Cookies are a delicious treat enjoyed by kids and adults throughout the world. Kids are especially smitten with the tasty sweet pleasure. There are a variety of names used for these yummy treats. The Spanish call them ‘galletas,’ the English call them ‘biscuits,’ the Germans call them ‘kels,’ and in North America, they are called ‘cookies.’ The first cookies were miniature cakes called “koekje,” which is a Dutch word meaning ‘little cake.’ They were used to test oven temperatures before bakers cooked their cakes. The name “koekje” eventually evolved into the word ‘cookie.’ It does not matter what name is used for this mouthwatering sweet indulgence, they are a snack that all kids love.

Store bought cookies are loved by kids. According to timeforkids.com, the following cookies are the top 5 selling brands:

1. Oreos: $519 million a year

2. Chips Ahoy: $347 million

3. Chips Deluxe: $160 million

4. Newtons: $137 million

5. Fudge Shoppe: $127 million

Although kids love store bought cookies, they especially love to eat cookies that are made in the home. As well, many parents will let their kids make the cookies with them. The kids love to bake and the parents get to enjoy some quality time with their children.

If you are interested in giving your kids homemade cookies, the following lists the top 5 most popular cookies for kids:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookie: These cookies have always been a popular treat for kids. They are soft, chewy, and gooey. You can use standard chocolate chips, gourmet chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chunks. Either way, the kids love them. Ingredients include: all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, unsalted butter (melted,) brown sugar (firmly packed,) white sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, and semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

2. Double Chocolate Chip Cookies: The double chocolate chip cookie is loved by almost all kids. Ingredients include: butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, unsweetened cocoa powder buttermilk, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and semisweet chocolate chips.

3. Peanut Butter Cookies: Peanut Butter Cookies have always been a well loved treat by kids. For a burst of flavor, you can use a popular peanut butter brand such as Skippy, Peter pan, or Jiffy peanut butter. You can also add chocolate chips. To make them healthier, use all natural peanut butter. Ingredients include: granulated sugar, packed brown sugar, peanut butter, butter or margarine, shortening, egg, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. Gingerbread Cookies: These cookies make for a wonderful satisfying delight. They can be made into many shapes and frosting can be added as decoration, Ingredients include all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, butter, softened, molasses, egg, ground cinnamon, baking powder, ground ginger, ground cloves, grated or ground nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.

5. Sugar Cookies: The sugar cookie is a delicious sweet cookie that you can cut into a variety of shapes. Ingredients include: margarine (or butter), granulated sugar, egg vanilla, all-purpose flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.

Kids love cookies so giving them this tremendously pleasing treat will definitely bring a smile to their faces.

The snack food production industry may not be recession-proof but the food business is; since people have to eat. Snack food manufacturers know that people can choose not to eat their products. Likewise, manufacturers have employed a substantial amount of expenditures and resources in regards to branding, technology, and capital. These investments, coupled with high customer loyalty, have contributed to sales growth and high profit margins.

During the current recession, customers are increasingly becoming price sensitive and more likely to purchase on promotion, shift to private labels, and/or simply reduce snack spending. Fluctuating commodity costs are also a challenge for snack food manufacturers. However, strong brand loyalty coupled with aggressive marketing tactics and new product innovations should help counter the negative implications of the current crisis.

Competition in the US snack food production industry is intense since the market is mature and saturated. Correspondingly, below are the key drivers manufacturers can utilize to either grow or maintain share.

Ability to secure key input supply contracts – to aid production planning and reduce procurement costs, manufacturers need reliable contracts with suppliers of key raw inputs including guaranteed supplies at fixed prices.

Ability to transfer price increases – manufacturers need to continuously pass on unexpected cost increases for supplies without fixed prices to preserve profitability. Due to their products high brand value, the major players have been passing on price increases to offset steep energy and commodity prices. Nevertheless, supermarkets and grocery stores (due to increasing buyer power from consolidation) could stock more of their own private label products and resist price increases to boost profitability.

Ability to secure coveted shelf space – manufacturers must continue to compete to acquire the most attractive shelf space for their products to maximize retail sales. They should also expand (or continue expansion) into other distribution channels which include drug and discount stores, convenience stores, and other locations with high foot traffic.

Ability to change via innovation and differentiation – to maintain or grow share, manufacturers must differentiate, anticipate, and respond to changes in both consumer preferences and dietary trends. Population ethnicity and demographic changes have resulted in new preferences and tastes, requiring manufacturers to alter their product lines to meet these needs; by using product, healthier ingredients, packaging, marketing, labeling, and other innovations.

For example, consumers are becoming more health conscious and pressed for time and are increasing their consumption of convenient, healthy, and/or tasty snacks. As a result, the fruit and nut snack bars segment combined with low-sodium, low-fat, and organic snack food represent a growth opportunity.

Ability to deal with consumer price sensitivity – the price sensitivity of consumers varies between product segments. Brand loyal customers are not as sensitive to price changes due to the associated high product quality, image, and reputation perceptions. Likewise, products such as Doritos and Oreo command a premium price. However, price increases for product segments that are not perceived as high quality could result in customer switching to cheaper alternatives including private labels and/or cheaper substitute products such as chocolate and muffins.

Ability to grow internationally – since the saturated domestic market could eventually result in stagnate profit margins, manufacturers should continue to seek growth in Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, and other countries.

The effects of the recession on the snack food production industry should not inflict much damage. Nonetheless, manufacturers must continue to seek international growth, differentiate, innovate, secure coveted distribution placement, and receive desirable supplier contract terms. Thus, manufacturers will have a better chance of preserving or boosting share, sales, and/or margin over the long haul.

Sometimes, you just want something sweet to eat, but, it seems like the prices for baked goods are constantly increasing. In a family, goodies can be both a want and a necessity. Have you ever noticed how well a toddler behaves when he can bet on receiving a cookie as a reward? That being said, satisfying a sweet tooth is not as pleasing when it feels like it’s a major purchase. So, what is a family to do to curtail the cost without cutting out the cookies and cakes? Try these few tips for ways that you may be able to save while still enjoying the sweet stuff:

Bake your own treats. Buying a cake from a grocer or baker can cost upwards of $20 and a box of overly processed cookies, while still enjoyable, could run you close to $5 per package. You can bake those same items at home at a much lower overall cost with just a little planning. First off, anyone that is going to endeavor to bake goodies for their household on a regular basis should buy basic items in larger quantities. The price of buying a 5-pound bag of sugar can cost almost $3, while a 10-pound bag of sugar will most likely max out at $4.50; and of course, you will need plenty of sugar. Also, buy eggs in larger quantities also as most cake mixes or recipes will call for a number of eggs. So, how do you save when you have to purchase more of these items? Well, to bake a large batch of sugar cookies, you may need a couple of cups of sugar, a few cups of flour, and some eggs, along with the other bits such as a tablespoon of flavoring and such. But, you may only use $1 worth of ingredients and you may be able to make 2 or 3 times as many cookies as you would have received in a package. Also, baking allows for more family time, as it can be a really interactive activity and that’s priceless.

Catch the sales. If you absolutely must have the store bought goodies, then, try to buy them when they are on sale. Often, stores will mark cakes, cookies, and other baked goods down when they are quickly approaching the “sale by” date. The items are still fresh, but they must sell them or else they will have to discard them. So, to ensure that they make a little profit off of them, they may offer incredible savings for their customers if they will take these almost “due” items off their shelves. Most stores do this on a daily basis, and buying large quantities when they are on sale can be very good on your overall budget. Some of the items that you purchase may be able to be frozen and used at a later date, such as pies and certain cakes. Actually, most of the long decorative cakes that the stores make on-site are actually stored frozen until they are ready to present them to the public. You could do the same thing at home and save at the same time!

Clip coupons. Those little pieces of paper can be quite precious for people that are interested in saving, cost-comparing, and keeping their expenses under control. Just by snipping those free money-saving coupons from your Sunday local paper, you can make buying your favorite snacks a non-issue with regard to price. In fact, with so many stores offering double or even triple coupon deals, along with “buy one, get one” specials, consumers can save gobs of cash on sweets for their sweets!

Check out the bakery goods thrift shops. Snack foods companies, specifically baked goods manufacturers, often have a “thrift shop” that sells nothing but their products, where consumers can buy stuff that is either close to the “sell by” date or is an overstocked product. During an economy crisis like this, it may be worthwhile for a family to take a little trip or to coordinate a visit to one of these shops at some point. But, do keep in mind that if you are spending a ton in gas to get the shop, then it’s not worth it. This saving alternative may only work for those that have a shop in close proximity. Remember, the whole point is to save!

Just think…you can realize a saving, cost-cut, and still those scrumptious sweets by simply making these saving strategies work for you and your family! Life doesn’t get much better than that!