Next time you’re at a bakery, you may want to consider the origin of the word ‘cookie.’ While cookies are a bakery staple, most people aren’t keen on the entomology of the word itself. In fact, the word cookie has a lot more to do with cake than you might think! So where does the word cookie come from? The word cookie actually stems from the Dutch word “koekje” which translates to ‘’little cakes.’ Why was the first cookie named after cake?

Unlike cookies you’ll find at a bakery today, the very first cookies were made from scraps of pie crust or drops of extra cake batter. They weren’t quite as complex or involved ingredients wise as cookies now. In fact, you probably wouldn’t have found a cookie that took more than a handful of steps to put together. Ingredients weren’t as plentiful and means were more meager. People did with what they had, which is why the first cookies were made to stave off wasting the leftover scraps of other baked goods!

Ingenuity really was at an all time high back in the day! What could be made today with leftover scraps or baking ingredients?