A Short History of Cookies

We know that small cakes have been served since baking as we know it began. The Romans celebrated important events such as weddings and fertility rites with cakes made with honey and rye flour and studded with nuts and dried fruit. These were the ancestors of fruitcake, panforte (an Italian fruit and nut cake), certain kinds of cookies such as mostaccioli in Italy and Lebkuchen in German-speaking countries, and many of the baked goods we still make today.

The Greeks also produced small cookie-like cakes made from flour and honey. These were called boen and that’s how we got the word “bun.”