Warren Moon was a man of many talents.
He started and operated a cookie business in Edmonton while winning Grey Cups and kept it going while transitioning into a franchise quarterback for the Houston Oilers. The deliciousness was called: W. Moon’s Chocolate Chippery.
“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial background as far as wanting to have my own business. Chocolate chip cookies were huge in the United States, Famous Amos and Mrs. Fields, but I didn’t see anything like that up in Canada,” Moon said on The Rod Pedersen Show.
“I had a great cookie recipe because my mother taught me to bake when I was in high school, and I used that recipe to start my own cooking business. I had five stores around the Edmonton area, I had one in the West Edmonton mall, in the huge mega mall there.”
Moon quickly became a star in Canada, during his first five seasons in the league he was a key piece in Edmonton’s five straight CFL championship seasons from 1978 to 1982. The Los Angeles native became the first professional QB to throw for over 5,000 yards in a single season and earned Grey Cup MVP in 1980 and 1982.
After signing with the Houston Oilers, Moon led the NFL in passing yards (4,689) and passing touchdowns (33) in 1990 on his way to being named the NFL’s offensive player of the year and first-team All-Pro. He was selected to the Pro Bowl nine times and had his No. 1 jersey retired by the Tennessee Titans in 2006.
“When I went to the Houston Oilers, I had five stores in Houston as well. I finally gave it up because it was just becoming too busy for me to try and be an NFL quarterback and run a business at the same time, so I ended up selling it to Mrs. Fields,” Moon said.
The 64-year-old Moon had a lot of fun running the cookie business and still has people ask him about W. Moon’s Chocolate Chippery cookies. During his CFL career, Moon was instrumental in routinely beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders and fans would boo him just because he would always give the Riders a loss.
“I should’ve brought some [cookies] to one of the games,” Moon said, “and maybe it would’ve made the crowd not boo me as much when I came out to town.”
Warren Moon’s chocolate chip cookie recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ½ cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Quaker Oats
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup of baker’s sugar
- ¾ cup of dark brown sugar
- 2 sticks of butter (softened)
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz)
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In one small bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt
- In a larger bowl, mix the vanilla, butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition (do not overmix).
- Gradually beat in flour mixture into the larger bowl. Once mixed, stir in the chocolate chips.
- Drop rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.
