There are cookie holidays and then there is National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day. Each year on March 18th, this holiday celebrates a delicate cookie made from oats.
Some people may refer to this day as National Oatmeal Cookie Day (which is celebrated on April 30th). The difference between the two is that lacy oatmeal cookies are wafer-thin and typically accompany a scoop of ice cream or sorbet.
In the early 1900s, oatmeal became a major ingredient in the American diet. Before that, Americans relied on other grains. Originating in England, oatmeal cookies have been around since the 1800s. However, it is believed that they were created after the oatcake. Soldiers used to carry oatcakes with them for a quick boost of energy during battle. Most research found that the first recorded oatmeal raisin cookie recipe was written by Fannie Merritt Farmer in 1896.Considered a health food, the cookies quickly became popular. By the early 1900s, a recipe for the delicious treats appeared on containers of Quaker Oats.
Oatmeal cookies are an excellent source of iron and fiber
Bakers use many different recipes for the lacy oatmeal cookies. Additionally, home bakers bake with a variety of oats including old fashioned oats, quick-cooking oats, oat bran or oat flour. For a healthier cookie, add finely chopped or ground fruits (such as raisins) or nuts and use a sugar substitute. You can also decorate your lacy oatmeal cookies with icing drizzled on top of the cookie.
Lacy oatmeal cookies make pretty decorations on top of cakes and other baked goods, too. They also make excellent gifts. Make some for a friend or neighbor.
Use #LacyOatmealCookieDay to post on social media.
National Frozen Food Day recognizes the preservation feat that freezing fruits, vegetables, and meats have been on modern life. Celebrated each year on March 6th, the observance takes a look at how frozen food impacts our daily lives, its history, and how far it has come.
Flash Freezing
The frozen food aisle is as standard in the grocery store today as ATMs and self-checkouts. It’s also a convenience we don’t give a second thought to unless the power goes out. The American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist Clarence Frank Birdseye II receives credit for developing the method for the flash freezing preserve flavor and quality of foods. Today, we see his name in nearly every canned goods and frozen food aisle in every grocery store in America.
While food preservation by freezing wasn’t new, Birdseye discovered the key was freezing the food quickly. Flash freezing forms small ice crystals, which prevent the cell walls from bursting. Large ice crystals turn the food to mush.
Birdseye applied for many patents, but one of his earliest is from 1927 for a process to flash freeze foods. Consider that in 1930 only 8 percent of American households had refrigeration units in their homes. A frozen food patent in 1927 was a visionary step in a long chain of events to make frozen foods a marketable product.
In 1930, the Birdseye label, owned by the General Food Corporation, began selling 26 products to 18 retails stores in and around Springfield, Massachusetts. Clarence Birdseye continued his work with General Foods Corporation.
Birdseye died on October 7, 1956, but the name and products he inspired continue today.
In 1954, Swanson introduced the first frozen dinners. At the time, the consumers knew them as TV dinners since they were designed to be eaten in front of the newly popular television. Special folding trays, called TV trays, stored conveniently away when not in use. But when dinner time rolled around, they unfolded for each person’s TV dinner. Everyone gathered around the television to enjoy their meal. These pre-cooked meals only needed to be heated through in the oven to be ready to eat. No cooking skills were required. Pre-heat the oven, cook for the required length of time and eat.
The invention of the microwave also changed the types of frozen foods and just how convenient these items can be. Over the years, other frozen foods have developed to meet consumer demand. Various family-sized meals, health conscience meals, and even organic meals have hit the markets in recent years.
Even better make your own. Freezer meals have gained wide spread fame. 1 day of prep will fill your freezer with easy weeknight meals. By preparing them yourself they can be customized for your diet and taste. My husband is diabetic so controlling the foods in them makes it better for his health and easier for me.
You can find even more of my recipes here. While they are not all freezer meals, they are delicious and easy.
NATIONAL FROZEN FOOD DAY HISTORY
President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5157 in which it said: “Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 6, 1984, as Frozen Food Day, and I call upon the American people to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalFrozenFoodDay
Take a trip to your local grocery store and find one of your favorites in the frozen food aisle!! Use #NationalFrozenFoodDay to post on social media.
December 23rd is reserved for National Pfeffernusse Day, a German spice cookie. Very popular around the holidays, pfeffernusse are fluffy cookies made with ground nuts and spices and covered in powdered sugar.
The exact origin of the cookie is unknown. However, the Dutch believe that pfeffernusse (or pepernoten) are linked to the feast of Sinterklaas, which is celebrated on December 5 in the Netherlands and December 6 in Germany and Belgium. This holiday is when children receive gifts from St. Nicholas, who is partially the inspiration for the Santa Claus tradition.
Over time, many bakers have created their own pfeffernusse recipes. Traditional methods included various nuts such as almonds and walnuts. Some modern recipes exclude nuts altogether along with the black pepper, retaining only cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom as flavorings. Bakers also use molasses and honey to sweeten the cookie.
Break out your favorite pfeffernusse recipe and start baking. This is one holiday tradition that will bring back memories for many of you. Not only will you be able to savor the delicious spicy-sweet cookies, but you can also pass down the tradition to another generation. Once you have a good stack of them baked and cooled, package them up as sweet gifts for loved ones. They will appreciate the cookies and your thoughtfulness.
Do you have recipes to share? Be sure to use #NationalPfeffernusseDay to post on social media.
Gingerbread House Day is observed annually on December 12.
A favorite food of an Armenian monk, Gregory of Nicopolis, brought gingerbread to Europe around 992 AD and taught French Christians to bake it. Gingerbread was often used in religious ceremonies and was baked to be sturdy as it was often molded into images of saints.
We can thank the Brothers’ Grimm for the idea of a gingerbread house through their tale of Hansel and Gretel. It didn’t take long for the German gingerbread guilds to pick up the idea and put it to a more festive use making snowy cottages made from the spicy-sweet treat.
National Spicy Hermit Cookie Day celebrates a cookie flavor reminiscent autumn spices. Recognized on November 15th, this time of year is ideal for baking up a batch of these delicious cookies.
Considered an old-fashioned cookie, it’s spice comes from cinnamon, cloves, allspice and sometimes nutmeg. An added bonus are the raisins, nuts, and dates.
Hermit cookies originated in the New England area. In 1880, the young ladies of the Trinity Church, Plattsburgh, New York published the cookbook Champlain Valley Book of Recipes with a Hermits recipe. This local cookbook was a 3rd edition suggesting its first printing was a year or two earlier. Soft and chewy, these cookies sure put a smile on the face of all who taste them.
Add hermit cookies to your holiday baking list. Host a baking party and invite friends to join you. Snuggle up with a plate of these delicious cookies and share them while drinking a cup of hot cocoa.
Use #SpicyHermitCookieDay to post on social media.
