SHARING COOKIES

1. SHARING COOKIES In America, a cookie is described as a thin, sweet, usually small cake. By definition, a cookie can be any of a variety of hand-held, flour-based sweet cakes, either crisp or soft. Each country has its own word for "cookie." What we know as cookies are called biscuits in England and Australia, in Spain they're galletas. Germans call them keks or Plätzchen for Christmas cookies, and in Italy there are several names to identify various forms of cookies including amaretti and biscotti, and so on. The name cookie is derived from the Dutch word koekje, meaning "small or little cake." Biscuit comes from the Latin word bis coctum, which means, “twice baked.” According to culinary historians, the first historic record of cookies was their use as test cakes. A small amount of cake batter was baked to test the oven temperature.

2. SHARING COOKIES (continued) • Food historians generally agree the art of crafting small baked goods into fancy shapes began as a Christmas tradition in Medieval Germany. Lebkuchen (gingerbread) was a highly sophisticated art. The legal right to make these products was carefully protected by Guilds. They were sometimes used as Christmas decorations. • Exchanging and decorating cookies is one holiday tradition that many enjoy. Often people use festively shaped cookie cutters to create celebrative shapes Sites- http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcookies.html, http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CookieHistory.htm