Spiced, sweet, and full of festive nostalgia, gingerbread cookies are a timeless holiday favourite that fill the kitchen with the unmistakable scent of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. With origins tracing back to medieval Europe where ginger was prized as both a luxury and a preservative, these charming cookies have long been shaped into hearts, stars, and little people to celebrate special occasions and winter festivities.
The earliest ancestors of gingerbread were spiced honey cakes made in ancient Greece and Egypt. Later, the medieval European monks are often credited with being among the first to refine the version we recognise today. By the 11th–13th centuries, returning Crusaders and traders brought ginger from the Middle East and Asia into Europe, where it was combined with honey and breadcrumbs or flour to create early gingerbread recipes.
A member of the team added: “I like to punch a little whole into my cookie before I bake. Once done, I put ribbon through and use as a table napkin decoration at Christmas time”
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Recipe credit: Leearne Groves
TravelManagers respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands where we work and gather, and those we visit.
