Star Wars Day: May the fourth be with you

• Star Wars Day is May 4
• Star Wars VII%3A The Force Awakens will be released December 18
• Come to the darkside%2C we have cookies

It's an official unofficial holiday today – if you speak Wookie, pilot a tie fighter, or dream of vacationing in Cloud City.

May 4 is Star Wars Day. Fans of the franchise greet each other with "May the fourth be with you" all day, a nod to the movie line, "May the force be with you." The holiday has grassroots origins, thanks to the Internet allowing fans to unite and connect with each other. According to starwars.com, the earliest reference to May 4 actually comes from 1979, when author Alan Arnold was chronicling the making of the second film in the franchise (but, in order of the storyline, film 5), The Empire Strikes Back.

Arnold wrote on May 4, 1979, "Margaret Thatcher has won the election and become Britain's first woman prime minister. To celebrate their victory her party took a half page of advertising space in the London Evening News. This message, referring to the day of victory, was 'May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations,' further proof of the extent to which Star Wars has influenced us all."

What began as fandom has become big business, and with the next film in the series, Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, to be released on Dec. 18, fans old and new will be lining up to spend more money on merchandise related to the franchise. So far, the Star Wars Franchise total revenue is estimated to be $27 billion (Disney, Lucas Films, 2015 data, via statisticbrain.com). That includes $12 billion in toy sales, $4.3 billion in box office sales, $3.8 billion in DVD sales, and $2.9 billion in video game sales.

And then there is the category of other. As in, other Star Wars licensed items ($1.3 billion in revenue), and fan-made items which do not count towards the franchise's revenue.

Just a quick search on Etsy reveals more than 48,000 Star Wars items for sale, and 43,000 of those items fall into the handmade category. Coffee mugs, jewelry, custom art prints, cufflinks, pillow covers, even R2D2 crayons are available for purchase.

Products

From a mainstream perspective with licensed products, Vans successfully launched a Star Wars shoe line, which includes shoes for toddlers, kids, and adults, with the adult shoes retailing for $60 a pair, per the company's website. While clothing and shoes seems an easy place for Star Wars merchandise to sell, Williams-Sonoma has perhaps taken a greater risk. Four years ago they introduced a Star Wars line of cookie cutters and pancake molds, along with a Darth Vader spatula. Currently, some of the stores have the pancake molds and one of the cookie cutter sets (ships and vehicles), but on the day we checked, they were on clearance.

"All of a sudden they are selling again," said Ana Kapel, manager of the Bell Tower Williams-Sonoma. "We keep bringing them from the warehouse."

That renewed interest will only grow stronger as more trailers for the film are released, and new merchandise begins hitting shelves. In the meantime, longtime fans will celebrate today, perhaps with Millenium Falcon pancakes flipped with a Darth Vader Spatula. Or, throw a party.

Several food blogs have dedicated Star Wars sections, including justjennrecipes.com, which created an Ultimate Star Wars Party menu with items such as blue milk and Yoda oreos, Han Solo in Carbonite Jell-O, and a Death Star Watermelon. Or, use the Williams-Sonoma cookie cutters and make Dark Chocolate Darth Vaders and defeat the Empire one tasty bite at a time.

However you choose to celebrate today, may the fourth be with you.

Dark Chocolate Darth Vader Cut Out Cookies

•Beat butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in large bowl until blended.

•Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

•Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

•Cover and refrigerate dough for one hour until firm enough to roll.

•Heat oven to 325 degrees.

•Lightly flour your surface or, between two pieces of wax paper, roll a small portion of dough to 1/3 inch thickness.

•Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

•Bake 5-7 minutes. Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet to wire racks and cool completely.

•Note: I use powdered sugar instead of flour to roll out these cookies; it keeps them from becoming too dry and also adds more sweetness.

Recipe Source: adapted from Hershey's Kitchens, hersheys.com