The name cookie is derived from the Dutch word koekje. The British call them biscuits, originating from the Latin bis coctum (sounds a bit risky) and translates to “twice baked”. (Not to be confused with “half-baked”.) Food historians seem to agree that cookies, or small cakes, were first used to test the temperature of an oven. A small spoonful of dough was dropped onto a baking sheet and placed in the hearth oven. If it went well, the heat was ready for the whole cake or bread. Bakers and cooks used this method for centuries, usually tossing out the test cake, until they finally realized something was missing.

Alexander the Great’s army took a crude biscuit form on its many campaigns, gobbling them up as a quick pick-me-up after finding and sacking cities in its path, around 327 BC. As they were adopted by much of Europe, there are numerous documents that refer to what are now our modern day cookies (but not Oreos). Fast forward to the 7th century. The Persians (now Iranians) grew sugar and began to create cakes and cookie-like sweets. The Chinese, always trying to be the first to the party, used honey and baked small cakes over an open fire in pots and small ovens. In the 16th century, the almond cookie was created, sometimes replacing it with abundant nuts. Asian immigrants brought these cookies to the New World and they have joined our growing list of popular variations.

From the Middle East and the Mediterranean, this newly discovered concoction made its way to Spain during the Crusades, and as the spice trade increased, thanks to explorers like Marco Polo, new flavorful versions were developed along with new cooking techniques. Once it arrived in France, we know how French bakers loved cakes and desserts. Biscuits were added to their growing repertoire, and by the end of the 14th century, small filled wafers could be bought on the streets of Paris. Recipes began to appear in Renaissance cookbooks. Most were simple creations made with butter or lard, honey or molasses, sometimes adding nuts and raisins. But when it comes to food, simple isn’t in the French language, so their excellent pastry chefs raised the bar with muffins, macaroons, piroulines and meringue topping the list.

Cookies (cookies, actually) became the perfect travel food, because they stayed fresh for long periods of time. For centuries, a “ship biscuit,” which some described as having an iron-like texture, was aboard any ship leaving port because it could last the entire voyage. (I wish you had strong teeth that would last you too.)

It was natural that the first English, Scottish and Dutch immigrants would bring the first cookies to the United States. Our simple shortbread cookies are a lot like English tea cakes and Scottish sweet bread. Colonial housewives took pride in their cookies, which were first called “basic cakes.” After all, the British had enjoyed afternoon tea with biscuits and cakes for centuries. In early American cookbooks, cookies were relegated to the pie section and called Plunkets, Jumbles, and Cry Babies. All three were your basic sugar or molasses cookies, but no one seems to know where those names originated. Certainly not to be left out of the mix, enthusiastic President Thomas Jefferson served his guests a host of cookies and tea cakes, both at Monticello and at the White House. Although more of an ice cream and pudding fanatic himself, he enjoyed treating and impressing his guests with a wide variety of sweets. Later presidents counted cookies as their favorite desserts, including Teddy Roosevelt, who loved Fat Rascals (would I make that up?), and James Monroe, who loved cry babies. Despite their unusual names, these two early recipes are basic molasses cookies, with candied fruit, raisins, and nuts. They still exist, we just don’t call them that anymore.

Brownies came about in a rather unusual way. In 1897, the Sears Roebuck catalog sold the first brownie mix, introducing Americans to one of their favorite cookie bars. Although most cooks still baked their own treats, they adapted the recipe with variations of nuts and flavorings. And let’s not forget Girl Scout cookies, an American tradition since 1917, racking up more than $776 million in sales a year.

Americans buy more than $7.2 billion worth of cookies annually, clearly indicating a Cookie Monster nation. According to the Best Ever Cookie Collection, here’s how the top commercial brands compare:

1. Nabisco Oreos
2. Nabisco Chips Ahoy
3. Double Nabisco Oreo Stuff
4. Pepperidge Farm Milan
5. Private Label Chocolate Chip
6. Little Debbie Nut Bar
7. Little Debbie Cream Oatmeal
8. Nabisco Chips Ahoy Chewy
9. Nabisco Nilla Vanilla Wafers
10. Private Label Sandwich Cookies

Who could have predicted the huge popularity of the Oreo cookie, introduced in 1912 by the Nabisco Baking Company? Or the humble beginnings of the Toll House cookie in 1937 at a local Northeast diner. The United States leads the world in cookie production and consumption, spending more than $675 million a year on Oreos alone. The Toll House cookies are a close second, both packaged and homemade. Most of us have our favorite, whether it be chocolate chips, oatmeal raisins, sugar, or good old Fig Newtons. Who needs afternoon tea? Americans eat them 24/7.