Did you know there is a National Cookie Day? An avid home cookie baker, I am familiar with all of the big holidays that are perfect for celebrating with cookies – Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, July 4th, Halloween, and Thanksgiving – but just recently learned of National Cookie Day, which is celebrated on December 4th. I’m not sure how many people celebrate National Cookie Day, but intend to do my part to promote it. I believe that the more days we can find to celebrate with cookies the better.
In addition to National Cookie Day, a day perfect for celebrating with the cookie of your choice, there are several National Days dedicated to specific cookies, such as the Fig Newton, Brownie, Gingersnap, and Oatmeal Cookie. In fact there is a day dedicated to one type of cookie or another eleven months of the year, giving us plenty of days to celebrate with cookies all year long. The annual National Cookie Day fun kicks off with Shortbread Day on January 6 and wraps up with National Pfeffernuesse Day, December 23.
Cookies may be small, but they are a big business, just ask the Girl Scouts. The multi-billion dollar US cookie industry all began when the first commercially baked cookie, the Animal Cracker was introduced in 1902. It is probably no surprise that the US leads the world in cookie baking and cookie eating, spending more than $550 million annually on Oreos alone.
I bet you can guess what the most popular cookie baked in US homes is. Yes, it’s the chocolate chip cookie. In fact, the chocolate chip cookie is so popular it has a whole week dedicated to its celebration. The second week of March is Chocolate Chip Cookie Week.
The next time you are looking for a reason to celebrate with cookies, there may be a National Cookie Day to celebrate. Here’s a complete list of all the National Cookie Days I could find. I hope you will mark your calendar with your favorite cookies and add some cookie fun to your life.
National Cookie Day Calendar
Date Honored Cookie
January 6 Shortbread Day
January 12 Fig Newton Day
January 20 Granola Bar Day
January 22 Blonde Brownie Day
February 8 Molasses Bar Day
February 10 Cream Cheese Brownie Day
March 18 Oatmeal Cookie Day
April 9 Chinese Almond Cookie Day
April 10 Cinnamon Crescent Day
May 9 Butterscotch Brownie Day
May 31 Macaroon Day
June 12 Peanut Butter Cookie Day
June 23 Pecan Sandies Day
July 1 Gingersnap Day
July 3 Chocolate Wafer Day
July 9 Sugar Cookie Day
July 20 Fortune Cookie Day
August 10 Smores Day
September 21 Pecan Cookie Day
October 1 Homemade Cookies Day
December 4 National Cookie Day
December 8 Chocolate Brownie Day
December 23 National Pferrernuesse Day
In addition to Cookie Days several Cookies have whole weeks and months dedicated to them:
Second Week of March Chocolate Chip Cookie Week
Month of August National Brownies at Brunch Month
Month of October National Cookie Month
First Week of December Cookie Cutter Week
Martha McKinnon is the Editor of best-ever-cookie-collection.com, a website dedicated to providing the best cookie recipes, and cookie related resources and advice.
