COOKIES FOR THE COLD

Does your family have a winter tradition where you get together and bake cookies? Many families do, as baking cookies is a great way to spend time with your family members and celebrate the winter holidays. Although many families bake cookies together, not every family bakes the same kinds of cookies. Some families bake the classic snickerdoodle cookies and gingerbread, while others make cookies like candy cane cookies or chocolate crinkle cookies. 

COOKIES BEING MADE TO WARM UP THE SEASON; GRAPHIC BY LILI NANDELL

  One of the most popular cookies is the snickerdoodle. Snickerdoodles are fairly simple and easy to make soft cookies that are topped with cinnamon and sugar. A recipe by Trisha Yearwood on Food Network uses salted butter, vegetable shortening, sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour, cream of tartar (cream of tartar is sometimes added to snickerdoodles to help them rise and to give them a tangy flavor, but it is not necessary), baking soda, fine salt, and ground cinnamon. Again, snickerdoodles are quite easy and quick to make, as they only take about 35 minutes to make and usually only require 8 or 9 ingredients. 

Many people argue about the origin of snickerdoodles’ name. According to an article by Jonathan Rowe from Cheryl’s Cookies, some people think that the word “snickerdoodle” comes from the German word “schneckennudeln,” which means “snail noodles.” This name started as the name of a type of pasta dish, and was then used for the name of a German cinnamon roll. Due to snickerdoodles being cinnamon cookies, the name was also used for them. However, others think that the name comes from the Dutch word “snekrad,” which means “crinkle” or “wrinkle.” This may have been used because of the wrinkled appearance of the top of snickerdoodles. Lastly, others believe that the name comes from another cinnamon dessert called the “snipdoodle” coffee cake. 

Another popular cookie is the classic gingerbread cookie. Gingerbread cookies can be soft or crispy cookies that taste strongly of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. A recipe on Food Network by Alex Guarnaschelli uses salted butter, sugar, orange zest, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground dry ginger, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, salt, eggs, dark molasses, and lemon juice. Unlike snickerdoodles, gingerbread cookies are a bit time consuming and use many ingredients. It takes about one hour and five minutes to prepare this recipe along with it using about 15 ingredients. 

According to an article from The Spruce Eats by Barbara Rolek, early gingerbread cookies were first made in ancient Greece and ancient Egypt, where they were used for ceremonial purposes. It was introduced to Europe when Crusaders brought ginger from the Middle East, and gingerbread became a popular dessert as ginger and other spices became more widespread. Hundreds of years after it gained popularity in Europe and the recipe was changed from using breadcrumbs to using flour, eggs, and sweeteners, Queen Elizabeth I created the first gingerbread man. Today, gingerbread cookies continue to be enjoyed by many people around the world in different forms and versions, from human-shaped to house-shaped.

Chocolate crinkle cookies, while not as popular as the more classic cookies, have become increasingly popular in the last 70 years. These cookies are soft, chocolaty, and covered in powdered sugar. A recipe by Garrett McCord on Simply Recipes uses natural unsweetened cocoa powder, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and powdered sugar. While these cookies only take about 15 minutes to prepare and 13 minutes to cook, you need to chill the dough for about four hours. Due to the dough having to be chilled, the total time it takes to prepare this recipe is about four hours and 28 minutes. 

According to an article by Andrea Potischman on Simmer + Sauce, chocolate crinkle cookies were first made in the 1950s by Helen Fredell, who lived in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her recipe was first featured in a Betty Crocker cookbook called “Cooky Carnival.”

 Another well-known winter cookie is the pecan puff, which is also known as, but not limited to, the Mexican wedding cookie, pecan snowball cookie, and Russian tea cake. Pecan puffs are buttery cookies that are covered in powdered sugar and made with pecans. A recipe by the grandmother of a member of The Anchor uses ingredients such as butter, sugar, vanilla, chopped pecans, and flour. Different spices can also be used. This recipe takes about 50 minutes in total. 

When asked about how pecan puffs became a tradition in his family, the previously mentioned member of The Anchor answered, “It was an old family recipe that became a favorite.” It is unknown where pecan puffs themselves originated, as many countries claim to have created the first recipe, according to an article by Maki Yazawa on the Institute of Culinary Education website. Most people believe that pecan puffs were first created in the Middle East during medieval times and were spread to Europe after more trade routes were opened. In the 16th century, pecan puffs are believed to have been brought to the Americas by Spanish conquistadors or European nuns.

One last cookie that is enjoyed by many people during winter is the candy cane cookie. Candy cane cookies are peppermint-flavored cookies that are shaped like candy canes. A recipe by Betty Crocker Kitchens on the Betty Crocker website uses sugar, softened butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract, an egg, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, red food dye, and crushed peppermint candies. This recipe is a bit time consuming, as making 54 servings takes about six hours in total due to the time it takes to form the cookies. 

 The first candy cane cookie was featured in the Betty Crocker “Cooky Book” that was published in 1963, according to the recipe on the Betty Crocker website.