A Brief History of the Cookie

In America, the cookie is defined as a thin, sweet, small cake. However, by definition the cookie can one of the many, hand-held, flavor-based sweet cakes, either soft or crisp. A cookie is a small-sized, flat-shaped, sweet, backed snack usually made with flour, sugar, eggs and cooking oil. It may also have other ingredients such as nuts, raisins, and oats. The earliest cookies are estimated to date back in the seventh century Persia (now Iran), one of the pioneer countries to cultivate sugar. They are believed to have come from a short period of the use of sugar became popular in the Persian region. With the Muslim invasion of Spain, the ingredients and cooking techniques of the cookie were spread to Europe and by the 14th century, they had already become common to people from all walks of the society from street vendors to royal cuisines. In the 15th century, cookies had become an important symbol of Christmas and were mostly associated with that day. People had to eat cookies for Christmas and the majority, Christmas was just an ordinary day with the absence of cookies. With time, kids even forgot about Santa and paid more attention to the cookies.

With global traveling becoming so much widespread at that time, cookies became a natural travel companion for many people and a modernized equivalent of travel cakes so much used throughout history. One of the early cookies that became so much popular was the jumble. This cookie traveled particularly well and became known on almost every continent. It was relatively hard made from water, nuts and sweeteners. Cookies were introduced in the United States of America by the Dutch in New Amsterdam in the late 17th century. Currently, the earliest reference of cookies in the states dates back in 1703 when 800 cookies were provided by the Dutch in a New York funeral. The modern-day cookie, given its kind of styling by creaming of sugar and butter, was not so common until the beginning of the 18th century.

The formulation recipe for cookies is far much different from that of cakes and other sweetened bread because it has abandoned water as an ingredient in most of its forms. Putting water in the cakes helps make the base thin allowing the bubbles responsible for the fluffiness to form better. For the cookie, oils from lard, butter or vegetable oils have become the most common agent of cohesion.

Initially, cookies were mass-produced in large factories but with the technological revolution, many people are opting to make them at home. The ingredients required are similar to those used in many household cooking activities thus home-made cookies have become the new thing. Many people prefer serving cookies with beverages like coffee, tea or milk, but they can also be taken alone because of their crisp nature.

Currently, cookies have become very common and have increased in versatility and diversity. Now, you can enjoy an oval-shaped or bar-shaped cookie. Additionally, new cookie ingredients have been discovered, tested and are now being used to bake cookies that are delicious than ever before.

Contact The Black and White Cookie Company for more information today.