When is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day?
National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day 2027 is on Wednesday
Wednesday, August 4, 2027
August 4 every year. That's in 304 days.
until National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day begins, in your time zone
National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day celebrates the chocolate chip cookie, which Ruth Wakefield created at her Toll House Inn in Massachusetts in the 1930s. Nobody knows who chose the date, but it has become a popular day for home baking.
About National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
The chocolate chip cookie has a clear birthplace. Ruth Wakefield and her husband Kenneth ran the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, a restaurant known for its home-style desserts. In the mid-1930s she began serving butter cookies studded with pieces of chopped semisweet chocolate, and a recipe she called the Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie appeared in a 1938 edition of her cookbook. Accounts differ on whether the idea was a planned experiment or an improvisation when another chocolate ran short.
The cookie's fame grew quickly. In 1939 Wakefield sold Nestlé the rights to use her recipe and the Toll House name. In 1997 Massachusetts made the chocolate chip cookie its official state cookie after a suggestion from a third-grade class in Somerset. The site of the original inn is now occupied by other businesses.
National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day itself has no documented founder or start year, and it has no official status. It is separate from National Cookie Day in December, which covers cookies of every kind. Bakeries and cookie chains often run promotions on August 4, but the simplest way to mark it is to bake a batch.
Sources: Yankee Magazine: Ruth Wakefield and the chocolate-chip cookie, Prince William County, Virginia: August 4 is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. How we check dates.
How to mark National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
- Bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch, and try chilling the dough overnight to see how it changes the flavor and texture.
- Chop a good chocolate bar by hand instead of using chips, which gives a mix of shards and puddles, closer to the original idea.
- Run a side-by-side test with friends, such as brown butter versus regular butter, or chewy versus crisp.
- Bake an extra dozen to give to a neighbor, a teacher or the staff at a local fire station.
- Read about Ruth Wakefield and the Toll House Inn, and how a restaurant dessert became a national favorite.
National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Monday, August 4, 2025 |
| 2026 | Tuesday, August 4, 2026 |
| 2027 | Wednesday, August 4, 2027 |
| 2028 | Friday, August 4, 2028 |
| 2029 | Saturday, August 4, 2029 |
| 2030 | Sunday, August 4, 2030 |
| 2031 | Monday, August 4, 2031 |
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Frequently asked questions
When is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day 2027?
National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day 2027 is on Wednesday, August 4, 2027. It falls on August 4 every year. In 2028, it is on Friday, August 4, 2028.
Who invented the chocolate chip cookie?
Ruth Wakefield, who ran the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, created it in the 1930s. Her recipe was printed in a 1938 edition of her cookbook.
Who started National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day?
No founder is documented, and no one has explained why August 4 was chosen. It is an unofficial food day.
Is the chocolate chip cookie a state symbol?
Yes. Massachusetts designated the chocolate chip cookie as its official state cookie in 1997.
Is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day a public holiday?
No. National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day is an observance, not a public holiday, so schools, banks, government offices and most businesses keep their normal hours.