Biscuit Cutters, a Donut Cutter and Cake Rings Reviewed

This is a set of five round cutters in polished stainless steel. The diameters are 1 3/4, 2, 2 1/4, 2 3/4 and 3 1/4 inches, or 4 to 8 cm, and each cutter is 1 3/4 inches high. The inch and centimeter sizes are etched on every cutter, so you don't hold two of them up and guess.

The whole set weighs 0.26 kg, which is light enough to keep in a drawer without a thought. The wall height matters more than it sounds. A cutter 1 3/4 inches tall can pass through a thick slab of biscuit dough without the dough squeezing out over the rim.

Each cutter has an arched handle on top. HULISEN says the handle protects your fingers and takes the effort out of pressing. A UK reviewer agrees and says the handle makes cutting easier and faster.

Another reviewer points out that the handle helps when thick dough would otherwise grip the cutter. The handles also let the cutters clip together. One reviewer says the set stays clipped so pieces don't get lost, and that the box takes little room on a small kitchen counter.

If you are opening the set for the first time, the product page carries a short video on how to open the metal ring that holds it together.

What do buyers praise? Mostly the build, the choice of sizes and the clean edge.

A reviewer who uses the cutters professionally writes that they seem like they will last for years. Another cuts pie tops for hand-raised pies with them and calls them sharp, durable and not flimsy.

One more says the cutters go through dough without marking the silicone mat underneath. The set has more than 10,000 ratings, and about 87 percent are five stars. Cleanup is simple too, since HULISEN lists the set as dishwasher safe.

Now the limits. Every cutter is a plain circle. You get no fluted edges, no squares and no seasonal shapes, even though the brand names Christmas and Easter as themes.

Five sizes is a decent spread, but the largest round is 3 1/4 inches, so a big scone or a 4-inch tart base is out. One reviewer thinks you can buy a set with more sizes, and for them five was enough. The brand also lists non-stick among the features, and we would still flour a sticky dough before the first batch.

The reviews we read held no complaint lower than four stars. The histogram says about 3 percent of buyers gave three stars or fewer, so a few unhappy buyers exist, but we can't say what they disliked.

Who is it for? Anyone who bakes in batches and wants more than one size: biscuits and scones at 2 3/4 inches, tartlets at 2, small rounds for fondant at 1 3/4. Anyone who needs shapes or a cutter wider than 3 1/4 inches should look elsewhere.

The donut cutter comes as two pieces. There is a 3.5-inch ring cutter with a stainless steel body, and a separate 1.2-inch cutter for the hole. The ring has a soft rubber grip handle, and the brand mentions rivet reinforcement where the handle joins the steel.

Overall height is 4.72 inches, and HULISEN says the handle sits high enough to keep your hand clear of the dough. The whole thing weighs 6.24 ounces.

The hole cutter earns its place. HULISEN says you can use the small cutter on the leftover dough once the big rounds are cut, and punch out as many donut holes as the scraps allow. Reviewers agree.

One writes that the little cutter helps use up the scraps around the donuts. Another loves getting a separate small one for the little doughnut balls. Less wasted dough means a bigger batch from the same bowl.

The handle is the most praised part. Reviewers call it comfy, easy to handle and good to hold, and one chose this cutter because the handle looked comfortable. The steel is called sturdy again and again, and easy to clean, and the brand lists the cutter as dishwasher safe.

The size is where the trouble starts. The ring is 3.5 inches across, and fried donuts end up wider. A UK reviewer puts the finished donuts at about 10 cm wide and says they are too big to put in your mouth.

A Canadian reviewer says the donuts are large and would have picked a smaller size had they caught it. A third, who gave five stars, still thought the donuts a little large. A bigger ring also means fewer donuts from each batch of dough, which is worth knowing before you plan a brunch for twelve.

The second complaint is the cut itself. One UK reviewer says the cutter doesn't always cut the rings and centers cleanly, and they often stay stuck together in places. They suspect tacky dough and flour the cutter between cuts, so the problem may be the dough and not the steel.

Others describe the opposite, a cutter that cuts shapes with precision. One more buyer received it slightly bent after rough handling in shipping, though the steel was strong enough to bend back into shape.

The rating is 4.7 from over 3,000 ratings, with about 83 percent five stars. About 6 percent are three stars or lower, and most of the reviews we read were short and positive.

Who should buy it? Anyone who wants large, bakery-sized donuts, and anyone who will use the small cutter for holes or, as one reviewer suggests, as a bagel cutter.

Anyone after smaller, party-size donuts should pass. For them the diameter is the whole problem, and no handle fixes that.

This set holds four stainless steel rings and one pusher. Each ring is 3 inches across and 1.6 inches high, and the set weighs 0.27 kg. The spec sheet lists a volume of 0.86 cups, so plan on under a cup of batter or mousse in each ring.

HULISEN describes the rings as oven safe, freezer safe and dishwasher safe. It also says the inside and outside are smooth and nonstick after polishing.

The brand's text mentions an arched handle, yet a buyer describes the rings as having no handles and says they are easier to clean that way. Go by the product photos on this one. Either way, the rings are open cylinders, and you press food into them with the cover.

What do people make? Crumpets come up most often. A Canadian reviewer calls the rings perfect for crumpets and says they did not leak batter out the sides.

Others use them for individual desserts at Christmas, for stacked appetizers and for mini cheesecakes. One US reviewer presses vegetarian burger mix into slider shapes. Two UK reviewers use them for bath bombs, which is not a kitchen job.

The warnings are specific. The same crumpet reviewer advises you to oil or butter the rings well, since the batter stuck to the base until they did. A UK buyer found the pusher did not reach the edge of the ring, so it stuck inside when they made crumpets.

That buyer still calls the set sturdy. On the metal, a US reviewer likes the size but says the metal is thin, and a three-star reviewer calls the rings flimsy, though they still work. Another writes that the bases are sturdy, but the top parts can buckle out of shape under pressure.

So these are not heavy rings, and you should not expect them to be. If you use them the way most buyers do, they will cope.

For crumpets, pancakes or a mousse that sets in the fridge, you won't push hard enough to matter. For pressing a dense burger or packing a crust, the buckling reports are a warning.

The rating is 4.6 from about 1,800 ratings, and the histogram is less lopsided than the other two. About 76 percent of ratings are five stars, and roughly 10 percent are three stars or lower, the highest share of the three.

The set suits cooks who make crumpets, small pancakes and plated desserts and will grease the rings first. It does not suit anyone who wants a thick, rigid mold or who presses down hard. For those jobs, a heavier ring or a silicone mold may serve you better.