Celebrate The Chocolate Chip

National Chocolate Chip Day

When: Always on May 15th

National Chocolate Chip Day celebrates and enjoys sweet, tasty chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are a great invention, and certainly deserve a little recognition. After all, where would chocolate chip cookies, cakes and muffins be without the chocolate chip!?

Chocolate chips are popular in cooking and baking, for a wide variety of breads, cakes, and cookies. There is an almost endless number of recipes. They are also used in decorating. Have you ever had chocolate chip pancakes? How about chocolate chips in trail mix? If you've never had these, then you're leading a sheltered life.

Rare is the leftover chocolate chip. If you don't use the whole bag, you and/or your kids will likely eat them as a snack before they make it to the storage container.

Chocolate Chip-Ice Cream Dessert

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 bottle (7.25 oz) chocolate topping that forms hard shell
1 container (1.5 quart) chocolate chip-cookie dough ice cream (6 cups)
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms.
2. On ungreased cookie sheet, make 5 cookies by dropping dough by tablespoonfuls. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
3. Meanwhile, press remaining dough in pan, using moistened fingers (dough will be sticky). Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
4. Spread 1/3 cup chocolate topping over baked crust. Freeze 10 to 15 minutes or until chocolate is set.
5. Meanwhile, remove ice cream from freezer to soften. Spread softened ice cream evenly over chocolate-topped crust.

6. Crumble 5 baked cookies; sprinkle over ice cream layer. Drizzle remaining chocolate topping over cookie crumbs. Cover; freeze 2 hours. To serve, let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before cutting. For serving pieces, cut into 5 rows by 3 rows. Store covered in freezer.