When I was a little girl, every year my Grandma, sister and I would bake and decorate cookies. Here is a great story on the tradition of baking Christmas cookies! 

By: Janice

The Tradition of Baking Christmas Cookies

With Thanksgiving being less than two weeks away, my family has begun planning for our annual black Friday cookie baking marathon.  Ever since I can remember, my entire family has formed an assembly line and baked literally thousands of cookies for Christmas.  My Mom has a very special collection of her best recipes that we bake every year (I've shared some these cookie recipes at Squidoo) and then we add in a few new ones to try each year as well.  All this planning got me wondering, where did the tradition of baking Christmas cookies come from anyway?  

Turns out that Christmas cookies seem to have nothing to do with the Christmas story or church at all. How, then, did the tasty baked treats we enjoy today come to be associated with the Christmas festivities?

The tradition of the cookie can be traced back to ancient days. Originally when Prussian cooks to the royals needed to test their wood fire ovens before baking a cake, they’d place a small sample of cake batter in the oven. If it cooked quickly enough, the oven was ready. Rather than throw these little cakes out, they caught on as the cookie. 

Cookies quickly became associated with festive, fun occasions. When the cookies came out, it meant there was something special to celebrate. Especially when ingredients like honey, sugar, and spices were at a premium. They’d only be used for the most important “holy days.” Hence, the holidays. People began to celebrate holidays like Christmas and Easter with cookies spread on their tables as offerings for friends and neighbors.

Early European settlers introduced the cookie to American soil. It’s hard to imagine, but there weren’t any cookies here before the Europeans. They arrived in various stages during history with their traditions of Springerle and Spritz cookies from Germany as well as gingerbread, which they called lebkuchen. The Germans also brought the idea of the cookie cutter and the building of gingerbread houses. Other cookies came with other ethnic groups such as the biscotti and anise cookies from Italy and the bizcochito from Spain. The English gave us the original sugar cookies derived from their tea cakes. 

Because America is a melting pot of cultures and traditions, we now enjoy many types of Christmas cookies. Baking and decorating gingerbread houses has become a tradition of epic proportions with contests being held for the best and most elaborate. Cookie swaps are held around the country where friends bake up batches of their favorite Christmas cookies and swap them for samples of everyone else’s. Families plan to set aside cookie baking time as meaningful family bonding time.

Cookies now come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Originally, animal cookies were rolled and baked to be hung on the Christmas tree as edible ornaments. They caught on and became favorites of children the world over all from their humble beginnings as decorations.

The Christmas cookie is a reminder of home or perhaps the idealized home everyone wishes for. They provide a reason to visit the neighbors at Christmas time or to gather with friends over a freshly baked batch. Cookies at the holidays bring people together. Perhaps that’s why many people will spend weeks, even months before the holidays baking and freezing different batches of cookies to share with friends as the 25^th of December draws near. Many people could not imagine the holidays without cookies. Often, they can bring distant relatives together around the mixing bowl or mean a special time with mom or dad as they decorate sheets of cutout cookies.

No matter what type of cookies you love or bake, you can be sure that sharing them will make you new friends and maybe even start a new tradition this Christmas time. 

About The Author:

JaniceS7 is a wedding/event consultant and regular contributor to the www.cookiegiftbaskets.com blog where she shares her recipes, baking tips, and gift ideas with readers.

Photo Credit: B Landis from Flickr