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Christmas baking word search
A word search for anyone who fills cookie tins in December: stollen, pizzelle, spritz, linzer, rum balls, thumbprints and a fruitcake, plus the cloves and allspice that go in them.
Sixteen words in a 12 by 12 grid of large capitals. Words read across, down and diagonally, left to right, and the leftover letters spell a kitchen proverb.
Prints on US letter paper: the puzzle page, then the answer key on its own page (2 pages in all). In the print
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Solving tips
Look for the rare letters first: a Z, Q, J, X or K is easy to spot in big print. Then circle the long words, which cross more of the grid. Every letter belongs to a word or to the hidden saying, so the uncircled letters left at the end are the saying, in order.
In this grid, 4 words read across, 7 words down and 5 words diagonally, and none read backward. The longest is Sugar cookies and the shortest is Fudge, which hides best: look for it last.
About the words
Many American holiday cookies came with immigrants: spritz and stollen from Germany, pizzelle and biscotti from Italy, and ginger cookies from Scandinavia. Neighbors now swap them at cookie exchanges, each person bringing a favorite family recipe to share.
- Allspice
- Allspice is the dried berry of a tree native to Jamaica and Central America. Its flavor resembles a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, which is how it got its name.
- Biscotti
- The Italian word biscotti means “twice cooked.” The dough is baked as a log, sliced, and baked again until crisp and dry, which makes it ideal for dipping in coffee or wine.
- Cloves
- Cloves are the dried flower buds of an evergreen tree native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. Once worth a fortune in Europe, they now flavor gingerbread, ham and mulled drinks.
- Cookie tin
- A decorated metal tin is a favorite way to give cookies as a gift. Bakers often layer the cookies between sheets of wax paper so the shapes and icing stay neat.
- Cutters
- Cookie cutters are metal or plastic shapes pressed into rolled dough. Dipping the edge in flour first keeps the dough from sticking, so the shapes come out clean.
- Eggnog
- Eggnog is a chilled drink of milk, cream, eggs, sugar and nutmeg, sometimes mixed with spirits. It descends from warm British drinks and became a colonial American holiday tradition.
- Fruitcake
- Fruitcake is a dense loaf packed with dried or candied fruit and nuts. It is often made weeks ahead and brushed with spirits, so the flavors have time to blend.
- Fudge
- Fudge is an American candy of sugar, butter and milk or cream, boiled and beaten until smooth. A Vassar College student’s letter describes classmates making it in the late 1880s.
- Linzer
- Linzer cookies are sandwiches of two buttery, nutty rounds with jam between them, and the top has a cutout. They borrow the flavor of the Linzer torte, an Austrian cake from the city of Linz.
- Pizzelle
- Pizzelle are thin, crisp Italian waffle cookies, pressed between two hot patterned irons. They come from the Abruzzo region, and anise or vanilla is the classic flavoring.
- Rum balls
- Rum balls are no-bake treats made from cake or cookie crumbs, cocoa, nuts and a splash of rum, rolled into balls and coated in sugar, sprinkles or more cocoa.
- Spritz
- The name comes from the German word spritzen, “to squirt.” Buttery dough is pushed through a cookie press to make ridged wreaths, trees and other small shapes.
- Stollen
- Stollen is a German yeast bread filled with dried fruit and nuts and dusted with powdered sugar. The city of Dresden has been famous for its version for centuries.
- Sugar cookies
- Rolled sugar cookies are cut into stars, trees and bells, then iced or sprinkled. German settlers in Pennsylvania are often credited with popularizing cut-out cookies in America.
- Thumbprint
- A thumbprint cookie gets its name from the small dent pressed into each ball of dough before baking. The hollow is then filled with jam, jelly or chocolate.
- Yule log
- The French call this cake a bûche de Noël. It is a sponge cake rolled around cream and frosted to look like bark, recalling the old custom of burning a great log at midwinter.
The hidden saying (no peeking until you have found every word): This proverb warns that too many people directing one job can ruin it. It is centuries old and has no known author, and it is usually applied to kitchens, committees and other crowded projects.
Prefer a screen? Cottage Word Search is the same kind of puzzle to play free in your browser, with hints and saved progress.
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