For decades, American children have been leaving out cookies and milk for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, but few people know how and when the holiday tradition began.
In a special Christmas episode of Fox Nation's "At Home With Paula Deen," the celebrity chef breaks down the fascinating history behind the sweet tradition and how it inspired countries across the globe in a new episode of a "Cookie Cutter Christmas."
"We can thank the Dutch along with other Northern Europeans for bringing cookies to America in the 17th century," Dean said. " After a change in import laws, inexpensive kitchen items like cookie cutters were finally allowed to be imported from Europe into the American market. From there, a bunch of new recipes started to appear and the cookies and traditions we knew from the Middle Ages began to evolve."