National Peanut-Butter Cookie Day

Five Food Finds about Cookies

  • The first commercial cookie in the U.S. was the Animal Cracker, introduced in 1902.
  • The Oreo, the best-selling cookie of the 20th century, was developed and introduced by the American company Nabisco, in 1912.
  • The U.S. leads the world as the biggest cookie bakers and eaters, spending more than $550 million annually on Oreos alone.
  • In 1989, New Mexico named the ‘bizcochito’ its official state cookie. Bizcochito, derived from the spanish word ‘bizcocho’ which means biscuit, is a delicious shortbread cookie flavored with anise and topped with cinnamon sugar.
  • The U.S. has a National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum located within the Joplin Museum Complex in Joplin, Missouri.

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1873 Rocky Mountain locusts enter southwestern Minnesota. The beginning of a 4 year crop destroying locust (grasshopper) plague.

1897 Carl Elsener patented the Swiss Army Knife.

1963 “Cleopatra” premiered in New York, staring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Rex Harrison. It is rumored that the caterers were the only ones who made money on this movie.

1965 The Rolling Stones recorded the frustrated diners lament, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

2004 A federal judge upheld a rule issued by the USDA on June 2, 2003 which declared that frozen, batter coated french fries are fresh vegetables. The judge stated that the term ‘fresh vegetables’ was ambiguous.
In 1981 the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) had unsuccessfully tried to classify ketchup and pickle relish as vegetables. Public protest caused them to drop the idea.