Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies Recipe {Merry Christmas} (2024)

FAQs

What is the significance of gingerbread at Christmas? ›

In the late 17th century, gingerbread became associated with Christmas. Russian bakers prepared gingerbread men and women, usually as replicas of those people attending parties. Gingerbread houses were introduced about 200 years later, when the Grimm brothers wrote Hansel and Gretel. A new holiday tradition was born.

Today, the ultimate Christmas gingerbread incarnation is of course the gingerbread house. It has been suggested that these edible structures originated in Germany between the 16th and 18th centuries. The trend for gingerbread houses must have spread to Britain at some point during the nineteenth century.

Both are spiced cookies. The main differences are that gingersnaps are typically rolled into balls, while gingerbread is rolled out and cut into shapes. Gingersnaps are also baked slightly longer, which is where they get their snappy crispiness. Gingerbread is typically a little chewier.

​Superstitions about gingerbread flourished in the 17th century. Witches supposedly made gingerbread figures, ate them, and thereby caused the death of their enemies. Dutch magistrates went so far as to declare baking or eating molded cookies illegal.

Food historians trace the origins of gingerbread back to the ancient Egyptians, who used it for ceremonial purposes. The ancient Greeks followed suit with the first known recipe for gingerbread around 2400 B.C.

Many theorists believe that gingerbread houses being used as Christmas decorations is what gave way to Christmas gingerbread cookies becoming a staple of the season.

If you're planning the consummate Christmas cookie platter, eyebrows may be raised if there aren't a few gingerbread men peering out from their raisin eyes. Yes, this is the perfect time to talk about gingerbread. Funny thing is, gingerbread really is a year-round thing.

First, the texture of the cookie needs to be fairly crispy along the outside with a semi-soft, cake-like inside, and like all "perfect" cut-out cookies, they definitely need to keep their shape when baked. Secondly, they must taste sweet but notably spicy, and have a rich molasses flavour.

Is shortening or butter better for gingerbread? ›

Is Butter Or Shortening Better For Gingerbread Cookies? Cookies made with butter, especially high-sugar recipes, tend to be flatter and crispier than cookies made with shortening. Because of butter's low melting point, the dough tends to spread during baking before the structure sets.

Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft? Soft gingerbread biscuits are ideal. They ought to be flexible. However, they should still be somewhat elastic, and if you hold them too firmly because you're so excited to eat them, you might even be able to leave your fingerprints on the cookie!

A fear that gingerbread men could be the agents of the devil also spread throughout Europe. In 1607, the superstitious magistrates of Delft in the Netherlands made it illegal to either bake or eat any of these molded and spiced cookies. This was also a time of religious upheaval.

How did gingerbread come to be associated with Christmas? In the Fourth Century A.D. there was an effort to convert pagans to Christianity. Gingerbread was an important part of pagan religious ceremonies which took place in the month of December.

Gingerbread became widely available in the 18th century. Gingerbread came to the Americas with settlers from Europe.

In England, gingerbread was also thought to have medicinal properties. 16th-century writer John Baret described gingerbread as "a kinde of cake or paste made to comfort the stomacke." Gingerbread was a popular treat at medieval European festivals and fairs, and there were even dedicated gingerbread fairs.

Lebkuchen is traditional German gingerbread made with honey and a variety of spices (including ginger). The Bavarian city of Nuremberg has produced Lebkuchen for centuries, and in 1996 the city was made a protected designation of origin (PDO), meaning that Nuremberg Lebkuchen can only be produced within its borders.