According to MIT, America's most famous cookie was invented by Ruth Wakefield by accident. Ruth, a dietitian and food lecturer, and her husband Kenneth bought a tourist lodge named the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, where she prepared home-cooked meals for her guests.
In 1930, using butter cookie dough, Wakefield was mixing a batch of cookies for her inn guests and was out of baker's chocolate. She substituted broken pieces of semi-sweet chocolate that were given to her personally by Andrew Nestle. She had expected the chocolate to melt and absorb into the dough to create chocolate cookies. But as you can imagine, Ruth left her with a butter cookie with bits of chocolate. She called her new treat "Toll House Crunch Cookies."
The 'chocolate chip cookies were an instant hit with her customers, and word of their popularity returned to Andrew Nestle. Nestle then went on to buy the rights to the Toll House name and to Ruth Wakefield's 'chocolate chip cookie’. For her name and recipe, Wakefield's compensation would be a lifetime supply of Nestle chocolate. I guess that's not so bad if you are a chocoholic.
Nestle printed the Toll House Cookie recipe on its package of bar chocolate that was scored for easy breaking. By 1939, Nestle began selling small chocolate morsels (aka - chips) in yellow bags. Of course, you know by now that the chocolate chip cookie has become the most popular cookie in America!
Here's my recipe + rendition of America's cookie. My cookie is a bit chewier and less cakey than the Tollhouse recipe. It also bakes a darker shade due to the dark brown sugar. After a hearty bowl of Leek and Onion Soup, share with friends and enjoy with a tall glass of ice-cold milk or my Stout Coffee Ice Cream Float.
from George Hirsch Lifestyle Stout Coffee Ice Cream Float + Chocolate Chip Cookies
George's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 40 cookies
chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) lightly sweet butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups good-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped, or mini chips
Optional: 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Whisk the flour, soda, and salt together in a bowl. Cream the butter at low speed in another large bowl to lighten it a bit, then mix in the sugars and cream for two minutes. Add the water, vanilla, and eggs to the butter mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until combined, then fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Using two soup spoons, drop the cookies 2" apart onto two parchment-lined, nonstick, or greased cookie sheets. Bake for eight to nine minutes, rotating the sheets after four minutes.
Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool, and repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
