On December 4th, National Cookie Day celebrates one of the world's most beloved treats in all their glorious varieties, from the Sesame Street favorite chocolate chip cookies to the now popular white chocolate macadamia cookies to decadent macaroons and so much more. So, celebrate National Cookie Day with a batch of your favorite cookies, a glass of milk, and a good friend.
Image Credit: Left to right: www.loveandlemons.com & muppet.fandom.com
In the 7th century, the Persians created cookies as a means of checking the temperature of an oven. Before making bigger cakes, Persian bakers would use a small amount of cake batter to test how hot the oven was. Consequently, the cookies we so love today started as small test cakes. The English word "cookie" is derived from the Dutch word koekie,meaning "little cake."
Cookie recipes spread throughout Europe when the Muslims conquered Spain. By the 14th century, cookies were popular on all levels of society from royalty to the common folk. In the 17th century, cookies arrived in America with macaroons and gingerbread cookies among early American favorites.
On November 26, 1976, Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster announced the celebration of the first National Cookie Day to celebrate the sugary goodness of the cookies he so loved. That year the holiday was included in the show’s calendar. In 1980, the Cookie Monster reconfirmed National Cookie Day in a children’s book entitled The Sesame Street Dictionary.
On December 4, 1987, Matt Nader of San Francisco’s Blue Chip Cookie Company, which claims to have baked the first white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, began celebrating National Cookie Day.
Today chocolate chip cookies are the most popular cookie in America and the Cookie Monster’s favorite. The first chocolate chip cookies, the original Toll House Cookies, were invented by Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts during the 1930s. Wakefield, the inn's owner, accidentally created the cookies when she added chopped chocolate to the batter while baking butter drop cookies. The recipe was published in a Boston newspaper and soon became a national favorite.
Here’s the official recipe if you want to try the recipe that made chocolate chip cookies famous! This recipe yields two to three dozen cookies.
Toll House Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheets
3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved into 1 teaspoon hot water
2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375°.
Cream the butter and sugars. Add the beaten eggs. Add the baking soda dissolved in hot water.
Sift together the flour and salt and add to the butter mixture. Then stir in the nuts, chocolate chips, and vanilla.
Chill the dough. (Optional)
Drop by the tablespoonful onto lightly greased cookie sheets and bake until browned at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
Since its inception in 1976, National Cookie Day has been famously celebrated by several companies. In 2019, DoubleTree by Hilton baked a chocolate chip cookie in orbit on the International Space Station, making it the first food baked in space. DoubleTree has released an annual Cook(ie) Books, entitled, We Have Cookies: Taste the World of DoubleTree by Hilton, featuring recipes inspired by their warm chocolate chip cookies which not only welcome guests around the world but represent the distinct flavors of the brand’s 500 hotels. In 2023, DoubleTree introduced an allergy-friendly version of their chocolate chip cookie which is gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan. DoubleTree has also shared the official recipe for their chocolate chip cookies so that people can bake them at home with ease.
In 2023, Subway, which sells more freshly baked cookies than any other restaurant company in the United States, celebrated National Cookie Day by releasing a footlong chocolate chip cookie. Currently, Subway is celebrating National Cookie Day by giving cookie lovers a chance to win free cookies every day through the end of the year, as well as free Footlong Cookies on qualifying delivery orders. Cookie lovers can win access to the first-ever Subway Cookie Club by visiting SubwayCookieClub.com starting Dec. 3 through National Cookie Day, Dec. 4. Subway boasts mouthwatering classics, like Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate, White Chip Macadamia Nut, Oatmeal Raisin, and Raspberry Cheesecake.
You can celebrate National Cookie Day by baking a batch of your favorite cookies or by setting up a cookie exchange with friends. For those who want to make healthier choices on National Cookie Day, the Medical Associates of Arkansas have created several healthier alternatives.
Sources:
https://newsroom.subway.com - Subway® Celebrates National Cookie Day With a Chance at Free Cookies All Month Long
Written by: Ninfa O. Barnard
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