender and Pastry Cutter Set. What to Look for in a Pastry Blender Material The blades or wires of most pastry blenders are made of stainless steel, which prevents rusting, and we recommend steering clear of other materials. The handles are made of wood(s), plastic(s), and rubber—it comes down to your preference. Plastic and rubber will most likely be dishwasher safe if ease of cleaning is important to you. Wooden handles tend to make the pastry blender look more authentic with an heirloom-like feel (making them a nice gift) and have the potential of lasting much longer.

There are a lot of options in the Lakeland range when it comes to finding the perfect cookie cutter. But there’s no need to get overwhelmed! Why not add a fun design to the top of your pie to make your dinner guests smile before you slice into your masterpiece? Or perhaps a cute animal shape or a fun picture? And why not try some letters and add one of your guests’ names or even a “Happy Birthday” message to the top of your pie to really make it stand out! Planning a themed party? This is my favorite, tried-and-true pie crust. It’s buttery, flaky, and holds its shape in the oven. But if you prefer an all butter pie crust or want to use store-bought dough, that’s fine too. Once cut, the lattice will expand to cover the width of the pie, but the length will stay the same. Plan accordingly, by making sure your dough is as long as you need it to be to cover the surface of your pie, although it only needs to be about half as wide. We found the lattice easy to stretch over the pie with attractive results, but don't worry if it takes one or two attempts to master. Not sure what to look for when it comes to the best pie maker? Take a look at this buyer’s guide. Dimensions

Pie Maker FAQ

A pie maker with a crimped edge is also a great option. This gives your pies a traditional look, and it helps you get that wonderful crispy crust! Other good features to look out for are non-slip feet and a cool touch handle. I love making pie. You know this. But I didn’t just wake up one day and know how to make one. My first attempts at homemade pie weren’t exactly cookbook cover-worthy. You want to know the hardest part of making a homemade pie? The hardest part is finding the courage to start. And once you do, you’ll wonder why you didn’t begin sooner.Nothing is more satisfying than making a pie completely from scratch. Until, of course, you eat a slice. The Williams Sonoma Lattice Pie Crust Cutter is a straightforward cutter that makes creating a trellis-style lattice pattern for a top pie crust incredibly simple. First, you roll your pie dough out to the desired diameter, then gently lay the dough on top of the cutter. Using a flat rolling pin, press the pie dough onto the cutter to slice the diamond pattern into the dough. To move the dough to your pie, you'll lift the tray away from the lattice cutter base and slide or flip your dough directly onto the pie. In a fraction of the time that it would take to slice and weave strips of pie dough into a lattice pattern, you've got a clean and consistent lattice top pie. Finally, the look of your pie making machine may also be a consideration. Some have a traditional vintage design, while others are more contemporary. Wattage It is a little heavier than other cutters, so it may not be ideal for those with limited hand strength. But the curved wooden handle is easy to hold onto and the weight is what helps push the cutter through the dough. It can be washed in the dishwasher if it's especially messy after use, but should be washed by hand and scrubbed with a brush and warm, soapy water to extend the life of the wood handle.

This cutter provides a little versatility when it comes to cutting pie crusts and pasta, with both a straight-cutting wheel as well as a fluted cutting wheel for a slightly more decorative cut. It's suitable for slicing through pie dough, pasta, or any other relatively thin or lightweight pastry dough like puff pastry or Danish dough. We used these cutters to make an organic-looking top pie crust of layered leaves on top of a 6-inch small pie, as well as decorative elements on top of several larger pie crusts, and we were incredibly impressed with how well they work. The cutters cleanly punch even delicate branches holding the leaves together without tearing. We've used these cutters often since our initial tests, using them on both store-bought and homemade pie dough, and across several different types of pies for decoration. We continue to be impressed with the decorations they make, and how surprisingly well they've held up over time. Egg is a binding agent. It binds ingredients together and gives them stability. Using egg not only binds the dough ingredients together, it also makes the meat pie to be crispy. Water and MilkAn egg wash—a simple mix of milk (or water) and egg—creates that golden sheen we see on bakery pies, and it even gives the crust a little extra-crisp texture. Without the egg wash, the pie crust will brown but will look extremely dull. For a little sparkle, I always sprinkle pies with coarse sugar prior to baking. Gives the top a lovely sweet crunch and looks pretty, too. The Spring Chef Dough Blender earned the top spot on this list thanks to its solid performance, ease of use, and comfortable handle. To perfectly blend together pasta doughs, we recommend the Gorilla Grip Pastry Dough Blender and Butter Cutter. If you don't have a pie crust cutter that crimps the edges for you, grab a fork and press the fork prongs down onto the rim of the pie dish. Do this all the way around the rim. You can also use your fingers to seal and make a design on the edge of the pie crust. Given how unfussy this cutter is, we found that you could cut dozens of lattice crusts without having to do much more than pop out any leftover diamond pieces from the cutter holes. When you've finished a rinse in warm soapy water is enough to clean this cutter off, but it's not made for dishwasher use.

This useful kitchen tool is known by three different names. The official name is “pastry blender," for the job it was originally designed to perform. Other names you may hear it referred to are “dough blender” and “pastry cutter" (although these are technically inaccurate). What can a pastry blender do? It can cut butter into pastry dough, mix biscuits (like Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits) or cookie dough, smash up ground beef into pieces in a hot pan, mash cooked potatoes, and even help make good guacamole. It can mix a streusel topping, chop whole canned plum tomatoes into smaller pieces for a spaghetti sauce, dice boiled eggs for an egg salad, and blend the ingredients for hummus.Always take your time when working with pie dough. It’s not a race! Treat the dough with a little TLC. You are not angry at the pie dough (but maybe you are LOL). Don’t roll it out too forcefully or rush through a decorative topping. Set aside enough time to really concentrate on it. Put on some music or invite some friends or family to join you, and enjoy the process. I promise it’s worth it! We used this fluted pastry wheel to cut strips of dough for a lattice-top pie, and were impressed with the durability of the cutter overall and the stability of the wheel itself. There wasn't any excessive wobbling of the wheel while cutting, and it rolled cleanly through chilled pie dough without needing to push too hard into the dough. It's also easy to control to keep it cutting straight, which is ideal for people who prefer to free-cut their dough instead of using a straight edge as a guide.