Want to win the fun mom award?
Make a BIG memory for your children with just a little bit of effort.
Take a plain old ordinary day and turn it into a celebration!
August 4th is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Here's what I'm thinking...
Don't let your kids know it's coming - just wake them up in the morning, cancel homeschool for the day, and tell them you are going to make cookies, eat cookies, read books, play games, and anything else that might strike your fancy along the way.
(I did this once and declared a boring Thursday Angry Birds Day and my kids STILL talk about it.)
I'm going to throw out a bunch of ideas in this post... Feel free to use as many or as few as you would like.
Just have fun with your kids and make some memories. (I'm thinking memories with cookies are pretty good, right?)
Five Chocolate Chip Cookie Facts
Americans eat an average of 18,928 cookies in their lifetime
The chocolate chip cookie was invented by Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1938. Her husband ran the Tool House Inn - do "Toll House" cookies sound familiar? Nestle's bought the rights to the name. And you know the rest of the story!
Chocolate chip cookies were first called "Butterdrop Do Cookies".
The world's biggest chocolate chip cookie weighed 40,000 pounds and had a diameter of 101 feet. It was created in 2003 by The Immaculate Baking Company in Flat Rock, North Carolina.
It's America's favorite cookie. 53% of American adults prefer chocolate chip cookies over peanut butter cookies (16 %), oatmeal cookies (15%, and any other variety.
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
We use two of the very BEST chocolate chip cookie recipes in our house - and they come from both of my children's grandmothers. I love it that these cookies have memories attached to them - the time spent and the love shown through these cookies made an impact on my children.
Grandma Jane's Chocolate Chip Crispies
These cookies are just different - and everyone wonders why they are so crispy.
If you look at the recipe, you'll see the secret ingredient that adds just the right crunch - and here's a tip: these cookies freeze well and are actually super yummy straight out of the freezer!
Grandma Jane's Chocolate Chip Crispies
ingredients:
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 cups Crisped Rice Cereal (Rice Krispies)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in cereal and chocolate chips. Drop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets, about 2 in. apart.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Cool cookies on cookie sheet 3 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack; cool completely.
Grammy Ruth's Chocolate Chippers
These cookies are made with shortening, which makes them very light and crunchy.
Look out, I remember these literally VANISHING one Christmas holiday when my mother-in-law made them.
I made these for a birthday party one year - with vanilla ice cream in the middle. All of the kids loved the ice cream cookie sandwiches!
Grammy Ruth's Chocolate Chippers
ingredients:
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 6 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
instructions:
- Cream shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla till light and fluffy. Sift together dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture; blend well. Add chocolate chips. Drop from teaspoon 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies from sheet immediately.
Read Books About Chocolate Chip Cookies
From learning about the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie to having fun with the classic rhyme "Who Stole The Cookies From the Cookie Jar?", these books will set the stage for your baking adventures (or fill some time while you're waiting for your cookies to bake!).
Or, you might want to bake your cookies, serve them with a glass of milk, and have read aloud time while you are enjoying your delicacies!
Serve Others With Cookies
Once your children have baked their cookies, it would be a lovely idea to share them with others.
Deliver several dozen to your local fire and police departments.
Deliver to neighbors
Visit a local nursing home and deliver your cookies
Invite friends over for a chocolate chip cookies & milk social
Freeze batches of cookies to have on hand when you think someone needs a pick-me-up
Chocolate Chip Cookie Math Games
We can always sneak in some learning, yes?
Measure & Mix Chocolate Chip Cookies (online game)
And, I'm happy to offer you this adorable Chocolate Chip Memory Game: 17 pairs of matching cards for your children to learn from and enjoy!
Download Your Matching Cards Now
