Sugar Cookie Tips and Fun Facts | The Sugar Association (2024)

Sugar Cookie Tips and Fun Facts | The Sugar Association (1)

Recipes

December 2018

Learn something new about a holiday favorite.

Sugar cookies are a treat to bake, share and enjoy with loved ones throughout the holiday season. They’re fun to decorate and easy to make using just a few simple ingredients. Not surprisingly, nature’s oldest sweetener is one of them. Sugar is responsible for much more than the cookies’ taste (and name). Enjoy these fun facts and tips as you share these holiday treats in moderation.

  1. Sugar adds bulk and contributes to the cookies’ color. There are often different types of sugar used in a single recipe. With more light brown or dark brown sugar, the finished cookies will be darker in color.
  2. The modern sugar cookie was originally called the Nazareth Sugar Cookie, after German Protestants who settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and improved the recipe.1 When forming the dough, they made the cookies resemble the state’s keystone emblem.
  3. The technique known as creaming can help you create fluffier cookies and get more out of a single batch. When you properly cream butter and sugar, you’re adding air to the cookie dough, lightening it and giving yourself more to work with.
  4. In 2015, Pillsbury earned the world record for most cookies/biscuits iced in one hour, enlisting the help of shoppers at Mall of America to decorate a total of 1,169 sugar cookies.2
  5. Sugar is a necessity in the batter, but it’s also helpful to have on hand for decorating. Sanding sugar is a common topper for sugar cookies, as its crystals reflect light and produce a shiny, sparkly appearance.

Now that you know more about sugar cookies, it’s time to get baking. Explore a few of our favorite recipes:

References:

  1. What’s Cooking America. History of Cookies. Available at: https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CookieHistory.htm. Accessed December 5, 2018.
  1. Pillsbury. Pillsbury Sets Cookie-Decorating World Record! (How Many? Come See!). Available at: https://www.pillsbury.com/holidays-celebrations/christmas/pillsbury-sets-cookie-decorating-world-record. Accessed December 5, 2018.

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FAQs

What are some fun facts about sugar cookies? ›

The modern sugar cookie was originally called the Nazareth Sugar Cookie, after German Protestants who settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and improved the recipe. When forming the dough, they made the cookies resemble the state's keystone emblem.

What does sugar cookie mean in Navy Seal? ›

McRaven describes the experience of Navy SEAL trainees who are subject — often randomly — to a punishment where they are directed to get wet and sandy on the beaches. By the time they are finished the trainees, covered in sand, look like “sugar cookies.”

What are some fun facts about cookies? ›

General Cookie Facts

Over a lifetime, the average American eats 35,000 cookies (we think we can beat that!). Santa Clause eats an estimated 336 million cookies on Christmas Eve. Americans spend $550 million on Oreos each year—it was the best-selling cookie of the 20th century, and it's still going strong!

How old is the sugar cookie? ›

History. Sugar cookies have a plain flavor and have been made for centuries. The popularity and availability of sugar cookies rose when sugar became widely available. The sugar cookie is believed to have originated in the mid-1700s in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

What is special about sugar cookies? ›

But the simplicity of the sugar cookie is also what ultimately makes it so delectable. Sugar cookies are rich and buttery, with just the right amount of vanilla-kissed sweetness. They're soft and chewy, with crisp edges and a center that melts in your mouth as you bite into them.

What does sugar cookies do to your body? ›

Cookies tend to be high in refined sugar and saturated fats. They're generally considered unhealthy, and eating them often can be a risk factor for developing type II diabetes, obesity and Alzheimers. Currently, across the globe, more than 1.6 billion people over 15 years old are overweight or obese.

What is the dirty name Navy SEAL? ›

The “Dirty Name” is a set of three logs spaced roughly 5 feet apart and arranged at heights roughly five feet taller than the next. Students must jump off of the first log and onto the second, followed by a final jump to grab and move over the third log.

What does the frog mean in the Navy? ›

CORONADO, Calif. - When the U.S. Navy established the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) during World War II, the heroic Sailors that we now know as Navy SEALs were commonly referred to as “Frogmen.” Today's Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community pays homage to its predecessors by using the same nickname.

What is the military slang for candy? ›

"Pogey bait" is a reference to sweets or candy, which was in usage in the military as early as 1918. The term alludes to food (and other luxuries) rarely afforded to grunts in the field.

Why is cookie called a cookie? ›

From 1808, the word "cookie" is attested "...in the sense of "small, flat, sweet cake" in American English. The American use is derived from Dutch koekje "little cake", which is a diminutive of "koek" ("cake"), which came from the Middle Dutch word "koke".

How old is the first cookie? ›

The Origin of the Cookie

The first cookies are thought to be test cakes bakers used to test the oven temperature. They date back as early as 7th Century A.D. Persia which is now Iran. They were one of the first countries to grow and harvest sugar cane.

What's the most eaten cookie? ›

What is the most popular type of cookie? It might just be this one. Ever the crowd-pleaser, the chocolate chip cookie is renowned for its balance of richness and sweetness.

What country made sugar cookies? ›

Let's have a hearty hip-hip-hooray for the German Protestants, who settled in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and invented the early sugar cookie. Their crumbly cookie made with butter and shaped into round or keystone shapes were a sweet hit from their formation in the late 1700s.

What's the difference between a sugar cookie and a regular cookie? ›

For our butter cookie tutorial, we explained that butter cookies have a high butter content to the sugar and flour. Sugar cookies, on the other hand, have a higher ratio of flour to butter, which makes this a very resilient dough for rolling out and cutting into shapes.

Is cookie male or female? ›

The name Cookie is primarily a gender-neutral name of English origin that means Sweet Biscuit. Rarely used as a given name. Usually a nick name or pet name.

What are the facts about sugar in baking? ›

Sugar easily binds with water, which accomplishes two main things. 1) It locks in moisture, keeping your baked goods from drying out; and 2) It inhibits the development of gluten which keeps your cookies, cakes and sweet breads softer. Variances in sugar type will create different outcomes here.

How long do sugar cookies stay? ›

The best way to store sugar cookies is in an airtight container at room temperature, with a layer of parchment paper or wax paper between each layer of cookies. Sugar cookies can last for up to two weeks at room temperature, up to a month in the refrigerator, and up to three months in the freezer.

Why do sugar cookies crack? ›

Issues with cracking usually derive from the sugar coating, not enough or expired baking powder or baking soda, or the oven temperature isn't hot enough. Solution: Granulated sugar is more effective at drying the surface than powdered sugar.

Why do sugar cookies have holes? ›

So by poking the holes in, the cookie. will ensure that the cookie shape does not spread, which sugar cookies love to do. It also helps it stay nice and flat at the top.

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