The Tale of The Original Chocolate Chip Cookie

While Chocolate cookies feel timeless their invention is actually relatively recent. The Chocolate Chip cookie was invented by accident in 1930 when Ruth Graves Wakefield, co-owner of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, was preparing a batch of Chocolate Butter Drop Do cookies for the inn guests. Mid preparation she realized she was out of the required baker’s chocolate. Looking for a last-minute substitute, she reached for a bar of Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate that had been given to her by Andrew Nestlé and chopped it up. While the original colonial recipe for Chocolate Butter Drop Do cookies involves bakers chocolate that melts and mixes throughout the dough, the Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate did no such thing. The Nestlé chocolate softened to a gooey consistency while maintaining its form resulting in what we now know as the Chocolate Chip cookie.

Ruth named her new creation the “Chocolate Crunch Cookie” and published the recipe in local newspapers. Eventually, Ruth’s cookies were picked up for an episode of the Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air radio program and the Chocolate Chip cookie became widely popular. Demand for Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate skyrocketed boosting their sales and prompting them to strike a deal with Ruth. In exchange for a lifetime supply of free chocolate, Nestlé printed Ruth’s recipe, called “Mrs. Wakefield’s Toll House Cookies,” on their chocolate labels. Nestlé further capitalized by beginning to score their chocolate bars and including a special chocolate chopper so people could easily make the chocolate chips for their cookies. In 1939, Nestlé introduced pre-chopped chocolates called “Nestlé’s Toll House Chocolate Morsels” which are still sold today.

The Original Recipe

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Set oven to 375° F. In a small bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda and set aside. In a larger bowl, cream butter and sugars and add vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add one egg and beat well. Add the second egg and beat well. Gradually fold in flour mixture and stir in chocolate pieces. Drop a tablespoon size dollop onto baking sheets and bake cookies until golden brown or for around 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on trays for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. (https://www.businessinsider.com/the-chocolate-chip-cookie-was-invented-by-accident-2013-3)

Fun Facts

• 7 billion chocolate chip cookies are eaten in the US every year, with about 50% of those being homemade.
• The Chocolate Chip Cookie is the official state cookie of both Massachusetts and Pennsylvania
• “Chocolate chip cookies are often paired with a glass of milk. The fat particles of the milk enhance the tasting sensation of the sugar from the cookies, giving a smoother mouthfeel” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_chip_cookie)
• During WWII, soldiers from Massachusetts stationed overseas shared the chocolate chip cookies with soldiers from other states. As a result, there was an inundation of letters being sent home from soldiers abroad asking their families to send them Toll House cookies. Ruth soon received hundreds of requests from families asking for the recipe. This helped the national dispersion of the Chocolate Chip cookie.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/obituaries/overlooked-ruth-wakefield.html https://www.businessinsider.com/the-chocolate-chip-cookie-was-invented-by-accident-2013-3 https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/sweet-morsels-a-history-of-the-chocolate-chip-cookiehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_chip_cookie Image 1: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/249738741811576326/ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chocolate_Chip_Cookies_-_kimberlykv.jpg Image 2: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/obituaries/overlooked-ruth-wakefield.html Image 3: http://acanjournal.com/august27/ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/obituaries/overlooked-ruth-wakefield.html