Christmas cookie

{{Short description|Sweet pastries eaten during the Christmas season}}

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| type = Sugar biscuits and cookies

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Christmas cookies or Christmas biscuits are traditionally sugar cookies or biscuits (though other flavours may be used based on family traditions and individual preferences) cut into various shapes related to Christmas.

History

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Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west. By the 16th century Christmas biscuits had become popular across Europe, with Lebkuchen being favoured in Germany and pepparkakor in Sweden, while in Norway krumkake were popular.{{cite web |url=http://www.foodtimeline.org/christmasfood.html#cookies |title=Food Timeline: Christmas foods |work=The Food Timeline |first=Lynne |last=Olver |author-link=Lynne Olver |access-date=2009-12-13}}

The earliest examples of Christmas cookies in the United States were brought by the Dutch in the early 17th century. Due to a wide range of cheap imported products from Germany between 1871 and 1906 following a change to importation laws, cookie cutters became available in American markets. These imported cookie cutters often depicted highly stylised images with subjects designed to hang on Christmas trees. Due to the availability of these utensils, recipes began to appear in cookbooks designed to use them. In the early 20th century, U.S. merchants were also importing decorated Lebkuchen cookies from Germany to be used as presents.{{cite web |url=http://www.newenglandrecipes.org/html/christmas-cookie-tradition.html |title=Christmas Cookie Tradition |publisher=NewEnglandRecipes.org |access-date=2012-12-07}}

In Canada and the United States, since the 1930s, children have left cookies and milk on a table for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, though many people simply consume the cookies themselves. The cookies are often cut into the shape of candy canes, reindeer, holly leaves, Christmas trees, stars, or angels.

Popular Christmas cookies

=Gingerbread=

Gingerbread has existed in some form since sugars and spices were brought back to Europe, from soldiers in the Crusades. However, it was not until Queen Victoria and Prince Albert included it with a variety of other German Christmas traditions that the gingerbread cookies became primarily associated with Christmas.{{cite web |url=http://mymerrychristmas.com/2006/10gingerbread.shtml |title=The Tradition of Gingerbread |author=Carey, Mac |publisher=MyMerryChristmas.com |access-date=2009-12-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714143331/http://mymerrychristmas.com/2006/10gingerbread.shtml |archive-date=2011-07-14 }} Gingerbread cookies are also traditional in Alsace.

=Bredele=

Bredele are Christmas cookies in the Alsatian cuisine of France.

=Chocolate crinkle=

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Chocolate crinkles are Christmas cookies from Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The cookie's name is derived from a crackle of its cookie because while baking the dough expands and flattens while the coated powdered sugar cracks, giving it a crinkle effect,{{cite web|url=https://www.foxyfolksy.com/chocolate-crinkle-cookies/|title=Chocolate Crinkle Cookies|date=December 3, 2019|publisher=Foxy Folksy|access-date=April 29, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9861/chocolate-crinkles-ii/|title=Chocolate Crinkle Cookies|publisher=Allrecipes|access-date=April 29, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateCrinkles.html|title=Chocolate Crinkles Recipe & Video|last=Jaworski|first=Stephanie|publisher=Joy of Baking|access-date=April 29, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/chocolate-fudge-crinkles.html|title=Chocolate Crinkle Cookies|last=Segal|first=Jennifer|date=November 27, 2024|publisher=Once Upon A Chef|access-date=April 29, 2025}} making it resemble a snowflake.{{cite web|url=https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/chocolate-crinkle-cookies-recipe/941e22b3-9a48-4fb1-bdb0-27479e76d484|title=Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe|publisher=Betty Crocker|access-date=April 29, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://theunlikelybaker.com/chocolate-crinkles/|title=Chocolate Crinkles Easy Recipe|date=November 28, 2016|publisher=The Unlikely Baker|access-date=April 29, 2025}} Thus, the cookie is an icon for a Christmas treat for it reminds one of winter due to its resemblance of soil covered with snow.{{cite web|url=https://www.angsarap.net/2017/02/13/choco-crinkles/|title=Choco Crinkles|date=February 13, 2017|publisher=Ang Sarap|access-date=April 29, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://thebusybaker.ca/chocolate-crinkle-cookies/|title=Chocolate Crinkle Cookies|publisher=The Busy Baker|access-date=April 29, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chocolate-crinkles|title=Chocolate Crinkle Cookies|last=Sugarman|first=Susan|magazine=Real Simple|access-date=April 29, 2025}}

=Fattigmann=

A traditional cookie which dates from the Middle Ages in Norway, Fattigmann cookies are deep fried in unsalted fat.

=Kerstkransjes=

Kerstkransjes are traditional Christmas cookies from the Netherlands. They are round with a hole in the middle. The most usual type uses almond chips as decoration.

=Krumkake=

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Krumkaker are traditional cookies from Norway. They were originally baked over open fires using decorative irons; however modern cooks use electric or stovetop irons to bake these wafer-thin biscuits. Krumkaker owe their name, which means "bent cake" or "twisted cake", to the fact that they are wrapped in a cone shape.

=Pepparkakor=

Pepparkakor are crisp, thin gingersnap biscuits from Sweden, traditionally cut out in flower and heart shapes.

=Pfeffernüsse=

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Pfeffernüsse originate in Scandinavia and date from medieval times when spices were used exclusively in holiday baking.{{cite web |url=http://allrecipes.com/howto/scandinavian-christmas-cookies/Detail.aspx |title=Scandinavian Christmas Cookies |author=Dern, Judith H. |publisher=All Recipes.com |access-date=2009-12-13}}

=Repostería=

Repostería is a Mexican type of shortbread-like cookie that is lightly baked and dipped into a cinnamon sugar blend until the cinnamon sugar surrounds the cookie.{{cite web|url=http://www.familycookbookproject.com/view_recipesite.asp?rid=405334&uid=4793&sid=10882 |title=Reposteria (The Powdery Yummy Cookies) recipe - from the My Family's Best! A Collection of Recipes Family Cookbook |author=Clamp, Esther |publisher=FamilyCookbookProject.com |access-date=2010-10-28}} These are often served with coffee or hot spiced Mexican chocolate.

=Sandbakkels=

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Sandbakelse are sugar cookies from nineteenth century Norway. The dough is pressed into tins, and then baked in an oven.

=Springerle=

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Springerle have been traditional Christmas cookies in south Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) and Austria for centuries. They are anise-flavored cookies made from an egg-flour-sugar dough. They are usually made in simple shapes, such as rectangles or circles.

After shaping, they usually have a picture or design pressed into the soft dough with specially carved rolling pins or presses. After they are baked, the designs are sometimes colored if the intention is to use the cookies as decorations.{{cite web |url=http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CookieHistory.htm |title=History of Cookies |work=What's Cooking America |access-date=2009-12-13}}

=Sugar cookies=

Also called Amish sugar cookies or Nazareth sugar cookies, the modern sugar cookie was created by the Moravians, who settled in the Nazareth area from Germany during the mid-18th century. Pennsylvania adopted the Nazareth sugar cookie as the official state cookie in 2001.