Minnie Mouse Cookie Cutter

The silhouette does all the work here: two round ears, a soft face and the bow that makes the outline readable to anyone under ten before a scrap of icing goes near it. Press it into rolled biscuit dough and the shape announces itself, which is most of the battle at a themed birthday. Cutters like this come out for parties, class bake sales and the sort of weekend baking where the point is keeping small hands busy rather than the biscuits themselves. The same outline earns its keep beyond dough, too, in fondant, gingerbread, sugarpaste plaques for the top of a cake, or modelling clay once the baking has drifted into a craft afternoon. Run off a few and several children can work at the same time instead of queueing for one.