Here's how cookie travelled from Persia to conquer the world

The sweet and crisp cookies baked to perfection never fail to impress foodies, forcing them to go for more. The flat, round cookies have flour, sugar and a type of oil or fat as the main ingredients. Oats, raisins and chocolate cookies are incredibly healthy to snack on. Cookies in unique flavours made with ingredients like spices, peanut butter, nuts and dried fruits too are immensely popular. Some kind of oil or butter has to be used to hold the dough together and give the cookie a crispy texture. Cookies which are chewy and soft too are loved by lots of people.

Koekje

The term cookie is derived from the Dutch word ‘koekje’ which means little cake. It is known that, a kind of wafers, similar to cookies, was baked in the olden times. However, those wafers weren’t as sweet as the ones that are made today. It is also assumed that cakes or sweet breads may have toasted to crisp to make the wafers.

The cookie is believed to have originated in Persia around 7 AD, when the usage of sugar became popular in these areas. It was introduced to the Europe as a result of the Persian conquests. By the 14 AD, the cookie made its way to almost all the strata of the European society. It was loved by the European high society and was also sold at the way sides by street vendors. The cookie conquered the American continent, with its sweetness and texture, in the 17th century.

It is the man's desire to travel and explore which helped the cookie reach every nook and corner around the world, say historians.

Cookie day

It was the Sesame Street, an American educational children's TV series, which came up with the idea of dedicating a day for cookie. In 1976, they celebrated 26th November as the cookie day. However, in 1987, Matt Nader of the San Francisco based Blue Chip Cookie Company announced 4th December as the Cookie Day, to celebrate one of the most loved food items in the sweetest way possible.

Biscuits and cookies

In most of the English speaking countries, except the United States of America and Canada, a crisp cookie is often called a biscuit. However, this is not right, as cookies and biscuits are different in their texture, taste and also have different ingredients.

Types of cookies

There are a variety of cookies available based on the way in which it is baked. Bar cookies, drop cookies, filled cookies, moulded cookies, rolled cookies, pressed cookies, ice box cookies and sandwich cookies are some of the popular versions of the cookie. Cookies are available in more than 100 different flavours, made with an array of ingredients.