RUNNING RABBIT COOKIE CUTTER

The tinsmiths in communal Amana would get creative at the holidays or at the request of his children when he made cookie cutters.  One such popular cutter was the running rabbit cutter.  It was 8” long or shorter and very prized in one’s collection.  At Easter, bunny-shaped  sugar cookies were a German holiday tradition in Amana, prized as much as Christmas and Thanksgiving traditions. Every child received at least one 8 inch long cookie courtesy of the kitchen workers, the tinsmiths, and the Easter Bunny!  Colored eggs and other cookie shapes as fish, chicks, ducks, ponies, and squirrels also filled the basket. Cookies had a raisin eye or of one chocolate chip, with a brown sugar dough, and vanilla icing...all very tasty! This is a great German tradition passed down in many Amana families which is still shared today, while some wonder which village started the original recipe!

Below is a recipe from the vintage AMANA RECIPES cookbook.

OSTER HASEN (Easter Bunny cookies)

1 1/8 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

1 1/8 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

4 cups sifted flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

2-3 Tblsp melted butter or shortening

Beat eggs, add sugars and beat with electric mixer at high speed for five minutes. Gradually add dry ingredients which have been sifted together. ADD melted shortening and roll out on floured board to about 3/8 inch thickness. Cut with bunny shaped cookie cutter, add raisin or chocolate chip for eye and bake greased cookie sheet at 350° for 15-20 minutes.

COOKIE CUTTERS

The holidays were a special time in communal Amana when cooks could be creative with their cookie making . The local tinsmith would also g

et creative by shaping many different kinds of cookie cutters. And he made many! There were open shapes of animals, geometries, and people but most had a tin backing with a well formed handle. These special tin pieces were strong enough to last generations for the Easter and Christmas holiday cut out, sugar cookies as the "running rabbit" and star shapes. Some were even designed to cut out shapes in a shape as with the man and women cutters with extra tinwork in the centers. Many were used in the community kitchens and later in the homes as the communal system ended in 1932. I so enjoy these cookie cutters possibly as much as the cookies that will and have been made from these little pieces of folk art!