What's In a Name?

I had stopped at a friend's garage sale mainly to visit although I have to admit, I love to peruse for possible new treasures. Actually the only treasure to return to End of the Rainbow Valley wasn't sitting in their garage as our friends had thought of us (actually Natureman since it was his birthday) and had a special gift from Holland. And this is what returned to the Valley:

From my German knowledge and its proximity to Dutch, I could translate the tin's Dutch label Jodenkoechen as "Jewish Cookies." But what in the heck is a Jewish cookie? I was anxious to open the tin and see what they looked like. What I found was a flat 10cm brown sugar cookie.

My curiosity was piqued so of course I 'Asked Jeeves' and 'Googled' Jodenkoecken AND after eating them, not only learned this cookie's history but also was inspired to try making them.

There are actually 4 different stories. The following are all 'lifted' from the internet with some paraphrasing.

Most popular story:

The tin's label actually is factual as the original jodenkoek was made by a baker with the surname Davelaar, in Alkmaar, Netherlands in 1883. Albert Gover began a little bakery in Alkmaar and Dirk Davelaar took over the store in 1924 rebuilding it and placing a lot of ads in the local newspaper. The popularity of his specialty, de jodenkoeken, grew.

(BTW Lotus Bakeries and O'Lacy also use this same name for similar products.
Some producers have changed the name of the product to jodenkoek, after the new orthography of the Netherlands from 1996.)

▪Some say the name has nothing to do with Jews, but that a baker with surname ‘de Joode’ baked the cookies.

▪Jodenkoeken are big but very flat, making it a cheap product to produce. A lot of cheap products got the addition Jewish in former times. A lot of Jews were poor, making it likely that they bought cheaper things because it was necessary. Interesting interpretation. Hmmm.

▪The last story associates the cookie with unleavened bread, Matzoh, baked by the Jews of ancient Egypt at the time of the exodus. The connection is made by the physical properties that both the cookies and unleavened bread have in common: they are both flat, crunchy and have a very low moisture content, resulting in a long shelf-life.

Some thought the name discriminating and the manufacturer thought about changing it but in the end, he didn’t. Jodenkoeken are exported to England and China, but because of the difficulty of the name explanation, the export product is called Dutch Cookies. I loved this tidbit!

At first the cookies were sold in iron tin-plates with a yellow wrapper. Now you can also buy them in plastic tin-plates with a purple wrapper. Because the cookies are in a tin-plate, they are packed air-tight so they remain fresh and crunchy.

So do you want to try making them? The following is a simple recipe and they are great with a nice cup of tea/ coffee and not difficult to make. Natureman said he liked them.

This recipe is from the Vegweb from Quoar who accidentally made these...and realized she had replicated the famous Jodenkoeken, Dutch sugar cookie. It's close.

Preparation Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 to 20 minutes

You will need:

1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
Brown sugar for sprinkling

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.
2) Mix dry ingredients , then add wet ingredients until a sticky dough. (It will be very sticky).
3)Scoop dough one tablespoon at a time onto cookie sheet
4) Sprinkle the cookies with brown sugar.

Here they are oven ready. I have no clue how you would do the scalloped edge with the dough so tacky. I will experiment with that next time and there will be a next time.

5) Bake 15 minutes, checking on them every three minutes until dark brown.
6) Take them out of the oven
7) Let harden about 10 minutes.

While the cookies are cooling and hardening. Boil your water for that cup of tea
AND ESS. Eat as my Grandmother used to say...