Warm fresh baked cookies at home are a Winter pleasure for many of us. It’s the ultimate feel-good snack considering that you can pair it with warm milk or hot cocoa. But how much do we really know about a plate of delicious cookies?
Exactly.
Which is why we thought you might enjoy a few fun facts about your favorite kind of snack, just so you can brag to your friends over a cup of joe. Let’s find out what they are.
1. It’s Persian
Yes, cookies have their origins in 7th Century Persia right after the use of sugar had become popular in the area. It was during the Islamic conquest of Spain that the recipe moved to Europe and to the rest of the world thereafter.
2. Unity in Diversity
There is truly something magical about this wonderful snack and history proves it. By the end of the 14th Century, these biscuits adorned the plates of all kinds of people, from peasants to royalty!
3. Some cookies aren’t even baked
Who would have thought that right?
But, it’s true. There are some recipes like the peanut butter and chocolate cookie that cools and hardens at room temperature and makes for an amazing snack.
4. Its name has Dutch origins
While the snack may have been Persian, the name with which it was popularised came from the Dutch. The immigrants carried the beloved bake to America’s New Amsterdam in the late 1620s and called it ‘koekje’ which later became anglicized to cookie.
5. Ruth Wakefield invented choco-chip cookies in the 1930s
And like many other iconic inventions, the chocolate-chip cookie was an unintentional mistake.
All Wakefield wanted, was to tweak her butterscotch nut cookie but the chocolate did not melt evenly and formed sweet blobs all over the bake.
What would we do without this delectable error?
6. It comes in all sizes
From tiny fortune cookies up to 40,000 pounds, cookies come in all shapes and sizes. The largest specimen was made by Immaculate Baking Co. and needed 8 months of hard work.
7. Oreo, the American cookie giant is actually “inspired”
The cookie that melts hearts around the world is actually inspired from another brand Hydrox, which predates them by 4 years.
8. Fortune cookies aren’t really from China
In spite of what popular culture might have you believe, Chinese fortune cookies are not a tradition of the East. It is in fact an American thing and the modern version was served in San Francisco in the late 1800s.
They were made by a bakery named Benkyodo and served at Makoto Hagiwara’s Japanese Tea Garden in the Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
9. Chinese Fortune cookies were too American for China
In an ironic turn of events, Wonton Foods wanted to expand the fortune cookie market into China where it would fail to work because it was too American!
10. A matchmaking snack
The gingerbread man, a popular cookie, was had by English women in their hopes of finding a soul mate.
Now that you have enough fun facts on cookies, here’s a unique and easy cookie recipe that can help you make Winter evenings a lot more special!
If you enjoyed reading this blog, we also suggest you read 5 Lip-smacking Indian Sweets Recipes you can try at Home.