Did you know that cookies were first “invented” to test the temperature of an oven, not to eat? According to culinary historians, back in the 7th century, bakers would take a small piece of batter and place it in their wood-fired stove to see if the oven was hot enough for full-on baking.

(And by the way, did you know there were such things as culinary historians? How do I apply for that?)

Did you know that actual Christmas cookies originated in the Middle Ages in Europe? The increased spice trade made sugar more accessible, but spices were still expensive so bakers only used flavorings such as cinnamon, nutmeg and dried fruits during the most important holidays, like Christmas.

Did you know that, according to tastesbetterfromscratch.com — and only after what I assume must have been painstaking, exhaustive research — the most popular Christmas cookies are sugar cookies (favored by 18.1% of 2,700 respondents), followed by snowball cookies (13.2%), peanut butter (12.4%) and snickerdoodles (10.8%)?

(And what, no rum balls?)

And did you know that........

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