A Tasty Timeline for Gingerbread
Fun facts about your favorite holiday cookie.
Become a Gingerbread Guru
Robert Duensing, owner of Best Regards Bakery (and Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge” competitor) says the key to making an unforgettable gingerbread cookie is to use two kinds of ginger – ground and freshly grated. “You want your gingerbread to a have a little kick. Nobody wants a cookie that’s bland.”
But he warns to use caution with that ginger you’ve just grated because a little goes a l-o-n-g way. As for decorating the cookie the champ says royal icing looks pretty, but if you want people to eat your cookie then it’s buttercream for the win.
2400 BC
Historians believe the first recipe for gingerbread came from the Greeks who used it for ceremonial purposes.
1588
Queen Elizabeth I is credited with creating the gingerbread man. She had the idea of cutting shapes out of the dough and decorating the cookies to look like dignitaries visiting her court.
1812
The Grimm Brothers write “Hansel and Gretel” and gingerbread houses decorated with sweets become widely popular.
2013
