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Joyful Holiday Baking
Among my fondest childhood memories are the many times when we gathered around the kitchen table to bake Christmas cookies and other treats. We’d put on our favorite Christmas music albums and get to work mixing ingredients, rolling and cutting out cookies.
Families have enjoyed baking holiday treats together for generations. This month, we’ll explore the history and joy of holiday baking.
Why Do We Bake At Christmastime?
The History of the Christmas Cookie
Not so long ago, we didn’t have refrigerators, ovens, box mixes or exotic ingredients from every corner of the globe.
Life was largely agrarian. People could only eat what was grown and produced locally or regionally.
Unless you were royalty, extraordinarily wealthy or a soldier being dispatched to foreign wars, it was unlikely that you’d have a chance to enjoy the flavors we take for granted today.
In those days, as winter approached, farming was done for the year and it was time to hunker down and try to survive. Supplies that had been laid by for the off season were relied upon to keep people fed.
Baking was not only a necessity to keep the family supplied with fresh bread, but it also helped to keep the house warm. As the holidays rolled around, people saw the value in splurging a little. Special recipes helped bring a little variety to the bleak days of December.
As the world grew a bit smaller and modern conveniences began to be invented, the holiday season became a time to indulge. Clipper ships, steam liners and even aircraft brought flavors from around the world to the average family’s pantry.
What had once been a daily necessity now became a treasured holiday pastime. Anyone could buy bread or cake at the corner store, but baking Christmas cookies, mince pies, holiday puddings or gingerbread were now something to be done for fun.
I had the good fortune to grow up at a time when it was both fun and convenient to spend a few afternoons each holiday season helping my mom to bake and decorate the cookies we’d be sharing with family and friends.
Today, it’s easier than ever. There are so many flavors, national traditions, innovative recipes and decorating techniques to choose from.
Christmas Baking, Outside The Box
Traditional Gingerbreads
Making Medieval Gingerbread
Gingerbread may go back as far as Ancient Greece, but some of the first historical mentions come from the time of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th Century.
As the video above depicts, gingerbread at this time seems to have been closer to candy than the cakes and cookies of today.
Gingerbread in the Elizabethan Age of the 16th Century was all the craze among the aristocracy and who’s who of the day.
In Germany, a form of gingerbread known as Lebkuchen was restricted to Easter and Christmas by the baking guilds.
The tale of Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm depicted the home of a witch in the forest that was constructed of bread, with a roof of cake and barley windows that led bakers throughout Europe to bake decorative, edible houses.
Today, we can enjoy splendidly moist, soft gingerbread with whipped cream, comical gingerbread people with raisins for buttons and icing as clothes or we can enjoy the architectural marvels of professional gingerbread house competitors.
Who had the best Christmas cookie recipe? | Ancient Recipes With Sohla
Even Scrooge Would Smile
The Victorian Christmas kitchen
A lot of what we think of as Christmas traditions today began in the Victorian Period. It was a time of social and technological innovation.
Charles Dickens gave us the tale of a miser’s redemption. People’s increasingly busy schedules gave us the first Christmas cards and the royal family’s photo beside a Christmas tree ensured that everyone who was anyone would do the same.
As the sun never set on the British Empire, these quaint traditions would spread across continents and oceans. As mentioned in the video above, it was during the Victorian Period that modern conveniences such as box mixes, spice caddies and gas ovens were invented and widely produced.
As things that had once been dreadfully time-consuming were quickly being replaced with modern conveniences, more people could enjoy the luxury of free time. Baking for fun rather than out of sheer necessity was now a way to celebrate the holidays.
How to Make A Christmas Cake – The Victorian Way
Things have only gotten better since then and we can look forward to all the exciting innovations of future generations. We hope you have enjoyed this exploration of joyful holiday baking with us.