Christmas cookie
Shaped cookies popularized by cookie cutters in the late 19th century.
Last updated
Nenad Stojkovic from Srbija · CC BY 2.0
Christmas cookies are sweet, flour-based baked goods associated with the Christmas holiday season.[1]
Quick Facts
- Origin
- Medieval Europe
- Earliest us examples
- Early 17th century, brought by the Dutch
- Popular shapes
- Candy canes
- reindeer
- holly leaves
- Christmas trees
- stars
- angels
- Common flavors
- Gingerbread
- anise
- cinnamon
- almond
- Associated tradition
- Children leave cookies and milk for Santa Claus since the 1930s in Canada and the United States
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, when ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west.[2] Cookie cutters became available in American markets between 1871 and 1906 because a change in importation laws led to a wide range of cheap imported products from Germany.[3] Gingerbread has existed in some form since the time when soldiers in the Crusades brought sugars and spices back to Europe.[4] Gingerbread cookies became primarily associated with Christmas only after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert included them with a variety of other German Christmas traditions.[4]
The Moravians, who settled in the Nazareth area from Germany during the mid-18th century, created the modern sugar cookie.[5]
What the cited sources add
The Food Timeline account notes that traditional Christmas foods include items such as bishop's bread, Buche de Noel, and fruitcake.[6] According to the NewEnglandRecipes.org account, Amelia Simmons's 1796 cookbook included two cookie recipes, one called "Cookies" and another called "Christmas Cookey".[7] The same source states that the Christmas Cookie Tradition in New England got started in the early 1920s and became established during World War II.[7] The What's Cooking America account explains that the name "cookie" is derived from the Dutch word koekje, meaning "small or little cake".[1]
That source also notes that the earliest cookie-style cakes are thought to date back to 7th century Persia.[1] The Joy of Baking account describes that the name "Crinkle" probably refers to how the powdered sugar "crinkles" or "cracks" as the cookies bake.[8] The Once Upon A Chef account states that chocolate crinkles are often baked as classic Christmas cookies, ideal for holiday gatherings or cookie exchanges.[9]
References
- "History of Cookies", What's Cooking America. facts only, no text reused. whatscookingamerica.net
- Wikipedia, "Christmas cookie" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Olver, "Food Timeline: Christmas foods", The Food Timeline (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christmas cookie" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Olver, "Food Timeline: Christmas foods", The Food Timeline; "Christmas Cookie Tradition", NewEnglandRecipes.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christmas cookie" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carey, Mac, "The Tradition of Gingerbread", MyMerryChristmas.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christmas cookie" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "History of Cookies", What's Cooking America (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Olver, "Food Timeline: Christmas foods", The Food Timeline. facts only, no text reused. foodtimeline.org
- "Christmas Cookie Tradition", NewEnglandRecipes.org. facts only, no text reused. newenglandrecipes.org
- Jaworski, "Chocolate Crinkles Recipe & Video", Joy of Baking. facts only, no text reused. joyofbaking.com
- Segal, "Chocolate Crinkle Cookies", Once Upon A Chef, November 27, 2024. facts only, no text reused. onceuponachef.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Christmas cookie (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in American cuisine
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Christmas cookie (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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