Star Wars Sandwich Cutters and Lunchbox by Williams-Sonoma Review

I picked up these sandwich cutters at Williams-Sonoma more for the lunchbox than anything else.  I have a weak spot for lunchboxes so I couldn’t pass up a Star Wars one, especially a replica one with bas-relief lid.  You should have heard the noise of girlish glee that escaped my lips when I found it.

Detailed photo of the lid

I decided to make grilled cheese and tomato basil soup for dinner and figured I would test these cutters out.  Now before I go on I’m not one to buy sandwich cutters.  As I said I was more into the lunchbox.  I find sandwich cutters to be a waste of food and difficult to clean but I digress.

I began by positioning the cutter on the center of the sandwich

I then pressed the cutter all the way through.  Then placed my hand flat on top and wiggled the cutter to ensure it cut all the way through the bottom slice of bread.

Then I carefully removed the bread from around the cutter and carefully pressed the sandwich down as I pulled the cutter up.  The results were nice, but some of the tiny detail parts didn’t seem to cut all the way through.   I had to go back and carefully pull the excess off without ripping the whole sandwich.   I was unsuccessful a few times with this.

Unfortunately making 6 nice neat sandwiches did have its draw backs.

And that was a plate full of leftover bread crusts and cheese.  (I did salvage as many of these as I could and grilled them up in the pan in a sort of grilled cheese fingers configuration.)

Then it was time to cook.  I put some butter into the pan rather than buttering the tops and bottoms.  I found if I buttered before it made the cutter too slick and messy.  If I waited to butter after being cut it made it hard to line up the edges again.  I opted to butter up the pan and commence grilled cheese awesomeness that way.  The sandwiches were nice and small which made flipping them much easier.  As expected there was significant cheese overflow during the cooking process.

The final result was pure grilled cheese heaven in Millennium Falcon and TIE Fighter shaped fabulousness!  Despite some cheesy overflow crunchy goodness the overall shape of the sandwiches was still noticeable, you just had to look closely to find it. 

Would I use these again?  Probably just to get my money out of them but not for grilled cheese.  They are more for a standard bologna and cheese sandwich.  Though I would take care with peanut butter and jelly due to dealing with a mess when you go to remove the cutter from the sandwich.

The lunchbox with 2 sandwich cutters (Millennium Falcon and TIE Fighter shapes) retails at Williams-Sonoma for $19.95.  It’s available both in stores and online at http://www.williams-sonoma.com

Sparkles

Cuts but not sharp.  Cuts all the way through without issue and the edge wasn’t sharp so you can have the kids help you.

Different.  A cute change of pace to Star Wars up your child’s lunch or even your own lunch.

Versatile.  Could also be used as cookie cutters or cut out pizza dough for mini pizzas.

Bonus.  The lunchbox is a really cute collectible item.  I really like the 80s throw back about it.

Sputters

Very wasteful.  I could have constructed 2 more sandwiches out of the waste from the cutouts.

Small in size.  Great for little kid appetites who only eat a half sandwich but not for adult hunger.

Hand wash only.  You are going to have to get meticulous with a rag to get this clean.

Nooks and crannies.  It made pulling the bread out difficult after being cut and will also make cleaning difficult.

Overall: 3 out of 5 Faerie Wings