May 15 – National Chocolate Chip Day

According to a marketing study published in 2013, chocolate pulls in $90 billion in global sales annually, $19 billion of it in the United States. In 2016, the U.S. chocolate market reached $17.6 billion in projected sales. Moreover, CNBC reported that “[t]he overall chocolate market rose 13 percent between 2010 and 2015 to hit $101 billion.” Approximately $10 billion of the money spent for chocolate in the United States is spent by my household.

In any event, for some hazy reason probably having to do with marketing, today is “universally acknowledged” (to paraphrase Jane Austen) as being National Chocolate Chip Day. I always try to support national holidays, and thus will do my part.

By the way, if you are attempting to sound erudite about chocolate, it helps to know that the plant from which it comes – the cacao tree – is pronounced kah-KOW. I just include this because of the way I always used to say, “c-a-c-a-o however it is pronounced.”

Chocolate comes from the cacao tree, which is formally known as Theobroma Cacao.

What are the essential properties of a dessert utilizing chocolate chips? In my opinion, the most essential is gooeyness. (In fact, I consider gooeyness the most essential for most food, but I’ll wait for other holidays to tell you about that.)

Then you need to consider which chocolate chips are the best. I myself prefer chips with a minimum of additions that give them a plastic taste. Also, we are more apt to use dark chocolate chips now, since they are allegedly healthier. This guide from Cooks Illustrated rates dark chocolate chips by taste and quality.

But you know what? You are going to see zillions of recipes today for chocolate chip cookies to help you celebrate this day, so I’m going to go a little outside the box here and offer two alternatives, both of which are from my recipe pins on Pinterest. (Even if you didn’t know which Recipe Board was mine, you could probably guess since almost every recipe label starts with “Gooey” or “Ooey Gooey” or, of course, “Chocolate.”) Because they come from other blogs, I will just link to them, for your clicking, viewing, and cooking pleasure.

First, for an insane sugar rush to start your day, I present:

Glazed Cinnamon Rolls Stuffed with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

And then later, you will need dessert! And so I present Deep Dish Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Click on the links for wonderful recipe ideas, and wonderful ways to celebrate this important day!