Juniata County Dairy Promotion
Juniata County Dairy Princess Kera Bentz.

Christmas. A season of hot cocoa, presents under the tree and delicious food at the dinner table with friends and family. My name is Kera Bentz. I am the dairy princess on the Juniata Dairy Promotional Court.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. With all the pretty lights, delicious foods and presents under the tree, what could be better than that? Most importantly though, it is the month of giving. Dairy farmers give their time everyday, 365 days of the year, to provide nutritious rich foods for their community. As it is the time of giving, we want to remember and thank our dairy farmers for their hard work and dedication to the industry. To give back to our dairy farmers, the Juniata County Dairy Promotion puts together cookie trays for the dairy farmers in Juniata County with a thank you card to show our gratitude.

Personally, I love a good chocolate chip cookie to add to our cookie trays because you just can’t go wrong with a classic chocolate chip cookie. I would love to share with you my favorite recipe, but before I do, I just want to remind you to give a big thanks this holiday to our dairy farmers for providing the world with delicious and nutritious foods.

Now for some fun facts about dairy to share over the dinner table.

1. About 73% of calcium available in the food supply is provided by milk and milk products.

2. Milk is packed with essential nutrients including protein, calcium and vitamin D.

3. Chocolate milk’s combination of fluids, carbs and protein helps rehydrate and refuel muscles after a workout.

4. It takes…12 pounds of whole milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream. 21.2 pounds of milk to make 1 pound of butter. 10 pounds of milk to make 1 pound of cheese.

5. Cheddar is the most popular natural cheese in the U.S.

6. Vanilla is America’s favorite flavor of ice cream.

7. To get the same amount of calcium provided by one 8-ounce glass of milk, you would have to eat 4.5 servings of broccoli, 16 servings of spinach or 5.8 servings of whole wheat bread.

8. The first cow arrived in America in Jamestown in 1611. Until the 1850’s, nearly every family had its own cow.

Chocolate chip cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

3⁄4 cup granulated sugar

3⁄4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1⁄2 tsp salt

2 cups milk chocolate chips

½ cup milk

1. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. Beat 1 cup of butter (2 sticks), 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer until creamy.

3. Add 2 eggs. Beat well.

4. Stir together 2 1/4 cups of flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

5. Add milk as needed if mixture is too dry.

6. Stir in 2 cups of Milk Chocolate Chips and 1 cup of chopped nuts, if desired. Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.