National Sugar Cookie Day: Vallaro Bros. Bakery, The Famous 4th Street Cookie Co., The Ground Coffee, Plants & Gifts

July 9 is National Sugar Cookie Day, and although the origins of this day are a little unclear, the birthplace of the popular cookie is attributed to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, about an hour and a half north of Philadelphia. In the 18th century, German Protestant settlers created a simple cookie called “Nazareth cookies,” which evolved into what we know today as sugar cookies. The basic ingredients are butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla. They are combined to form a dough that can be rolled out, shaped, and decorated in countless ways.

Philadelphia is home to several bakeries that have put their own spin on the sugar cookie, including Vallaro Brothers Bakery. The authentic Italian bakery on the corner of Morris and 10^th Street bakes a cinnamon sugar cookie made “the old-fashioned way.”

“My dad and my uncle started this in 1981,” said Bernie Vallaro, who began working at the bakery as a child after his family moved to Philadelphia from Italy. “We’ve been in the same place ever since, and there aren’t many real Italian treats here.”

The Famous 4th Street Cookie Co. also remains family-owned. In 2016, the Phillip family purchased the popular cookie shop to continue the legacy that began more than four decades ago in the Reading Terminal Market at the 12th Street entrance.

“It’s so nice to see the company grow and to be a part of it together with my family and to work with all my sisters, brothers and cousins,” said Mikaela Phillip, the company’s marketing manager.

Customers can still enjoy sugar, oatmeal raisin, blueberry muffins, peanut butter, white cholate cranberries or dozens of other flavors that they bake fresh each morning. On August 4, the bakery’s chocolate chip cookie will help raise money for a local charity.

“Every year we partner with the Ronald McDonald House,” Phillip said. “We make chocolate chip cookies for a dollar.”

At The Ground Coffee, Plants & Gifts in Kensington, the Parisian-style cafe offers its own version of the latte-shaped sugar cookie.

“The Sugar Cookie Latte was originally a seasonal drink. We sold it at Christmas,” says Michelle Miller, co-owner of the shop, which opened during the pandemic. “After Christmas, our customers kept asking for it, so we added it to the permanent menu.”