Christmas cookie facts for kids
A variety of decorated North American style Christmas cookies
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Christmas cookies or Christmas biscuits are special cookies or biscuits often enjoyed during the Christmas holiday. They are usually made with sugar, but families might use other flavors based on their traditions. These cookies are often cut into fun shapes that remind people of Christmas.
Contents
The History of Christmas Cookies
The idea of modern Christmas cookies comes from Medieval Europe. Back then, new ingredients like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds, and dried fruit became popular. By the 1500s, Christmas biscuits were a hit all over Europe. For example, Lebkuchen was popular in Germany. In Sweden, people loved pepparkakor, and in Norway, krumkake was a favorite.
The first Christmas cookies in the United States arrived with the Dutch in the early 1600s. Later, between 1871 and 1906, it became easier to import goods from Germany. This meant that cookie cutters became widely available in America. These cutters often had cool designs, like shapes you could hang on a Christmas tree. Because these tools were so common, cookbooks started including recipes for them. In the early 1900s, decorated Lebkuchen cookies from Germany were also imported to be given as gifts.
In Canada and the United States, a fun tradition started in the 1930s. Children began leaving cookies and milk out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Many people also just enjoy eating the cookies themselves! These cookies are often shaped like candy canes, reindeer, holly leaves, Christmas trees, stars, or angels.
Popular Christmas Cookie Types
Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread has been around for a long time, ever since spices and sugars were brought to Europe by soldiers from the Crusades. However, gingerbread cookies became strongly linked to Christmas when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made them part of their German Christmas traditions. Gingerbread cookies are also a classic treat in Alsace, a region in France.
Bredala
Bredala are special Christmas cookies from the Alsatian cuisine in France.
Fattigmann
Fattigmann is a traditional cookie from Norway. It dates back to the Middle Ages. These cookies are deep-fried in unsalted fat, making them unique.
Kerstkransjes
Kerstkransjes are traditional Christmas cookies from the Netherlands. They are round with a hole in the middle, like a small wreath. The most common type is decorated with almond chips.
Krumkake
Krumkaker are traditional cookies from Norway. They were first baked over open fires using special decorative irons. Today, people use electric or stovetop irons to make these very thin biscuits. The name Krumkaker means "bent cake" or "twisted cake." This is because they are wrapped into a cone shape while still warm.
Pepparkakor
Pepparkakor are thin, crispy gingersnap biscuits from Sweden. They are traditionally cut into flower and heart shapes.
Pfeffernüsse
Pfeffernüsse cookies come from Scandinavia. They have been around since medieval times. Back then, spices were mainly used for holiday baking, making these cookies very special.
Repostería
Repostería is a Mexican cookie that is similar to shortbread. These cookies are lightly baked. Then, they are dipped into a mix of cinnamon and sugar until they are fully covered. Repostería cookies are often served with coffee or hot, spiced Mexican chocolate.
Sandbakelse
Sandbakelse are sugar cookies from 19th-century Norway. The dough is pressed into small tins. Then, they are baked in an oven until golden.
Springerle
Springerle have been traditional Christmas cookies in southern Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) and Austria for hundreds of years. They are anise-flavored cookies. They are made from a dough of egg, flour, and sugar. These cookies are usually made in simple shapes, like rectangles or circles.
After shaping, a picture or design is often pressed into the soft dough. This is done using specially carved rolling pins or presses. Once baked, the designs are sometimes colored. This is usually done if the cookies are meant to be used as decorations.
Sugar Cookies
The modern sugar cookie is also known as Amish sugar cookies or Nazareth sugar cookies. It was created by the Moravians. They settled in the Nazareth area of Pennsylvania from Germany in the mid-1700s. In 2001, Pennsylvania officially named the Nazareth sugar cookie as its state cookie.
See also
In Spanish: Galleta de Navidad para niños
