Welcome to our series sharing Food Holidays: December 3rd, 2021. It’s National Cookie Day and if I could I would have Oreo’s and Milk with Charlie. Although, Charlie’s favorite Cookie is a M&M Cookie. While mine is Peanut Butter and David likes Oatmeal Raisin. What is your favorite Cookie and why?
National Cookie Day
National Cookie Day is December 4th get ready to refill your Cookie Jar. Maybe you prefer your Cookies to have a crunchy snap, or maybe you’d rather bite into a soft and chewy Cookie. Either way, eating Cookies brings us happiness. We should all eat Cookies more often.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL COOKIE DAY
In America, a Cookie is described as a thin, sweet, small Cake. By definition, a Cookie can be a variety of hand-held, Flour-based Sweet Cakes, crisp or soft. Each Country has its own word for “Cookie”. In England and Australia Cookies are referred to as Biscuits, in Spain Cookies are called Galletas. Germans call Cookies Keks. In Italy Cookies have several names to identify the various forms of the Cookie. In America, the Dutch word “koekje” was changed to “Cookie”. Cookies came to America through the Dutch in New Amsterdam in the late 1620s. The earliest reference to Cookies in America is in 1703, when the Dutch in New York provided 800 Cookies for a Funeral.
Hard Cookie-like Wafers have existed for as long as baking has been documented. However, Cookies were not sweet enough to be considered Cookies by modern standards. Cookies appear to have s origins in 7th Century CE Persia, shortly after the use of Sugar became relatively common in the region. Cookies spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. By the 14th Century, they were common in all levels of Society throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors.
With global travel becoming widespread at that time, Cookies made a natural travel snack, a equivalent of the Travel Cakes consumed throughout History. One of the most popular early Cookies, which traveled especially well and became known on every continent by similar names, was the Jumble: a relatively hard cookie made largely from Nuts, Sweetener, and Water.
NATIONAL COOKIE DAY ACTIVITIES
- There’s a Bakery in your neighborhood with the best Cookies you’ve ever had. Ask your friends for there recommendations if you don’t know of a Bakery.
- Many of the most famous cookies including the Chocolate Chip were the result of happy accidents in the kitchen. Try experimenting on your next batch of Cookies to see where you land!
- If you’re really looking to celebrate National Cookie Day you could get ambitious and host a charity bake-off, donating the funds raised to your favorite charity!
Here is a HEALTHY COOKIE recipe so you can indulge in this fun Holiday.
- Almond Snowballs which include shredded Coconut which, with the right ingredients, come in at just 64 calories. For an added twist you can include slivered Almonds or a Candied Cherry.
WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL COOKIE DAY
- Everyone’s got a favorite Cookie. Which might be Oatmeal? Chocolate Chip or a good old fashioned Sugar Cookie? They can’t all be the best cookie, but any of them could be someone’s favorite. With the variety of Cookie recipes across the globe, you’re bound to get ten different answers if you ask ten different people what there favorite cookie is.
- Cookies as we all know are delicious. Does this Holiday really need elaboration? We’ve all got fond memories, of eating cookies as a youngster. For most of us, our love for Cookies never left us.
- If you bake a Cake, it’s easy to eat too much. Think about it: even after cutting out a slice, there’s still a ton of Cake left and it barely looks like you’ve made a dent. With Cookies, it’s easier to stop at one.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
