School is in session, and we put the CPS butter cookie to the test

Curious City

WBEZ Chicago

Investigation, Chicago, Radio, Arts, Society & Culture, Public, Education, Curious, City

4.6 • 661 Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Summer is coming to an end, and it’s time to go back to school. Today, the number of Chicago Public School students complaining about school lunch might only be matched by the complaints over homework assignments. So it may come as a surprise that decades ago CPS students actually looked forward to eating cafeteria lunch. In our last episode, WBEZ’s Sarah Karp found that privatization of food services and revamped health guidelines shifted the menu for CPS students. During Karp’s reporting, many alumni kept mentioning an old lunchtime staple, the famed CPS butter sugar cookie. This was a cookie served district wide and baked fresh by lunchroom staff during the 1960s-1980s. The cookie has long been discontinued in schools, but there’s still a cult following. Dozens of copycat recipes pop up on a simple internet search, and one woman even turned it into a business. Curious City decided to put this cookie to the test. With the help of CPS culinary instructor Jeffrey Newman and a dupe recipe, we re-created this classic lunchroom treat. Is it worth all the hype? Will current CPS students like it? Or is this merely a dose of childhood nostalgia?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This WBEZ podcast is supported by The Nook.
0:04.3	Opening August 13th, this new cozy neighborhood destination lounge in Andersonville
0:10.0	will feature simple, healthy eats, a cultivated fine wine selection, and experienced mixologists
0:16.4	who will push culinary boundaries to their unique cocktails.
0:20.4	When thinking about first dates, private moments, or even treating yourself,
0:24.7	find more details at The Nook Shy on Instagram.
0:28.8	These days, there's so much news.
0:30.6	It can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family, and your community.
0:35.2	The Consider This Podcast from NPR features our award-winning journalism.
0:39.5	Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a news story
0:42.3	and provide the context and analysis that helps you make sense of the news.
0:46.3	We get behind the headlines.
0:48.2	We get to the Truth.
0:49.7	Listen to the Consider This podcast from NPR.
0:54.6	Listen to more news from WBEZ anytime on the WBEZ app.
1:00.4	Start each day informed.
1:02.0	Tap and listen live or on demand.
1:04.7	Available on iOS and Android.
1:09.0	What's up, Chicago?
1:10.4	I'm Aaron Allen, and this is Curious City.
1:14.0	So, kids, sorry for the reminder, but summer is coming to an end.
1:19.1	In our last episode, we talked about how school lunch at CPS has gone downhill in recent years.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WBEZ Chicago, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WBEZ Chicago and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.