Cookie cutter generator: custom cookie cutters for 3D printing

This cookie cutter generator builds a printable cutter from an outline: a thin cutting wall, an optional sharpened edge on top, and a wider flange at the bottom that's comfortable to press on. It works from three kinds of sources:

• Ready-made shapes: heart, star, fluted circle, egg, flower, Christmas tree, gingerbread man and bunny, for holidays, Easter and birthdays.
• Your own SVG or image: a silhouette, a child's drawing, a logo. For images you set a threshold and can flag a light shape on a dark background.
• Text or a name: multiple lines allowed, up to 40 characters, in five fonts.

The cutter follows the shape's outer outline. Inner details (eyes, mouth, patterns) aren't included, because a simple cutter only cuts the cookie's edge, so inner holes are filled in. Everything happens in your browser, nothing is uploaded, and you download the finished model as STL or 3MF.

A cutter's wall is made by offsetting the shape's outline outward by the wall thickness. With a simple line offset, sharp corners (a star's points, the tip of a heart) can get thin or spike out oddly.

This tool uses a distance transform instead: for every point outside the shape it calculates the distance to the outline and keeps exactly the band you asked for. The wall comes out the same thickness everywhere, star points included. Because the wall grows outward, its inner edge is the shape itself, so the cookie you cut is the size you set.

The cutter is built from three stacked parts:

1. Bottom flange: a wider band at the base (4 mm wide and 1.6 mm thick by default). It stiffens the thin wall and gives you somewhere to press.
2. Cutting wall: the main wall (0.8 mm by default, which is two lines with a 0.4 mm nozzle).
3. Sharpened edge: a thinner section on top (0.45 mm thick and 3 mm tall by default) that cuts dough more cleanly.

Total cutter height is 15 mm by default, adjustable from 6 to 30 mm.

The tricky part with a name is that letters are separate pieces. If each gets its own outline, you print a pile of tiny cutters that fall apart. The tool gives you two fixes:

• A connected script font (Pacifico), where letters already touch.
• Outline offset (0–6 mm), which "inflates" the shape outward so nearby letters merge into a single outline. For text, 1–2 mm is usually enough.

The other four fonts are a bold sans serif, a rounded font, a decorative font and a classic one; with a larger offset they can be merged too. Keep in mind the cutter only cuts the outer outline: a name becomes one connected, bubble-letter cookie, and the insides of the letters aren't cut.

Example: "Anna" in Pacifico at 90 mm (about 3.5 in) with a 1.5 mm offset usually gives a one-piece cutter. If the letters still stand apart in the preview, raise the offset half a millimeter at a time.

Setting	Range	Suggestion
Cookie size (longest side)	15–300 mm	50–90 mm (2–3.5 in) for typical cookies
Cutter height	6–30 mm	12–15 mm for 4–6 mm (about 1/4 in) dough
Wall thickness	0.4–3 mm	0.8–1.2 mm
Outline offset	0–6 mm	0; 1–2 mm for text
Edge thickness / height	0.3–2 / 0.5–10 mm	0.45 / 3 mm
Flange width / thickness	1–15 / 0.6–5 mm	4 / 1.6 mm

The size refers to the cut shape; the exact width and height are shown under the field, in mm and inches. The cutter's outside dimensions are larger because of the flange: a 70 mm cookie with a 4 mm flange makes a cutter about 78 mm across.

If you set the wall below 0.8 mm, you'll get a warning: that's less than two 0.4 mm lines, and the cutter may be fragile. For small, detailed shapes (15–30 mm), a wall around 1 mm helps, because thin walls deform easily on tight curves. Next to the download you'll see the size, triangle count and estimated PLA in grams.

Print the cutter flange-down with no supports; 0.2 mm layers and 2–3 walls are fine. Because of the thin cutting edge, slowing down the outer wall helps.

An honest word on food safety: a home-printed object isn't a certified food-contact item, and this tool can't make it one. What lowers the risk:

• use a filament sold as suitable for food contact (for example natural, additive-free PLA or PETG; check the maker's data sheet);
• dough and bacteria can lodge in the tiny gaps between printed layers, so wash the cutter thoroughly after use and let it dry;
• PLA can warp in hot water or a dishwasher, so wash it in lukewarm water;
• keep contact with dough short, and don't store food in it;
• brass nozzles may contain lead; if that concerns you, print food-related items with a stainless steel nozzle.

To print the same shape as a sign or keychain, try image to STL or text to STL.