Today has been designated as Cookie Monster Day.
So, what are you going to do about it? The logical thing, I suppose, would be to bake a big batch of cookies to please all your little cookie monsters, friends and relatives. But, that seems too simple and maybe you should think of something more dramatic that will reach out and let the world know just how big a role cookies play in our lives.
Cookies have been around since the seventh century and appear to have originated in Persia – the first country to cultivate sugarcane. They weren’t actually invented as a sweet treat. But were the result of the practice of bakers to bake a small amount of cake batter to test the temperature of their ovens before baking the larger cakes. The word “cookie” comes from a Dutch word, “koekje” a diminutive of “koek” meaning “cake.” Nobody has ever explained to me why the British call them “biscuits.” The most popular cookie in America is the chocolate chip cookie. Originally known as the Toll House Cookie, it was first made in 1939 by Ruth Wakefield who had a restaurant in Massachusetts. She mixed small chunks of Nestle’s baking chocolate into a batch of cookie dough, thinking it would melt into the dough as it baked, and the rest is history. It’s impossible to know how many chocolate chip cookies are baked each year in commercial bakeries, restaurants and home kitchens, but the best-selling commercial cookie worldwide is – you guessed it – the Oreo.
You could add a twist to the Toll House recipe and make interesting additions to celebrate Cookie Monster Day, or you could invent an entirely new cookie to make your celebration special. My mother often added unusual things to her basic oatmeal cookie recipe (the one that appeared on the box of Quaker Oats for years.) She tried such things as snippets of marshmallows, crushed pineapple, dates, chopped up Baby Ruth candy bars, crushed candy canes left over from Christmas, jelly beans and a wide range of different spices and flavorings. One of my favorites was the addition of black walnut meats from our own trees.
Years ago, one of my brothers-in-law expressed dismay over a batch of Snickerdoodles his daughter baked. It seems that he expected, because of the name, that the cookies would have some of the same ingredients found in Snickers, his favorite candy bar. I understood his disappointment, and when his birthday came around, I invented a cookie just for him. It began with a rich, peanut-buttery cookie dough made with dark brown sugar and a touch of maple flavoring. I formed the soft dough into finger-size rolls that flattened into ovals as they baked. When the cookies had cooled, I dipped them halfway into melted chocolate and sprinkled chopped peanuts onto the chocolate covered half before the chocolate set up. The cookies were such a success that I had to bake them for his birthday for several years.
There are plenty of other things to celebrate this month, besides Thanksgiving and Veteran’s Day. Three days hence, on the fifth, you can smash that old jack-o-lantern in observance of Pumpkin Destruction Day – really! And the 8th is Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day, which is intended to encourage people to use more strong flavorings and ingredients such as garlic, horseradish, hot peppers and other things they are often timid about trying. Tomorrow happens to be National Sandwich Day and unless you’re under six years old, please celebrate with something more interesting than peanut butter and jelly. Get yourself a loaf of some really good artisan bread and load up on delicious spreads and fillings including meats, cheeses, seafood, fresh greens, thin-sliced vegetables, pickles, relishes, sauces and garnishes. Have a picnic or a party and remember it was John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich who asked for a serving of roast beef on bread so that he could eat without having to leave the card game he was engaged in. Come to think of it, a card party, be it poker, euchre, bridge or Go Fish, would be a great way to celebrate. Set up a sandwich buffet and phone your friends.