Cutting Edge

Tucked away in the corner of the Joplin History & Mineral Museum in Joplin, MO, you'll find the "National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum."  It's in between a large exhibit of creepy porcelain dolls and a room filled with creepy circus memorabilia.  It's not too big and more of an exhibit than it's own museum but it's definitely the type of thing to catch my eye.

Here, early 20th century antique snowman cookie cutters share shelf space with contemporary Spider-Man cookie cutters and they all live in harmony.  Product mascots are no stranger to the cookie cutter genre and several of my favorites were represented here.  So I thought I might list a few today on the blog...yeah, that should kill some time...

Before he was de-aged in Crisis of Infinite Earths (or whatever), Mr. Peanut was the suave gentleman who classed up the snack aisle just by being there.  The museum has him in a few poses, including a tip of the hat to whoever is about to eat him.  I imagine these might work best with peanut butter cookies?

Here we have an older M&M design from the days before each flavor had their own distinct personality.  Things were simpler back then.  All the little guys wanted to do was have a swim in the chocolate pool, stand under the candy coating shower and hop into your mouth.  This cookie cutter, of course, would best be used for those type of chocolate chip cookies that have M&Ms instead of chocolate chips.

Next is a smorgasbord of McDonaldland goodness.  There are a couple of Ronald faces, a few Fry Guys and I think the Hamburglar snuck in there.  Of course, some Halloween cookie cutters are also included in that Happy Meal Jack-O-Lantern bucket.  Any mention of cookies and McDonalds takes me back to the old, discontinued McDonaldland cookies from years back.  So I'd used these to make, maybe sugar cookies?  I think that's what they were.

Mr. & Mrs. Pillsbury Doughboy have also joined the party.  I believe their names are actually Poppin' Fresh and Poppie Fresh and they even have an extended family.  But it looks like only these two lovebirds made the (cookie) cut.  Since these guys are all about baking, I could see using them to make some kind of ambitious jam-stuffed cookie. Or some kind of fancy jam covered cookie that you'd see in a magazine but never in real life.  For some reason I think jam is fancy...

I don't necessarily think of delicious baked goods when I think of the Michelin Man but I guess I should start.  The shape of this cutter doesn't include the tire layers of his body so I have to wonder what a Michelin Man cookie would a actually look like.  If you were served one, would you have any clue who it was supposed to be?  A friendly blob waving hello?  As for what kind of cookies I would make with this, maybe something light an airy, you know, like a tire.  Can you use these on puff pastries?

There were plenty more cookie cutters to be found at the museum, of course.  I saw a rare Blondie and Dagwood set and a U.S. map with cutters representing all the states, even the little weird ones in New England that nobody can remember.  If you're ever in the area and want to pay homage to the beautifully mundane, you could do worse. 

Raisin Funds

Nothing beats eBay for finding product mascot collectibles.  It's definitely possible to get a good deal on an item featuring your favorite character but you're just as likely to find something you're looking for at a price that's just a little out of your reach.  Occasionally you'll find something that you didn't even know was valuable.  Apparently there's a big following for the Sun-Made Raisin Girl:

Like most product mascots, she's gone through some changes over the years.  It's not uncommon for mascots to be updated for the times, even when they're meant to have an "old school" vibe.  You can see some of the subtle changes over there years when you compare the different eras:

To me, it looks like there's been more changes to the font than the design of the Girl, but what do I know?  And speaking of things that escape me, I stumbled across an opportunity for hardcore collectors with a few extra bucks in their pocket to score what must be their "Holy Grail":

If you've got an extra $700,000.00 laying around, you can snag a 2" by 1.25" cardboard box from the 50s.  This eBay auction seems to have gotten some attention since it has 22 watchers and 5 "inquiries."  I don't know what exactly an eBay "inquiry" is but I imagine that if you're going to spend that kind of cash you might want to get some details on the box you're buying. 

And it's good that people are inquiring because the seller has some very specific ideas on who should be bidding.  He even provides a convenient list in the auction description with suggestions for who he has in mind:

Now that's an eclectic group of (hopefully) raisin enthusiasts.  Hopefully one of them will get wind of this auction and make this seller's dream come true.  Happy bidding folks!  Enjoy nature's candy!