I think it was love at first sight! Who wouldn't, when Pooh Bear can be so cute... in 3D form.

And after setting eyes on it, I just had to go online to buy the cookie cutter. But unfortunately, my excitement didn't last long... for my first attempt in making the cookie turned out quite disastrous. The above picture is one of those surviving ones, where Pooh's legs are intact. The rest either had legs that are "chopped off",  or had cracks on their faces (due to my poor rolling technique). Poor Pooh! Feels like I was torturing it.


It was only recently when I had left-over dough that I took out the cookie cutter again. Used a different recipe but faced the same problem again. Even when the dough was all firmed up, I had difficulty releasing the dough from the mould after cutting it. Maybe there are simply too many lines on the cutter. I'm not sure... but I have no problem with the dough using other types of cutters. In the end, I have to wait for dough to chill, cut, and try my best to unmould it without any parts coming off... It is exhausting!!!

the cookies cutter - can you see the lines? get imprinted too if I press too hard

These are the precious few that I made.

cheeky Pooh tries to sneak into the pic too

And I was thinking to myself that it would be a long long time before I used it again... till my sister came to my house, saw it, and got all excited. She was having fun biting off Pooh's head, and munching away happily. At that moment, I knew I'll be bringing out that cutter soon...




Butter Cookie Recipe
(adapted from Very Merry Cookie Party: How to Plan and Host a Christmas Cookie Exchange)

200g unsalted butter
160g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
280g flour

• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light. Beat in the egg yolk, then the vanilla and salt. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour just until mixed. The dough should be medium-stiff.

• Divide the dough into 3 parts, and roll each into a ball. Place each ball between 2 sheets of parchment paper / wax paper. Using your palm, flatten the ball into a disk, and roll out into a 1/4 inch thick. Chill dough for at least 30 mins, or until firm.

• Cut out cookies with cutters, using whichever shape you like, and transfer cookies to a baking tray (lined with parchment). Gather the scraps, reroll, chill and cut out more cookies.

• Bake cookies at 180C, until faintly golden. (Times vary depending on size of your cookies. I chilled all the cut-out cookies in the fridge first, and baked each tray for 10-12 mins.) Let cool on the baking tray for 1 min, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

I did have a special tool though - a cookie slate to ensure that the dough is of the same thickness. Helpful tips on using the cookie slat can be found here. I was lucky to find this at Daiso for $2, and my neighbour kindly helped to saw into the length I wanted.



It was a breeze to roll the dough with this tool... no more guess work or "aga aga" (in hokkien, it means estimation). Just a note on cleaning it, the wood shouldn't be soaked. Just have to wipe off the grease, or if you really can't stand not washing it, rinse lightly and let dry completely before keeping.