50 Fun Facts About Christmas Cookie

Modern Christmas cookies trace back to the biscuits of which period?

Medieval Europe is where the story begins: spices such as cinnamon and ginger, along with almonds and dried fruit, reached western kitchens then and went into the festive biscuits that evolved into today's Christmas cookies.

Who brought the earliest Christmas cookies to the United States, in the early 17th century?

The Dutch brought the earliest Christmas cookies to what became the United States in the early 17th century, through the settlers of New Netherland; the English word cookie itself comes from Dutch koekje, 'little cake'.

What made cookie cutters widely available in American shops between 1871 and 1906?

Cheap German imports did it: after US import rules changed, inexpensive tin cookie cutters from Germany flooded American shops between 1871 and 1906, many of them shaped to hang on Christmas trees.

Since which decade have US and Canadian children left cookies and milk out on Christmas Eve?

The 1930s is the usual starting point: the custom of leaving cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve took hold in the United States and Canada during the Great Depression, and parents often ate the cookies themselves.

Who created the modern sugar cookie, according to its history?

Moravian settlers in Pennsylvania get the credit: German-speaking Moravians who settled Nazareth in the 1740s baked a round, crumbly, buttery biscuit that became known as the Nazareth sugar cookie.

Which royal couple helped make gingerbread a Christmas fixture?

Victoria and Albert helped: the German-born Prince Albert brought his homeland's Christmas customs, including the decorated tree and spiced gingerbread, to the British court, and the public copied the royal family.

Pepparkakor, thin crisp ginger biscuits eaten at Christmas, are traditionally from which country?

Sweden is the home of pepparkakor: thin, crisp ginger biscuits cut into hearts, stars and pigs and baked in huge quantities in the run-up to Christmas, when children also build pepparkakshus, gingerbread houses.

Which two regions of southern Germany have baked springerle for centuries?

Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are the springerle heartland: the pale biscuits are pressed in carved wooden moulds so each carries an embossed picture, and neighbouring Switzerland shares the tradition.

How far back can springerle be traced?

The 14th century is as far back as springerle can be traced, in Swabia in south-western Germany, where the embossed biscuits were pressed from carved wooden moulds long before they became a Christmas staple.

How is springerle dough treated before it goes in the oven?

Left to dry for about 24 hours is the traditional step: the moulded dough rests uncovered overnight so the surface sets and the embossed picture holds its shape in the oven, while the base rises into the characteristic foot.

How does anise flavour get into a traditional springerle?

It is dusted onto the baking sheets: whole anise seeds are scattered on the tray and the dried, moulded biscuits set on top, so the seeds stick to the base and perfume the cookie as it bakes.

Who is said to have invented lebkuchen, and when?

Monks in Franconia in the 13th century are said to have invented lebkuchen; their monasteries had the honey and imported spices the recipe needs, and lebkuchen bakers were recorded in Ulm as early as 1296.

Printen, hard spiced biscuits of the lebkuchen family, are a specialty of which German city?

Aachen is the home of Printen: hard, rectangular spiced biscuits sweetened with sugar-beet syrup and often coated in chocolate, and the name Aachener Printen is protected across the European Union.

What is the thin wafer base under a traditional lebkuchen called?

An Oblate is the thin, edible wafer under an Oblatenlebkuchen: the sticky dough is spooned onto it so the biscuit does not weld itself to the tray, and the word shares its origin with the communion wafer.

Which Italian region are pizzelle originally from?

Abruzzo is the home of pizzelle: the thin, patterned waffle cookies, known locally as ferratelle, are credited to the town of Ortona and spread from there into neighbouring Molise and Lazio.

What equipment gives pizzelle their pattern?

An iron like a waffle iron does it: the batter is pressed between two patterned plates, traditionally cast iron held over a flame, so the snowflake or floral design is stamped into both sides in seconds.

Pizzelle are thought to descend from which ancient food?

The Roman crustulum is the claimed ancestor: pizzelle are often called one of the oldest cookies in the world, and the crustulum was a small sweet pastry of ancient Rome; the name pizzelle means 'small, flat and round'.

Which spice blend defines speculaas?

Cinnamon with nutmeg, clove and pepper is the speculaaskruiden base, usually rounded out with ginger and cardamom; the white pepper is the surprise, and the same mix flavours the speculoos spread sold as cookie butter.

Which feast were speculaas traditionally eaten around?

Saint Nicholas, in December is the feast: speculaas were baked for Sinterklaas, whose eve falls on 5 December, and the spiced biscuits were stamped with images of the saint himself.

Which country did shortbread come from?

Scotland is the home of shortbread: the rich, crumbly butter biscuit is traditionally broken out at Christmas and at Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year celebration, and it is sold in tartan tins the world over.

What is the traditional ratio for shortbread?

One sugar, two butter, three flour is the classic shortbread ratio, with no leavening at all; the high proportion of butter shortens the gluten strands, which is why the biscuit crumbles instead of rising.

What are triangular wedges of shortbread known as?

Petticoat tails are the triangular wedges cut from a round of shortbread; the name is often linked to Mary, Queen of Scots, whose ladies' petticoats the shape supposedly resembled, though the evidence is thin.

What is a snickerdoodle rolled in before baking?

Cinnamon sugar coats a snickerdoodle: balls of the soft butter dough are rolled in the mix before baking, so the finished cookie has a speckled, sweet-spiced shell around a chewy centre.

Which ingredient gives a snickerdoodle its signature texture and tang?

Cream of tartar is the key: the acidic ingredient reacts with baking soda to give a snickerdoodle its slight tang and soft chew, and its use is the usual line drawn between a snickerdoodle and a plain sugar cookie.

Where does the Joy of Cooking suggest the name 'snickerdoodle' comes from?

German origins is the Joy of Cooking's guess: it suggests snickerdoodle comes from Schneckennudel, a German cinnamon roll, while a rival theory calls it a nonsense word in the New England tradition of whimsical cookie names.

Who is said to have brought gingerbread to Europe in 992 AD?

An Armenian monk, Gregory of Nicopolis, is said to have brought gingerbread to Europe in 992, settling near Pithiviers in France and teaching local Christians to bake it over the seven years before his death.

Which monarch is credited with the first gingerbread men?

Elizabeth I is credited with the first gingerbread men: her court bakers shaped the biscuits to resemble visiting dignitaries, so guests were presented with small gingerbread versions of themselves.

According to the popular origin story, who asked a sweet maker for sugar sticks in 1670?

A cathedral choirmaster in Cologne is the legend's hero: in 1670 he asked a local confectioner for sugar sticks to keep restless children quiet through the long Christmas Eve service, the story goes.

Why was a crook added to the top of the original sugar sticks?

To recall the shepherds is the legend's reason: the choirmaster had the sticks bent into a crook like a shepherd's staff, giving the sweets a nod to the Nativity that justified handing them out in church.

When was a recipe for striped peppermint sticks first published?

1844 is the year: a recipe for straight peppermint sticks, white with coloured stripes, was published in The Complete Confectioner, Pastry-Cook, and Baker, more than a century and a half after the legend's plain sugar sticks.

What did the Keller Machine, patented in 1957, do?

Twisted and cut candy canes automatically is what the Keller Machine did: Gregory Keller, a Catholic priest in Arkansas, patented it in 1957 to spiral-stripe the soft candy and cut it to length, replacing hand-bending.

Which Georgia company became one of the world's leading candy cane producers?

Bobs Candies of Albany, Georgia grew into one of the world's largest candy cane makers after founder Bob McCormack began making the canes for his children and local shopkeepers in the 1920s.

What are the main ingredients of the plain cut-out biscuit iced at Christmas?

Sugar, flour, butter and eggs are the base of the classic sugar cookie, usually with vanilla and a pinch of raising agent; the stiff dough holds a cutter's shape and takes royal icing well.

Linzer cookies, jam-filled sandwich biscuits, are named after a city in which country?

Austria is the answer: Linzer cookies take their name from Linz, on the Danube, and are a cookie-sized version of the Linzer torte, a nut pastry with a jam filling under a lattice top.

What is the traditional shape of speculaas?

Flat, crisp and moulded is the traditional form: speculaas dough is pressed into carved wooden boards, so each thin biscuit carries a picture such as a windmill, a ship or a figure, and bakes hard and crunchy.

Which region were speculaas developed in?

The Low Countries, today's Belgium and the Netherlands, developed speculaas; the name is usually traced either to Latin speculum, 'mirror', or to species, the Latin for spices, and the biscuit is eaten there year-round.

In which city were lebkuchen bakers recorded in 1395?

Nuremberg is the city: its lebkuchen bakers were documented in 1395, a century after those of Ulm, and its position on the medieval spice routes and the honey of the surrounding forests made it the lebkuchen capital.

Which flavourings are usual in pizzelle?

Anise, vanilla or lemon zest are the usual pizzelle flavourings, with anisette liqueur often standing in for anise; the batter itself is simple, and the flavouring is what sets one family's recipe apart from another's.

What are lebkuchen's usual ingredients?

Honey, warm spices, nuts and candied fruit make up a classic lebkuchen: honey rather than sugar carries the sweetness, while aniseed, cardamom, coriander, ginger and allspice supply the spice.

What is a snickerdoodle's most recognisable visual feature?

A cracked surface is the snickerdoodle's signature: the soft dough spreads as it bakes and the sugary coating sets before the cookie finishes rising, so the top splits into a crazed pattern.

Chocolate crinkle cookies, with their snow-like cracked sugar coating, come from which US city?

Saint Paul, Minnesota is the usual home of chocolate crinkles: Betty Crocker's 1963 Cooky Book credits the recipe to Helen Fredell of that city, and the dough spreads as it bakes so the icing-sugar coat splits open.

What does the name of the Norwegian wafer cookie krumkake mean?

Bent cake is the literal meaning: krum is Norwegian for bent or curved, and the thin wafer is rolled around a wooden cone while hot so it sets in that shape, ready to be filled with cream.

The crescent shape of Vienna's vanillekipferl is said to mark a 1683 victory over whom?

The Ottoman Turks are the legend's losers: the crescent of Vienna's vanillekipferl is said to copy the crescent on Ottoman banners after the 1683 siege of the city was broken, and the biscuits are rolled in vanilla sugar.

Which US state adopted the bizcochito, a lard-based holiday biscuit, as its official state cookie?

New Mexico made the bizcochito its official state cookie in 1989, the first state to name one; the crisp, lard-based sugar-and-spice biscuit is a fixture of New Mexican Christmas tables.

The word biscotti comes from a Medieval Latin term meaning what?

Twice-cooked is the meaning: biscotti comes from Medieval Latin biscoctus, bis 'twice' and coctus 'cooked', because the log of dough is baked, sliced and baked again until dry enough to keep for months.

Struffoli, fried dough balls bound with honey at Christmas, are a speciality of which Italian city?

Naples is the home of struffoli: marble-sized balls of dough are fried, coated in warm honey and heaped into a ring or mound, then scattered with coloured sprinkles and strips of orange zest.

The Spanish holiday shortbread polvorón takes its name from the Spanish word for what?

Powder is the root: polvorón comes from polvo, the Spanish word for dust or powder, because the crumbly lard-and-flour shortbread falls apart into powder as you bite it, which is why each one is wrapped tightly in paper.

Dutch kerstkransjes are ring-shaped Christmas cookies most often decorated with what?

Almond chips are the usual topping: kerstkransjes, 'little Christmas wreaths', are buttery rings brushed with egg and sprinkled with sugar and almond chips, and a ribbon through the hole lets them hang on the tree.

How are Norway's medieval fattigmann cookies cooked?

Deep fried in unsalted fat is the method: the thin diamonds of cardamom-scented dough, each with a slit for one corner to be pulled through, are fried until golden and dusted with sugar; the name means 'poor man'.

In 1444, Swedish nuns at Vadstena Abbey reportedly baked gingerbread to ease what?

Indigestion is the ailment: the nuns of Vadstena Abbey are recorded in 1444 baking gingerbread as a remedy for it, the earliest trace of gingerbread baking in the country, where German immigrants had introduced it in the 13th century.