Like so many things essential to the holiday, Christmas cookies likely originated in medieval Europe, probably around Germany. Increased access to sugar and spices meant the Yuletide desserts got a sweet, flavorful overhaul. Small, lightly-leavened sweets could be easily shared with friends, guests and neighbors, so cookies became a popular option. They can also last a bit longer than many cakes (more on that in a future post), which is great for the winter months.
Cookies made it to the New World via the Dutch in the 17th century, and our word for this treat likely comes from those colonists, as well. The Dutch would ring in the New Year with open house parties that featured little cakes; our cookies spun off from these miniature treats. Rumor holds that George Washington kept this tradition when he was living in New York (apparently, dude loved New Year’s. Maybe we’ll talk more about this later…?)
Anyway, even as sugar and spices became more plentiful, they still remained largely a luxury due to wood-fired ovens. Baking cookies is a bit of a finicky operation, as they need fairly even heat and short cooking times. We can assume that most of those first cookies were quite hard, which is likely why they’re sometimes called biscuits (by people who don’t know words good.) Biscuit comes from Old French and means to cook twice; biscuits were hard cakes cooked a second time in a low-temperature oven to dry them out completely. This generally made them last longer, often serving as a staple food for seafaring folks. Similarly, those first Christmas cookies were probably made intentionally quite dry to last longer so as to not waste any of the precious – and pricy – spices.
Cookie cutters probably originated in Italy sometime in the 1400s. Many of the first ones were made of wood and served to “imprint” the cookies, as well, pressing designs into the dough while cutting out the shape. The precise cuts of metal cutters became more popular sometime in the 1700s, but England ruined that for the colonists by banning local tin production. The Industrial Revolution led to mass production of these cutters, putting them in the hands of just about any home cook. While fancy shapes were coveted, most households pretty reliably had biscuit cutters – that is, round cutters designed for savory biscuits and crackers – which still improved the look of cookies that otherwise would’ve been dropped or formed into balls, resulting in wobbly edges. (Interestingly, food historians point out that cookie cutters largely forced cookie recipes to focus more on shape and structure, less on flavor; take a bite of a sugar cookie and you’ll see what they mean.)
Spritz cookies probably originated in Germany and Scandinavian countries. These cookies featured an eggier dough that was extruded through a metal plate to create interesting shapes; from there, they were either fried or baked. The first ones were probably piped, not unlike icing – and no doubt, the process would remind you of churros or pâte à choux. Eventually, the process got industrialized, and now, we use a cookie press.
Cookie-making parties were a natural progression. The amount of work required meant making cookies was already a group activity. It only made sense to lighten the load with many hands while also pooling resources with friends and neighbors, such as cookie cutters and expensive spices. Cookbooks, too, began to spread through households.
Cookie swaps really took root in post-WWII America. Advances in home appliances and refrigeration made making cookies easier while ingredients were less much expensive. Home entertaining was a huge trend of the time, and homemakers turned everything into a party; cookie swaps were an easy way to get together to celebrate the season with a casual vibe.
Something that really shifted cookie-making parties and cookie swaps into overdrive? Pinterest, of course! As people were exposed to more “easy” recipes and elaborate designs, home cooks began experimenting more with their cookies. The two-hit combo of social media FOMO upped the stakes enough that people began sharing this tradition for public consumption (oh, what puns!)