Jumble (cookie)

Jumbles are cookie-like pastry, common in England and abroad since the middle ages, which tend to have a relatively simple recipe of nuts, flour, eggs, and sugar, with vanilla, anise, or caraway seed flavoring.

Jumbles were known by many variations on the basic name, including jambal, jemelloe, and gemmel. They were widespread, specifically because they travelled well, thanks to their very dense, hard nature. They could be stored for up to a year without becoming too stale. Because of their density, they were sometimes twisted into knots before baking, in order to make them easier to eat, generating knots as another common name.

History

Jumbles were widespread in Europe by the 17th century, but possibly originated in Italy as the cimabetta. A very common cookie for travelers, they probably were brought to America on the Mayflower, if not Jamestown previously. There is even a famous recipe credited to Martha Washington.

The use of the word "jumble" for cookie predates the use of the word "jumble" as "a mixture of stuff", possibly allowing for the pastry as the origin of the word, altogether. [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=jumble]

References:

* [http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcookies.html#sugarcookies Food Timeline article]
* [http://www.foodandheritage.com/jumbles.htm Recipe on foodandheritage.com]