Fun fact: We have a woman named Ruth Wakefield to thank for the invention of the chocolate chip cookie in 1939. She ran the restaurant at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. She assumed adding broken pieces of Nestlé Semi-Sweet chocolate to her cookies would make the chocolate melt into the batter. But the chocolate largely maintained its shape, and the cookies became so popular that she published the recipe in a Boston newspaper.
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Even if chocolate chip cookies aren’t you’re favorite, it’s hard to claim they don’t hold an iconic place in American culinary history. According to the Nestlé website,
“It all started back in 1939. Ruth Wakefield, who ran the successful Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts, was mixing a batch of cookies when she decided to add broken pieces of Nestlé Semi-Sweet chocolate into the recipe expecting the chocolate to melt. Instead, the semi-sweet bits held their shape and softened to a delicate creamy texture and the chocolate chip cookie was born. Ruth’s ‘Toll House Crunch Cookie’ recipe was published in a Boston newspaper and her invention of the chocolate chip cookie quickly became the most popular cookie of all-time.”
The original chocolate chip cookie recipe
Want to make the original chocolate chip cookie? Nestlé shared the recipe on their website:
The recipe that started it all
More than 80 years later, Nestlé Toll House’s Original Chocolate Chip Cookies are a true classic and a go-to recipe for all occasions.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
- 1 cup chopped nuts (if omitting, add 1-2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour)
Instructions:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375° F
Step 2: Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets
Step 3: Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Source: “A timeless discovery: The chocolate chip cookie” — Nestlé
