Yahoo Lifestyle The 200-Year-Old Gingerbread Cookie Recipe That Will Change the Way You Make the Classic Treat
For as long as I can remember, Christmas meant gingerbread men. We loved to bake in my house, but cookies (aside from the Original Toll House ones) weren't really our thing, so the gingerbread cookies I nibbled on at Christmas cookie swaps and holiday parties were all I knew. But as I grew older and wiser, I learned about different types of cookies especially that of the spiced variety.
First I spiced it up differently. Thanks to Taylor Swift and Joy the Baker, I embraced the great joys of chai-spiced sugar cookies. Eventually, I dug into cookie history and made my way back to gingerbread cookies and stumbled upon a 200-year-old cookie recipe known as the Joe Frogger.
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What are Joe Frogger Cookies?
Molasses cookies were an important part of Colonial New England food culture. Different towns in different states were very territorial about their way of preparing the cookie. (How very American!) Joe Froggers were associated with Marblehead, Massachusetts and historians believe the recipe was created by Lucretia, a free black woman who was married to another former enslaved man named Joseph Brown.
Upon becoming free, Joseph ran a tavern in Marblehead that was popular among sailors. The cookies Lucretia made developed a cult following with sailors, especially because the treats stayed fresh for a very long time. The high sugar content meant the sailors could enjoy a soft and chewy cookie well into a long voyage.
So, why are they called Joe Froggers? "Joe" signifies Joseph Brown while "Froggers" is a nod to how the dough would splatter like a frog's legs when it hit the pan (Lucretia would often bake the cookies on a hot skillet).
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What's the Difference Between a Joe Frogger Cookie and a Classic Gingerbread Cookie?
Joe Froggers are gingerbread cookies but not all gingerbread cookies are Joe Froggers. The two cookies are spiced with a similar list of spices: ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice. Gingerbread cookies typically feature molasses as the primary sweetener but often include eggs and milk for a more delicate, crisp dough. To be a Joe Frogger, a cookie should contain molasses and rum (!!!) and no eggs. The absence of eggs may sound alarming if you bake cookies often, but Joe Froggers are moist and chewy thanks to the combination of molasses and butter.
The recipe for Joe Froggers also calls for an unconventional cookie ingredient: hot water. The water activates the baking soda and helps it dissolve. Legend has it that Lucretia used hot seawater to further extend the cookie's shelf life (do not try this at home).
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What Are People Saying about Joe Frogger Cookies?
"They've been a favorite of mine since my childhood, my mom still makes them every year just for me," writes TikTok creator @kaelahe in the caption of her Joe Froggers recipe video.
"My favorite part about them is they stay this gooey," Kaelah says as she breaks one of her freshly baked Joe Froggers in half. Many New England locals rushed to the comments of her video with mixed reactions.
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A lot of people said something along the lines of this commenter's words: "I've lived in New England since 1981 and never hear of 'Joe Frogger' cookies. They look good." As a fellow New Englander who came to Joe Froggers later in life outside of New England, I have to agree.
"I have a cookie exchange next week. Kinda wanna them make these now," said one excited baker.
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Someone commented, "my Grammy, born in 1925, in Central Connecticut, taught me how to make these 💜 thank you for giving me the reminder!" How sweet!
Wherever you may stand with these cookies, long live the Joe Frogger cookies and the memories you made or will make with them during the holiday season. It's a timeless recipe for a reason!
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