Chocolate chip cookies are a beloved treat that can be found in bakeries and homes all around the world. But legend has it that the first recipe was developed by accident in Massachusetts in 1933.
Ruth Wakefield was owner of the Toll House Inn, a small bed and breakfast located in Whitman, Massachusetts. Legend has it that one day, while preparing cookies for her guests, Wakefield realized that she was out of baker’s chocolate, which she typically used to make chocolate walnut cookies. As a substitute, she broke up a bar of semi-sweet chocolate and mixed the pieces into the cookie dough, thinking that they would melt and blend into the dough just like the baker’s chocolate.
However, the chocolate pieces did not melt as Wakefield expected. Instead, they held their shape and created pockets of chocolate throughout the cookies. The result was an unexpected but delicious treat that quickly became popular with Wakefield’s guests.
Wakefield’s recipe for the “Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie” was first published in October, 1939 as part of a nationwide promotion of a new edition of her cookbook Toll House: Tried and True Recipes. The recipe appeared in newspapers across the country for months. Nestle, the company that produced the semi-sweet chocolate that Wakefield used in her cookies, learned of the recipe and began printing it on the back of their chocolate bars. Eventually, the recipe’s popularity was so great, Nestle began producing semi-sweet chocolate morsels, that also included the recipe on the wrapper.
Sadly, the Toll House Inn and Restaurant burned to the ground on New Years Eve as the year rolled into 1985. A grease fire in the kitchen was blamed during a celebration for 250 guests. Nobody was injured, but the 276-year-old building was a total loss. A third grade class from Somerset, MA petitioned to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie the official cookie of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The state legislature did just that on July 9, 1997.
Wakefield died in 1977. Her papers and cookbook library are available for research at her alma mater, Framingham State University.
Tips and Tricks
The base recipe is for a brown sugar butter cookie that originally had walnuts to give it a crunchy texture. The walnuts can be omitted, but if you do, Nestle suggests compensating with an extra 1-2 tablespoons of flour.
Don’t forget to bring your butter to room temperature ahead of preparing the cookies.
This is one of the first recipes I’ve seen that says to dissolve the baking soda in hot water before adding, and is a clever way to ensure it is more evenly distributed than adding it dry to the flour mixture.
I’ve also never seen a cookie recipe add the vanilla at the end after the dry ingredients. It won’t evenly mix as well if you do it this way. I’d suggest adding it where most recipes suggest – mixing with the egg at the creaming stage before the flour mixture.
Either grease the baking pan or use a silicone baking sheet. There is almost as much sugar in these cookies as flour, and if you don’t grease the pan, they will burn and stick.
The original recipe says that it will make 50 cookies, if you portion the dough with a half-teaspoon. These would make very small cookies. For the proportions originally given in the recipe below, I used an ice cream scoop and got a solid dozen cookies. If you like a larger size cookie, you might want to adjust the baking temperature and time – 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
The Take-Away
There are few smells in this world that are more warm and inviting than freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. These are not the cookies you get from the ready-made cookie dough tubes in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
Most ready-made chocolate chip cookie dough uses only white sugar. The original recipe has more of a bitter-sweet flavor, owing to the richness of the chocolate and the hint of molasses in the brown sugar.
It’s wild to think of a time before chocolate chips were a thing, they’ve become so ubiquitous. This is the recipe that brought them into existence.
Serve with a glass of cold milk and you’ll understand why Ruth Wakefield’s guests kept returning to the Toll House Inn.
The Recipe
Toll House Cookies, as published in October, 1939
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter or other shortening
1 egg
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 economy size bar of semi-sweet chocolate (or 7 ounces chocolate chips)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Important: – Cut each small square of semi-sweet chocolate into four pieces. Cream butter or other shortening and add sugars and beaten egg. Dissolve soda in the hot water and mix alternately with the flour sifted with the salt. Lastly add the chopped nuts and the pieces of semi-sweet chocolate. Flavor with the vanilla and drop by half teaspoons on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in a 375 degree F. oven. Makes 50 cookies.
First published: January 9, 2023