Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The History of the Christmas Cookie

Tis' the season...for baking cookies!  I don't know about you, but since I was a little girl I have always looked forward to the Christmas baking ritual.  I was wondering where the tradition of baking Christmas cookies came from and when the first Christmas cookie was made; here is what I found...

The term "cookies" first appeared in print in 1703. The history of the Christmas cookies goes back to 10,000 years ago when the Neolithic farmers used to bake food comprising of grain, water paste on hot stones and the cookies are believed to be the descendants of this food. Cookies are said to be the result of a devised plan associated with practicality. 

The origin of the cookies lies in the Medieval European recipes.  Lebkuchen (gingerbread) was probably the first cake/cookie to be traditionally related with Christmas. Cookies spread all over Europe by 1500. Therefore every house made or baked cookies in great amounts, which were either Lebkuchen or buttery spritz cookies. The people of  Sweden preferred Papparkakor (spicy ginger and black-pepper delights), while the Norwegians took to the liking of Krumkake (thin lemon and cardamom scented wafers). So it is seen that the cookies of one place was different in form and shape from another.


The Dutch people brought along with them the earliest Christmas cookies. Thus began the art of making delicious cookies. The word "cookies" which comes from the Dutch word "Koeptje" meaning "small cake", was first used by the people of the Persian empire of the 7th century, AD. The recipe books of the Renaissance period had abundant recipes dealing with cookies. As a result of the industrial revolution cookies began to get manufactured in factories. 

for more information on the history of the Christmas Cookie!

Next week:  Christmas Cookie Recipes!

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