This isn't about entitlement or a free cookie.

An employee promised something to a 3-year-old kid, and her manager rudely overruled it AFTER it was offered, even though the item was worth less than a dollar.

That's a really, really shitty thing to do, even in fast food.

It would have been different if jsearles asked, "Hey, can I have a free cookie for my 3-year-old?", and then was told no. In THAT case, the manager would have every right to deny it, because it would have been jsearles' fault for asking for something free. In this case, the cookie was already offered, the 3-year-old got excited, and the manager then reversed the offer. Awful.

With that said, LOL at denying your 3-year-old the cookie over this. Even I wouldn't have done that. Why disappoint your kid over something this? The correct play would have been to buy the cookie, then call back during business hours on a weekday and ask for the general manager of the store, and tell him/her what happened. I guarantee that you would get far more than the value of the cookie at that point -- likely an invitation to come back for a free meal.

You should also not call "corporate". Corporate doesn't give a shit about this, for two reasons. First, the store is likely franchised. Second, even if it's not franchised, this is not a big enough issue to warrant corporate involvement/interference.

You should reach the store general manager, who usually works Monday-Friday 8am-5pm type hours.

For those of you who think it is too harsh to report Val for something like this, you don't understand the profit margins of franchises. Most barely turn a profit or lose money. If there is a shitty manager with zero customer service skills driving valuable customers away, you are doing a good thing by reporting this to the general manger or owner. Every franchise owner would want to hear about something like this, as they have often sunk their life savings into this business, and don't want to see it flushed down the toilet by some mad-at-the-world, power-tripping second-tier manager.

You should never hesitate to report an overtly rude or power-tripping employee to management. That's a lot different than reporting an accidental, honest mistake.