Crafting the perfect pie is far from being a simple task, despite the saying “easy as pie.” Exceptional pies demand our careful attention, time, expertise, and the appropriate tools. Best pie crust cutters play a vital role in creating professionally finished edges, whether they cut straight, fluted, or in various intricate patterns, adding a decorative touch to our culinary masterpiece.
To ensure the acquisition of top-notch pie-making equipment, Food and Meal conducted extensive side-by-side tests on a range of pie crust cutters, striving for results that accurately reflect their performance in everyday use. Our focus centered on evaluating the ease of use for each cutter and the quality of crust it produces. Subsequently, we scrutinized how well the lattices held their shapes during baking and assessed the ease of cleaning for each cutter. These meticulous evaluations formed the basis of our comprehensive assessments.
What to Look for When Buying a Pie Crust Cutter
| Designs | Pie crust cutters come in a variety of designs, from the standard crimping pattern that forms the rim of the crust, to beautiful latticework patterns, and even cute designs that sit atop the pie crust as decorations. The options are limitless, and the choice is entirely up to your personal preference. |
| Versatility | Some are designed solely for crimping crust edges, while others have interchangeable wheels that allow for various designs and shapes, enabling you to unleash your creativity in your decorating endeavors. Some can even double as cookie cutters, pasta strand cutters, or themed-shaped candy makers. |
| Ease of use | A pie crust cutter should be comfortable to hold, whether it’s a handled model or a shaped one. Some cutters are ergonomically designed for individuals with arthritic hands. When shopping for a pie crust cutter, ensure that it meets your needs and is user-friendly. |
| Cleaning | Some pie crust cutters can be tricky due to their small wheels and intricate designs. Consider this when buying a cutter labeled as “cute” or “cool.” Some are dishwasher safe, while others require hand-washing. Generally, hand-washing with hot water and mild soap works best and extends their lifespan. |
Best pie crust cutters
Nordic Ware Lattice & Hearts Pie Top Cutter
Sturdy build for long-term use
Easy to clean and maintain
Versatile for different baking needs
At Food And Meal, we can’t help but rave about the remarkable red pie top crust cutter, which effortlessly transforms any plain pie into a jaw-dropping masterpiece. Through numerous trials and continuous use, this cutter has firmly secured its spot as our top choice, thanks to its unparalleled versatility and outstanding performance. With its dual-sided design, one for crafting a graceful flower-shaped lattice crust and the other for shaping a charming circle of open hearts on your pie, it adds an elegant touch to our baked goodies.
Constructed from heavy-duty plastic, this cutter exudes an air of durability, ensuring that it remains resilient even when stored alongside our other kitchen tools. While the manufacturer’s initial suggestion was to press it down onto the rolled-out dough like a large cookie cutter, we discovered that this method demanded excessive pressure and led to messy, uneven cuts, failing to meet our expectations.
However, our own experimentation led us to a more effective technique: laying the dough over the cutter and gently rolling a flat rolling pin over it. This innovative approach allowed the lattice shape to imprint onto the dough from below, resulting in impeccably clean, sharp cuts. The outcome? A tantalizing pie adorned with a delicate lattice crust that not only pleases the eyes but also offers a satisfying crunch with every bite.
YEFUI Stainless Steel Dough Lattice Roller Cutter
Comfortable and easy to use, suitable for all skill levels
Versatile for various baked goods
Effortless cleaning, both by hand and in the dishwasher
As we had anticipated, the smaller dough cut-outs would occasionally get caught in the punch, but we found them easy to remove either by hand or with a blunt tool like a chopstick. Cleaning the crust cutter was a breeze; warm soapy water did the trick perfectly. If any residue accumulated in the tight crevices after several uses, we found that a brief soak in very hot, soapy water followed by a gentle scrub with a small cleaning brush or toothbrush effectively removed any build-up.
Our experience with this multi-blade roller cutter was quite interesting. It swiftly creates an appealing lattice pattern with just one smooth swipe. You might recognize this pattern from its frequent use on dishes such as beef Wellington. The cutter boasts a sturdy wooden handle and rolling stainless steel blades, giving it a durable feel right from the beginning.
However, we did come across a slight learning curve when we initially used this lattice cutter. It’s crucial to ensure that the edge of the dough doesn’t stick to the inside of the wheels while cutting. We found that starting to roll the cutter from either the top or bottom edge of our well-floured dough, pausing after about half a rotation to gently remove any dough that may have adhered to the wheels, was key to achieving clean cuts. After this, it was a smooth roll to the other side of the dough. Once the cutter had been rolled down the length of the dough, gently pulling the dough from the sides to spread the lattice out, much like an accordion or a pair of fishnet stockings, was necessary.
After cutting, we noticed that the lattice expanded to cover the width of the pie, while its length remained unchanged. Therefore, it’s important to plan ahead by ensuring that your dough is long enough to cover your pie’s surface, even though it only needs to be about half as wide. We found the lattice easy to stretch over the pie with pleasing results, but don’t worry if it takes a couple of tries to get it just right.
Although this cutter is slightly heavier than other options, potentially making it less suitable for those with limited hand strength, its curved wooden handle is comfortable to grip, and its weight helps in guiding the cutter smoothly through the dough. If the cutter gets particularly messy after use, it can be cleaned in the dishwasher. However, to prolong the life of the wooden handle, we recommend washing it by hand and giving it a gentle scrub with a brush and warm, soapy water.
Consio Leaves Pie Crust Cutters Set
Durable materials ensure long-lasting use
User-friendly and adaptable for various baking needs
Easy to clean and maintain
This quartet of distinct leaf designs offers the ideal adornment for pies in any season. The cutters can be utilized to imprint on dough or to carve out shaped, detailed leaves to enhance pie crusts. The punches were so user-friendly that they quickly became one of our favorite tools for adding a creative touch to our pie crusts.
The punching process is a simple three-step procedure with the plunger. Just remember to dip it into a small mound of flour to prevent the cutter from adhering to your dough. You can make numerous cuts before needing to clean off the cutter, and each cut is as neat as the previous one. Not only do the cutters leave clear imprints in the pie dough, but the cutouts also retain the shape of the leaves and the leaf indentations during baking.
We employed these cutters to create an organic-looking top pie crust of layered leaves on a 6-inch small pie, as well as decorative elements on several larger pie crusts. We were incredibly impressed with their performance. The cutters cleanly punch even delicate branches holding the leaves together without causing any tears. We’ve frequently used these cutters since our initial tests, applying them to both store-bought and homemade pie dough, and across various types of pies for decoration. We continue to be amazed by the decorations they produce and how surprisingly durable they’ve proven over time.
Ateco Six Wheel Stainless Steel Cutter, 2 1/8 Inch Wheels
Six sharp wheels for precise and effortless cutting
Comfortable grip and well-designed spacing for efficient use
Easy to clean and maintain
If you find yourself in the midst of apple-picking season, churning out pies like a bakery, it might be time to consider upgrading your pastry cutter to one with more wheels. This allows for easy slicing of multiple pieces of dough simultaneously. Often referred to as a “bicycle” in professional kitchens, this 6-wheel pastry cutter swiftly makes multiple perfectly even cuts through dough. Its accordion design expands up to 4-7/8 inches between wheels and collapses down to 3/8 inches—compact enough for hand-cutting bulk tagliatelle pasta.
This cutter is more robust than some other options. It features larger, slightly sharper wheels that make crisp cuts and can slice through denser cookie dough, biscuit dough, semi-set tempered chocolate, laminated croissant and Danish dough, fondant, pasta sheets, and cracker dough for perfectly even slices. Despite its heftier build, the extra weight actually aids in smoothly guiding it through your dough with less effort than anticipated.
The wheels and accordion construction are very sturdy and tighten into place without any wobbling. However, due to the increased number of moving parts, it’s also more susceptible to damage if not handled with care. With prolonged use, we noticed that the wingnut used to tighten and hold the accordion at the desired width may not get quite as tight over time. To maintain its strength, completely loosen the wingnut when resizing and avoid collapsing or stretching the accordion while the wingnut is tightened, even slightly. We also observed that taking care to protect the wheels over time will help this tool maintain its precision. Although this cutter is made of stainless steel and can be run through the dishwasher after an especially messy project, it’s best to wash it by hand in hot, soapy water using a dish brush.
Norpro Stainless Steel Ravioli/Pastry Wheel
Ergonomic design for comfortable and precise handling
Durable stainless steel construction for long-term use
Easy to clean and maintain
This cutter offers a touch of versatility in cutting pie crusts and pasta, featuring both a straight-cutting wheel and a fluted cutting wheel for a slightly fancier cut. It’s apt for slicing through pie dough, pasta, or any other relatively thin or lightweight pastry dough like puff pastry or Danish dough.
We cut numerous pieces of pie dough using both the straight and fluted wheels on this cutter. The wheels are a tad looser than some of the other pastry wheels we tested but performed admirably in both cases without straying off track. The wheel guard that attaches to the handle is somewhat longer as it’s safeguarding two wheels instead of one. We observed that if you tend to hold the cutter at a low angle, the guard may scrape your dough while you’re cutting. If this occurs, you’ll learn to hold the cutter at a slightly higher angle for impeccably clean cuts.
In essence, you’re getting two dependable pastry cutters for the price of one with this tool, and we believe it’s a fantastic bargain. Since our initial tests, this cutter has proven useful on several occasions when experimenting with different pie crust styles. We appreciate that its quality hasn’t deteriorated with use, noting that the wheels maintain about the same level of tightness as they did right out of the box, and the materials have remained sturdy and glossy over time with regular hand-washing.
Ergonomic Non-Slip Stainless Steel Pastry Ravioli Pizza Wheel Cutter
Ergonomic and non-slip handle for comfortable and controlled grip
Versatile for pastry, ravioli, and pizza cutting
Easy to clean and maintain
Let me tell you, this cutter is an absolute game-changer. From crafting the perfect ravioli to effortlessly slicing through our favorite pizzas, this tool has become our go-to for all our pastry and pizza cutting adventures. Its ergonomic design fits perfectly in our hands, making it a breeze to use even during those lengthy cooking sessions when our hands tend to get a little tired.
One of the standout features is the non-slip handle, which gives us a solid grip even when our hands are covered in flour or sauce. It’s these little details that truly make a difference in the kitchen, and this cutter doesn’t disappoint. The sturdy stainless steel construction ensures durability, promising to be a reliable companion for all our culinary escapades for years to come.
We’ve found this cutter to be incredibly versatile, allowing us to experiment with various pastry and pizza recipes with ease. Whether we’re cutting through layers of delicate pastry for a homemade pie or slicing up a mouthwatering pizza loaded with our favorite toppings, this cutter glides through effortlessly, leaving clean, precise cuts every time.
Not to mention, the ease of cleaning is a total lifesaver. A quick rinse under the faucet and it’s good as new, ready for the next cooking adventure. No more struggling with stubborn dough or sauce getting stuck in hard-to-reach places – this cutter makes the cleanup process a breeze.
Honestly, this little kitchen gadget has quickly become one of our favorites, and we can’t imagine our cooking without it. If you’re on the lookout for a reliable, user-friendly pastry and pizza wheel cutter that will make your cooking experience a whole lot smoother, look no further than the Ergonomic Non-Slip Stainless Steel Pastry Ravioli Pizza Wheel Cutter.
Talisman Designs Pie Crust Decorating Tools
User-friendly and ergonomic designs for precise and effortless handling
Easy to clean and maintain, with non-stick surfaces
Durable construction ensures long-term use
I’m excited to share our whimsical journey with the enchanting Talisman Designs Pie Crust Decorating Tools. As someone who loves adding that special touch to our baked creations, finding the right tools that spark joy in the kitchen is a true delight for us at Food And Meal.
Let me just say, these decorating tools are a total game-changer. They have completely transformed the way we approach pie crust decoration, turning it from a mundane task into a delightful artistic process. From delicate leaves to intricate lattice patterns, these tools have allowed us to unleash our creativity and add that extra flair to our homemade pies.
One of the standout features is the user-friendly design, which has made the decorating process a breeze, even for those of us who are not professional bakers. The smooth, ergonomic handles fit perfectly in our hands, giving us full control over the intricate designs we create. It’s these thoughtful details that make the baking experience so much more enjoyable and fulfilling.
The variety of designs that these tools offer is simply remarkable. Whether we’re aiming for a classic, traditional look or a more modern, whimsical design, these tools have us covered. We’ve had a blast experimenting with different patterns and styles, creating pies that not only taste divine but also look like true works of art.
Moreover, the durable construction of these tools ensures that they are long-lasting and reliable, standing the test of time in our bustling kitchen. They have become an essential part of our baking routine, adding that special touch that sets our pies apart and brings smiles to the faces of our loved ones.
Cleanup is a breeze too, as a quick rinse under the tap is all it takes to get them ready for the next baking adventure. No more fussing over complicated cleaning processes or spending hours scrubbing off stubborn dough – these tools make it easy to focus on what truly matters: the joy of baking and sharing delicious treats with the ones we love.
FAQs about Pie Crust Cutters
Q1: What is a pie crust cutter, and why is it useful in baking?
Answer: A pie crust cutter is a tool designed to cut and shape pie crusts quickly and with precision. It helps create decorative and uniform crusts, enhancing the overall presentation of pies.
Q2: What types of designs can I expect from the best pie crust cutters?
Answer: The best pie crust cutters come in a variety of designs, including lattice patterns, shapes like leaves or flowers, and holiday-themed designs. This allows for creativity and customization in pie decoration.
Q3: Are pie crust cutters versatile enough to use with different types of pies?
Answer: Yes, pie crust cutters are versatile and can be used with various pie types, including fruit pies, quiches, and savory pies. They add a decorative touch to both sweet and savory creations.
Q4: Can children use pie crust cutters safely?
Answer: Many pie crust cutters are designed to be safe for use by children under adult supervision. Look for designs with rounded edges and easy-grip handles for added safety.
Q5: What materials are commonly used in the best pie crust cutters?
Answer: Pie crust cutters are often made of durable materials such as stainless steel or food-grade plastic. Stainless steel cutters are known for their longevity and sharp cutting edges.
Q6: Can I use pie crust cutters with gluten-free or alternative pie crusts?
Answer: Yes, pie crust cutters can be used with various types of pie crusts, including gluten-free or alternative options. Ensure that the dough is the right consistency for clean cuts.
Q7: Are there electric or motorized pie crust cutters available?
Answer: While most pie crust cutters are manual, there are electric or motorized pastry cutters available. However, they are less common and may be more suitable for commercial or professional kitchens.
Q8: Where can I purchase the best pie crust cutters?
Answer: You can find high-quality pie crust cutters at kitchenware stores, specialty baking shops, and online retailers. Check customer reviews and product specifications to ensure the cutter meets your baking needs.
Q9: Can I use pie crust cutters for purposes other than pie decoration?
Answer: Some creative bakers use pie crust cutters for other culinary purposes, such as shaping cookies, fondant, or even crafting decorative sandwiches. Their versatility extends beyond pie crusts.
In conclusion, selecting the right pie crust cutter can significantly enhance your baking experience and help us create beautifully decorated pies with ease. When making our choice, we consider the design versatility, ease of use, cleaning convenience, durability, functionality, user reviews, and price. Whether we opt for a versatile multi-design cutter, a durable stainless steel option, or an ergonomic tool with a non-slip handle, there are various options available to cater to our specific preferences and needs. With the right pie crust cutter in hand, we can effortlessly add a creative and professional touch to our pies, making our baking endeavors even more enjoyable and rewarding.
