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1: The First
It was a simple, pure, perfect chocolate chip cookie, soft brown, scented of butter and sugar and filled with melty dots of semi-sweet chocolate.
Cookie couldn’t remember how old he was when he first tasted the sweet, warm disc. He was probably somewhere around two, just getting his first monster teeth, and developing a ravenous appetite.
His mother gave it to him and the first cautious bite threw him into a world filled with sunlight and color. It was like walking through a garden in full bloom, like running through the summer rain, like hugging his grandma or snuggling up in a warm sweater. It was the best thing he’d ever tasted in his very short life.
His eyes were bright as he reaches his small furry paws toward his mother. “Me want more!” he demands.
That was also the first time Cookie ever ate an entire dozen of cookies in one sitting.
2: The Best
The day Maria and Luis got married was a very special day on Sesame Street. Cookie had never seen so many beautiful and delicious types of food in his life – and the very best thing about the feast was that he could have as many cookies as he wanted, once the guests got their fill of the treats.
There were all sorts of different cookies: spicy wedding cakes dusted with powdered sugar, apple and raisin cookies loaded with crumbles of brown sugar and oats; dark chocolate cut-outs in the shape of wedding bells; plain sugar cookies, their pale bellies half-dipped in dark black chocolate; and then best of all there were beautiful chocolate chip cookies, risen tall and brown, their middles demanding a nibble.
Cookie tried to resist the temptation of the cookies and heroically managed to make it halfway through the reception before stuffing them all into his mouth, the array of flavors exploding across his palate like a series of sugar-infused cherry bombs.
Later, as he sat contentedly as Maria gamely thanked him for helping her reduce the number of leftovers she’d have to deal with after her honeymoon.
3: The Saddest
Cookie learned to bake for a very special reason, and that was to help out his friends. His first tries were inedible, and most of the dough ended up in his fuzzy tummy, but finally, after a lot of practice, he produced a big plate of chocolate chip cookies.
He put them on a very pretty plate and a separate red tin with a special gift secreted in its belly, then covered them both with plastic wrap before tying the whole bundle with a yarn bow and heading off to give them away.
Oscar didn’t seem to like them (“They taste GOOD! Yech!”), but everyone else really seemed to cheer up when they took a bite. But there was one missing face in the crowd, and he had to go find him before he could enjoy his just reward.
There was a snuffling sound behind Big Bird’s door before Cookie got the all-clear to come in, but when he did he was greeted with a smile. Approaching his friend, Cookie carefully placed the batch of treats beside Big Bird before sitting beside him.
The bird, in turn, cautiously opened the tin and started looking through the treats presented to him. “Birdseed cookies?” he cried. “Thank you thank you Cookie!”
“Me thought me should make you something you like to make you feel better.”
“Thanks,” he said. “It makes me feel a lot better, to know that people care so much about me.”
While Big Bird ate his share, Cookie ventured to try one of the treats. Birdseed wasn’t his favorite food by a long mile, but he had to admit he did a pretty good job baking them. The taste of the cookie brought bittersweet memories up for him – he could remember when he had hung around Mister Hooper's with Big Bird, and could recall having treats like these at his countertop restaurant.
“Me miss Mister Hooper too.”
Big Bird wrapped a feathered arm around his shoulder. “I know, old pal, me too.”
And the two creatures sat under the starlight, eating their cookies in surprisingly quiet (in Cookie’s case) contemplation.
4: The Weirdest
Cookie knew exactly what kind of treat each of his Sesame Street pals liked best by now. There was one specific monster, though, who didn’t enjoy eating the cookies Cookie Monster made.
He’d much rather count them.
“One! Ahaha! Two! Ahaha! Three!!” As each number fell from the vampire’s mouth, a bolt of lightning struck, throwing him into stark relief before Cookie’s wide eyes.
In reaction, Cookie backed away from the plate of raisin-infused deep dark red velvet cookies he'd left for the vampire slowly. “Me…watch you eat these from across the room,” he said.
“Don’t be shy! There are so many things to be counted! Two! You have two eyes! And there are one!! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six…”
“…Me think me hear my mommy calling,” Cookie added, reaching for the door knob.
“Eleven! Eleven raisins in this cookie!”
5: The Most Important
One time, Cookie got a wonderful idea. He decided to make a giant cookie – one big enough that the entire Street could share it!
It took a lot of work – and he had to find an oven big enough to bake it – but once the task was done everyone gathered around to try a bite.
With pride he watched the entire gang devour his creation – and they left a big piece just for him. And as he gobbled the cookie down, he felt a sense of deep joy. He’d made his friends happy, and they, in turn, had made him even happier.