When is National Cookie Day?

The next occurence will be on December 4th, 2024. The last occurence was on December 4th, 2023.

National Cookie Day (December 4th)

Quick facts
When is it?	Every December 4th
Tagged as:	Cookies Food & Drink
What's the hashtag?	#NationalCookieDay
When was it founded?	1987
Who founded it?	Blue Chip Cookies
We first published this page on:	Dec 23rd, 2017
We last updated this page:	Sep 6th, 2024

Cookies are sweet and full of all sorts of delicious goodness, from nuts to fruit to chocolate. They can be either delightfully crumbly or sinfully chewy. Not to mention that they keep forever if they are stored properly…well, this may not actually be true but, honestly, they will probably never last long enough to find out!

There’s no doubt about it: cookies more than deserve their own day, and that’s why National Cookie Day is celebrated around the world in order to pay tribute to these delicious little treats. So grab some flour, butter, and sugar, and let’s get to celebrating, shall we?

Cookies, themselves, can be traced back much further than most people would imagine. It is estimated that in the 7th century AD, Persians were some of the first to grow and harvest sugar cane, which would have eventually been turned into baked goods. The movement of people for trade and war led the glory of sugar to be brought into Europe and, by the 14th century, cookies had come there as well.

Then, when Europeans migrated over to the Americas, they brought with them their sugar as well as their cookie recipes. Americans eventually began developing their own types of cookies, the Chocolate Chip Cookie being one of the most famous of all.

In 1987 Matt Nader of the San Francisco-based Blue Chip Cookie Company created National Cookie Day, saying: “It’s just like having National Secretaries Day… It will just be a fun thing to do.” This fun and sweet holiday have also been championed by The Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, obviously a supporter of all things that are cookie-related.

Although the day did not originate with him, some details about National Cookie Day can be found in Random House’s The Sesame Street Dictionary, which was published back in the 1980s. Since then, the word got around the globe that there was much tasty fun to be had on December 4th, and people from various countries all around the world began to celebrate National Cookie Day.

In fact, a number of variations on National Cookie Day are also celebrated around the world, such as Oatmeal National Cookie Day and Bake Cookies Day. This is likely due to one of the greatest things about cookies: they come in hundreds of shapes and sizes and are relatively simple to make.

So get ready to celebrate everything that has to do with cookies–baking them and eating them!

National Cookie Day Timeline

1st Century AD

Scottish oatcakes

While some might argue this started out as a version of bread, what they turned into is something that is certainly very close to resembling a cookie! They were often used by traveling clansmen as a staple of their diet.[1]

7th Century AD

Mini cakes are used to test ovens

When testing to see if the temperatures were right, ancient Persians (some of the first to grow and harvest sugar cane) may have used tiny “cakes” to check their ovens. These little cakes may be the ancient ancestors to today’s cookies.[2]

11th Century

Lady Fingers emerge

These delicate little spongy cakes actually resemble something like cookies and were first made in France. The first recipe hails from the House of Savoy.[3]

14th Century

Cookies become commonplace

With the growth of access to sugar, many residents of European cities find small treats such as cookies are fairly accessible. In fact, most of the earliest baking cookbooks from this time contained recipes for cookies. Of course, in England, they may have taken on the name “biscuit”.[4]

1792

First published American cookbook includes cookie recipes

Just 20 years after the independence of the country, the first American cookbook is published. It contains recipes for regular butter cookies as well as a “Christmas Cookey”.[5]

1902

Nabisco makes Barnum Animal Crackers

Although they are named “crackers”, everyone knows they taste sweet like cookies! These, produced by American company, Nabisco, are in the shapes of animals and named after the famous circus showman, P.T. Barnum.[6]

1937

Chocolate chip cookies are invented

In what began as a happy ‘accident’, Ruth Wakefield of Massachusetts, USA, was baking butter cookies and wanted to make them into chocolate cookies. She thought if she put tiny chocolate pieces into the dough, they would melt and turn into chocolate cookies. Wakefield ran the Tollhouse Restaurant, which she named the cookie after.[7]

1984

Cookie Dough ice cream is invented

When an anonymous fan suggested they add piles of unbaked cookie dough to their vanilla ice cream, Ben & Jerry were just crazy enough to try it![8]

1997

Chocolate chip cookie represents Massachusetts

Following a bill proposed by a class of third graders from Somerset, Massachusetts adopts the chocolate chip cookie as the official cookie of the commonwealth. This gives a nod to the invention of this cookie at the Tollhouse Restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts.[9]

So simple and easy, celebrating cookie day means enjoying a cookie–and perhaps sharing one with a friend. Try out these other ideas to make National Cookie Day special:

Enjoy Eating Cookies

While some people might consider cookies to be something to pack in a child’s lunchbox, they’re certainly delicious for adults to enjoy too! Small or big, cookies are inherently perfect for sharing. They’re the ideal treat for a family gathering or a kid’s soccer game. Stop by a bakery on the way to work and grab a few cookies to share at the office. Or bake some at home and pass them around to neighbors.

Whatever is happening on this day (or any day, for that matter) will obviously be much better if it happens with a cookie in hand!

Try a Unique Cookie Flavor

Make National Cookie Day memorable by stepping off the beaten path a bit and trying a cookie flavor that you normally wouldn’t have. Go beyond that typical chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie recipe. All sorts of unique and adventurous cookie flavors are out there just waiting to be tasted, and here just a few:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bacon Cookies. They say that everything is better with bacon. Why not try adding it to some delicious cookies? The blend of sweet and savory is absolutely to die for.
Fruity Pebbles Cookies. Just for fun, these treats use a basic cookie recipe and add in a couple of cups of colorful, crispy Fruity Pebbles cereal.
Savory Herb Shortbread Cookies. Almost like crackers, these cookies work nicely as an appetizer. Made with parmesan and freshly minced rosemary, these cookies pair well with a glass of red wine. And they can be just as tasty when made with asiago cheese and freshly cut thyme.
Salted White Chocolate Lavender Cookies. Keep to the herb garden with the delicate edible lavender combined with white chocolate and

Bake Cookies

On National Cookie Day people can get together to bake cookies together, which can turn out to be a surprisingly good time. Parents can have fun baking the first batch of cookies their children will ever bake with them, which is also guaranteed to be an unforgettable experience (but, of course, be prepared to clean up a bit of a mess!).

What could be more fun than making some cute, sweet treats together with your children? For those unfamiliar with the art of cookie baking but would like to try, here is a simple recipe you can start your cookie adventure with!

National Cookie Day