I just watched an episode of Christmas Cookie Challenge on the Food Network hosted by Eddie Jackson and Ree “Pioneer Woman” Drummond. I remember when Eddie won “The Next Food Network Star,” and it is great to see him on a Food Network show. Plus, he is certainly nice to look at. Ree Drummond is from my home state of Oklahoma, and I have been to her restaurant and store in Pawhuska. I believe she has built a hotel now also. I have also been to Chip and Joanna Gaines’ — stars of HGTV’s “Fixer-Upper” show — store in Waco, and I will have to say the arrangement, display and variety of items in Ree Drummond’s store in Pawhuska was MUCH better. The Christmas Cookie Challenge episode I watched was to take a normal cookie cutter shape and transform it into something else. One baker took the Christmas tree shape and made it Santa wearing a golf hat. One took a gingerbread man shape and turned it upside down, making it a snowman. One took a mitten shape and made it a mouse holding a candy cane. The creativity was incredible! I love decorated Christmas cookies. I don’t really make them myself because they are way too much trouble. But I like seeing someone else’s efforts. Let’s learn more about Christmas cookies.
According to Wikipedia, Christmas cookies or Christmas biscuits are traditionally sugar cookies or biscuits — though other flavors may be used based on family traditions and individual preferences — cut into various shapes related to Christmas.
History
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 favored in Germany and pepparkakor in Sweden, while in Norway krumkake were popular.
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 stylized 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.
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. Gingerbread cookies are also traditional in Alsace.
Bredala
Bredala are Christmas cookies in Alsatian cuisine of France. According to the January 13 article “Bredala Christmas Cookies – Bredalas de Noël” at frenchmoments.eu, bredalas are little Christmas cookies whose preparation date back to the Renaissance. This is probably one of the best-known Alsatian traditions. The bredalas — the spelling changes depending on local Alsatian dialects: Bredele, Bredela… — are small cakes cooked before Christmas, during the Advent period. They can have a multitude of different shapes and tastes. And remember the tradition: the bredalas are often offered as a gift to family, friends or work colleagues, beautifully packaged.
Bredala takes a different name depending on the ingredients used and its shapes:
• Butterbredele – iced with lemon.
• Anisbredle – round biscuits perfumed with aniseed.
• Shwowebredele – with almonds and brushed with egg yolk.
• Spritzbredele – small shortbreads with lemon zest.
• Lebkuchen – little spiced cake fingers with satin frosting.
• Leckerli – diamond-shaped, from Basel, Switzerland.
• Springerle – aniseed bread.
Klenät
Klenät, kleinur, klena, klejne, kleina, kleyna and fattigmann are all names for angel wings, a fried pastry common in the Nordic countries as well as the rest of Europe and the United States. In nearby countries (such as Lithuania, is found under the name žagarėliai) and Eastern European countries (such as Romania under the name of minciunele or Russia, under the name krepli). The name is related to klen, the Swedish term for "slender," but is originally of Low German origin, which may indicate that the pastry was originally German. It is made from flattened dough cut into small trapezoids. A slit is cut in the middle and then one or both ends pulled through the slit to form a "knot." The kleina is then deep-fried in oil or another kind of fat. Subsequently can be sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
In Scandinavia, klenäter are traditionally eaten around Christmas, most commonly in the southern parts of Sweden, along with Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Denmark and the Baltic states, as well as Northern Germany. They may be sprinkled with sugar. Icelandic Kleinur are a very common everyday pastry, sold in bakeries (singly) and stores (in bags of ten or so) all around the country and eaten plain.
Klenäter are similar to the American cruller.
Klenäter are an old type of pastry and are mentioned in Denmark as early as the 14th century and appearing in Danish and Icelandic cookbooks in the 18th century and 19th century. They are also referenced in a Swedish poem by Anna Maria Lenngren from 1800, called “Grevinnans besök” or “The Countess' Visit.” In the poem, a countess is invited to a dinner party at the home of a pastor, where she is served klenäter as part of the entrée. Klenäter also frequently appear in Christmas stories by famous Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909.
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. Kerstkransjes are a traditional Dutch Christmas cookie. Kerstkransje means “Little Christmas Wreath” because these cookies resemble Christmas wreaths. According to thedutchtable.com, kerstkransjes are a typical sight in Dutch Christmas trees. Sprinkled with sugar, decorated with slivered almonds, round, scalloped, chocolate … they come in a variety of shapes and flavors, but always with a little hole in the middle so you can tie it to a branch of the tree.
Most often they are part of the initial decorations in the tree as soon as it’s set up, but will be eaten slowly and sneakily by the husband, the kids and the family dog, who then feign utter dismay and surprise when the whole tree is empty and all you find are naked ribbons on the branches. It’s all part of the tradition.
Krumkake
According to Wikipedia, krumkake (Norwegian: [ˈkrʊ̀mˌkɑːkə], meaning "curved cake") is a Norwegian waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar and cream.
Descended from the Italian pizzelle, a special decorative two-sided iron griddle, Sicilian cannolo or similar to a waffle iron is traditionally used to bake the thin round cakes. Older irons are used over the stove, but modern electric irons offer the convenience of nonstick surfaces, automatic timing and multiple cakes per batch. While hot, the 13–20 cm krumkaker are rolled into small cones around a wooden or plastic cone form. Krumkake can be eaten plain or filled with whipped cream — often multekrem, a traditional Norwegian dessert made by mixing cloudberries with whipped cream and sugar — or other fillings.
These cookies are popular not only in Norway but also among Norwegian immigrant descendants in New England and the American Midwest. Krumkaker are traditionally made in preparation for Christmas, along with other cookies of Nordic origin including Sandbakelse and Rosettes. They offer a sweet dessert after the traditional Christmas Eve dinner.
In Germany, the cookies are commonly filled with sweet stuffings. They are also used as a type of ice cream cone.
Pepparkakor
Pepparkakor — or pepper cookies in English — are spiced ginger cookies. They come under the general heading of gingerbread cookies and are traditionally baked for St Lucia's Day, December 13. They're also eaten at Christmas and make beautiful rustic ornaments for the Christmas tree. Pepparkakor are crisp, thin gingersnap biscuits from Sweden, traditionally cut out in flower and heart shapes.
Pfeffernüsse originate in Scandinavia and date from medieval times when spices were used exclusively in holiday baking.
Pfeffernüsse are small spice cookies, popular as a holiday treat with Germans and ethnic Mennonites in North America. Similar cookies are made in Denmark and the Netherlands. They are called pfeffernüsse (plural, singular is pfeffernuss) in German, pepernoten (sing. pepernoot), in Dutch, päpanät in Plautdietsch, pfeffernusse or peppernuts in English and pebernødder in Danish.
Johann Fleischmann, a confectioner from Offenbach am Main created the recipe in 1753. Goethe praised the pastries. Felix Mendelssohn went to Offenbach am Main especially to buy them. The state of Hesse has served it at state receptions.
In 1820, the Brothers Grimm warned their sister Charlotte against excessive consumption: "Don't eat too much of the pepper nuts, they should get very hot!" At that time, nutmeg was considered an aphrodisiac and cardamom as invigorating as caffeine.
In Germany, pfeffernüsse is associated with Christmas. The cookie has been part of yuletide celebrations since the 1850s.
The name literally means "peppernuts" and does not mean it contains nuts. The cookies are roughly the size of nuts and can be eaten by the handful, which may account for the name.
Sandbakelse
Sandbakelse or “sandbakkels” meaning sand tarts, “sandkaker,” and “hiekkahentuset” are a Nordic baking tradition. They are a Christmas tradition in many families.
Sandbakelse are made of flour, ground almonds, butter, eggs, sugar and almond extract — possibly with vanilla or rarely cardamom. After the dough is mixed and cooled, it is pressed into fluted tins. Children as young as two or three can help with this phase, so it is a first baking experience for many. After ten minutes in the oven, popping the cookies out of the hot tins is best left to adults.
In 1845 a recipe for sandbakelse appeared in a Norwegian cookbook, but they were not widespread until later in the 19th century. They became popular later than the similar krumkake because sandbakelse required fine flour, which was not yet widely available. Emigrants took their tins and recipes west across the sea, where sandbakelse remains an "old-country" Christmas tradition for many Norwegian-Americans.
Springerle
Springerle is a type of South German biscuit or cookie with an embossed design made by pressing a mold onto rolled dough and allowing the impression to dry before baking. This preserves the detail of the surface pattern. While historical molds show that springerle were baked for religious holidays and secular occasions throughout the year, they are now most commonly associated with the Christmas season.
The name springerle translates literally as "little jumper" or "little knight," but its exact origin is unknown. It may refer to the popular motif of a jumping horse in the mold or just to the rising or "springing up" of the dough as it bakes. The origin of the cookie can be traced back to at least the 14th century in southwestern Germany and surrounding areas, mostly in Swabia.
Sugar cookies
Sugar cookies are sweet, rich, and crumbly. Often they are decorated in different shapes and toppings. 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.
Because of how easy it is to cut and shape the sugar cookie dough, customized sugar cookies have become widely popular. Along the way, the invention of the biscuit/cookie cutter in 1875 made the process of creating cookies easier with more variation and complicated shapes.
Decorated cookies
The Dallas Morning News has a Christmas cookie contest every year. Below are some past winners.
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