I'd find it surprising if they completely eliminated Cookie Monster. However, Sesame Street does now show Cookie Monster eating the actual "Letter of the Day" instead of "Letter of the Day Cookies". And they've started using Cookie Monster to help explain the concept of Sometime Foods (like cookies) and All The Time Foods (like fruits and veggies), which is a really great concept and has helped me explain to my DS5 why he can't eat candy all day long.