The First Cookie Came to America Through the Dutch
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Not bad, anyway.😊
Every time I feel like wanting to make sugary delights and look at what I have on hand, I see the same basics - flour, eggs, oil, sugar, pecans (if lucky), almonds, nuts, honey, peanut butter, and jam. I'd wonder if I could ever make a cookie that's yummier and crunchier (ha-ha take note) than any of the cookie recipes I have. Like always, I'd end up with the same butter old-fashioned cookie that I love.
Not bad, anyway.😊
People enjoy eating cookies. I do, you do, we all do, right? Some even eat them on a daily basis. But have you ever wondered just who came up with the first cookie recipe?
Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region. They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. Cookies came to America through the Dutch in New Amsterdam in the late 1620s." - Wikipedia
The cookies were said to be nothing more than miniature cakes used to test oven temperatures before the baker cooked the final cake. These miniature cakes were called "koekje" which means little cookie in Dutch. As time went by, koekje morphed into the word we recognize today as a cookie.
A short cookie history that sounds as delicious as it is!
Early cookies were known as tea cakes to Americans since some of them were derived from English tea cakes. The shortbread cookies resemble the Scottish shortbreads of early history. It makes no difference where they came from, but rest assured every country has a favorite cookie recipe of its own.
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| An example of old-fashioned tea cakes. Thanks to Monique for the recipe |
While classic oatmeal cookie seems an all-time favorite, for Americans and Canadians, the cookie recipe of choice is chocolate chip cookies. The cookie, chocolate chips, and brown sugar combination created the flavor that has grown up as the country's favorite baked good.
"In the postwar years, the chocolate-chip cookie followed the path taken by many American culinary innovations: from homemade to mass-produced, from the kitchen counter to the factory floor, from fresh to franchised. In the nineteen-fifties, both Nestlé and Pillsbury began selling refrigerated chocolate-chip-cookie dough in supermarkets." -The New Yorker
Now, one of the best chocolate chips available in America is given as holiday treats. They are known great for their distinct taste, softness, and fluffiness. This famous cookie recipe was a favorite of the former first lady Barbara Bush.
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The former first lady's "famous" cookies are a staple at The Houstonian. Courtesy photo |
Now the Most Celebrated Cookie of All
Gingerbread!
Gingerbread is probably the most celebrated cookie. Known for its antiquity back in the Holy Land when it was introduced to the Crusaders while on their way back home.
It was a creative time in history when Queen Elizabeth I included "gingerbread men" cookies in her banquets to represent foreign dignitaries in her court. But it wasn’t until the time of Queen Victoria that gingerbread became strongly associated with Christmas.
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Here's a classic holiday gingerbread cookie recipe from the Farmer's Daughter |
As it became a talk-about treat, common people began buying and eating gingerbread for the holidays. Not surprisingly, the sweet food took a special part in medieval festivals in England, France, Germany, and Holland. In fact, such festivities were given a name to carry from then on, the Gingerbread Fairs.
Place your cookies in this lovely crock. It's pre-owned stoneware but in excellent shape.
Over the years, cookies continue to create a story of their own. New flavors and fresh-baked cookies are already sold at bakeries, pastry shops, and coffee houses. Despite the assorted varieties of these small, round, flat, and crisp cakes, the essential ingredients didn’t change. From flour to eggs, butter, milk, and sugar - all the top basic ingredients remained on the list.
Today, there are already thousands of cookie recipes all over the world. Let's get to know the most notable varieties in my next post.
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