Mondays are my second favorite day of the week (Sunday being my favorite).  Why you ask?

Because it is Cookie Day!

Read to the end and you can have my cookie recipe.

What Is Cookie Day

This is a family tradition that started with my mother over 50 years ago.  It wasn’t always on Monday then, but it was an intricate part of my growing up.  Coming home from school to the smell of baking cookies.

One day a week, cookies are made.  They are supposed to last a week, though this was no easy thing.  My parents had 9 children and we went through a quadruple batch of cookies (approximately 18 dozen) every week.  And milk.

I continued Cookie Day after I had children.  For the same reasons my mother started it.  After a hard day at school, every child needs a pick-me-up.  Also, brain food is required to do homework.

It became Cookie Monday when my nieces got older.  We didn’t have them everyday any more.  Just Mondays.  So, the ritual of cookie dough tasting, and hot cookies was adjusted to fit the new schedule.

After School Ritual

This is what Cookie Day became over the years.

I start making the cookie dough (a double batch) about 15 minutes before my children get home.  As soon as they walk through the door a large scoop of cookie dough is placed into outstretched hands.

As the children settle down to do their homework, I start baking.  As the cookies come out of the oven they are placed in front of the children to fortify them through the homework process.

Cooled cookies go into the cookie jar to be eaten throughout the week.  They go into lunches and are eaten as snacks after school.  Some are put into the freezer for hot summer days when cookies are wanted and it’s too hot to bake.

Just the Two of Us

When Daughter and I separated from my parents and moved into our own apartment Cookie Day continued.  Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the same with only the two of us.

I actually had to read the recipe to make a single batch of cookies.  It was lonely .  There were too many cookies.

Something had to change.

Cookie Study Group

Daughter and I decided to form a study group for Cookie Monday.

Invitations were designed and printed.  Cookies were bagged and stapled to the invitations.  Invitations were handed out at the bus stop and to friends at school.

It was a slow start.  The first year we had only two girls who came regularly, but it was fun.  And, yes, they did do their homework.

Thus, began Daughter’s new social life.  Over the last two years we have gotten a few more people to join our group.  There is even a cute boy.

Something is Still Missing

I have three nieces that grew up with Daughter.  We were their daycare when they were little and their after-school program as they got older.  They were more like sisters to Daughter than cousins.  As they got older we saw them less and less.  After we moved and no longer lived with Grandma, we didn’t see them at all.  I kept inviting but, they didn’t have transportation.

Two months ago, I solved that problem.  We were at a family gathering and my youngest niece’s friends were there.  I again invited her to cookie day with the same response.  She would love to but, she had no way to get there.

I turned to her friends and asked if any of them had a car.  Yes, one of them did.  I invited them to Cookie Day if they would bring Niece.  They were excited to come and yes, they would bring Niece.

They haven’t missed Cookie Monday yet.

I now have eight teenagers in my 900 square foot apartment every Monday.  I am absolutely loving it.  The talking, the laughing, the eating, and the completed homework.

Cookies at School

I have always sent cookies to school with my children.  Daughter, being the only one left at home, also takes cookies to share with her friends.

It started out with only 4 cookies in her lunch.  As her friends began to talk about her cookies, her lunch group grew from 3 or 4 girls to 11 or 12 girls.  Now Daughter takes a dozen cookies to school every day.  Even at that, it is not always enough.

I have set a dozen cookies as the limit though.  Five dozen cookies a week, just for her lunch, is a lot.  If her friends want more, they can come to Cookie Monday.

They are starting to come.

A Lot of Cookies

I am now making a quadruple batch of cookies (about 18 dozen) and they barely last the week.  I have to make two double batches because my mixer is only a 6 quart.

Between cookie dough tasting and cookies on Monday, the kids eat about 8 dozen cookies before they go home.  Plus, the 5 dozen than Daughter takes to school each week. Plus 4 dozen for the freezer.  Plus, a dozen to share with different friends each week.  That leaves no cookies left for me to eat.

A Lot of Ingredients

My grocery bill has increased by $50 a month just in cookie ingredients.  I go through:

 

• 12 pounds of baking chips
• 12 cups of Crisco
• 2 pounds of butter
• 10 pounds of flour
• 5 pounds of sugar
• 5 pounds of brown sugar
• 3 dozen eggs

 

Worth Every Penny

My house is becoming the place to be.  Why do I want so many teenagers in my house when it is often complete pandemonium?

This is why:

• I know where my teenagers are.
• I know who they are hanging out with.
• I know what they are doing.
• Their friends think I’m cool.

Want to Join?

Start your own cookie day for your children, grandchildren, neighbors, or whoever you want to invite.  This makes a double batch or about 9 dozen cookies.

Fawn’s Awesome Cookies

• 1½ Cups of Crisco
• ½ Cup of Butter
• 5 Large eggs
• 1½ Cups of sugar
• 1½ Cups of brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 6 Cups of flour
• 48 oz of chips (Make your own combination of chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, mini M&M’s, or whatever your favorites are.)

Mix all ingredients except the flour and chips until smooth.

Add flour one cup at a time.  The dough should be tacky but, not too soft.

Add chips.

Place 1 scoop (about 1 rounded Tbsp.) of dough about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  (I use baking parchment for better baking and easier removal.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. (Time and temperature may vary depending on your oven.)

Enjoy hot or not.

These cookies are soft and will stay soft in a sealed cookie jar or zip up bag.  Just make sure they are completely cooled or they will get soggy.