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The history of chocolate chip cookies is an important part of the overall history of chocolate. The story begins back in the 1930’s.
In 1930, Ruth and Kenneth Wakefield purchased an old tollhouse in Massachusetts. They converted it into a lodging place and called it the Toll House Inn. Ruth Wakefield was an accomplished chef, particularly in baking and in making deserts, and she put these skills to use in feeding the guests of the Toll House Inn.
In one version of the history of chocolate chip cookies, Ruth Wakefield was trying to bake some chocolate cookies but ran out of regular baker’s chocolate and instead substituted pieces of semi-sweet chocolate, which she thought would melt into the dough, thus making chocolate cookies.
The chocolate that didn’t melt
However, the chocolate didn’t melt and blend in with the cookie dough, but instead just went soft, and the chocolate chip cookie, then known as the Toll House Cookie, was borne and also, of course, the history of chocolate chip cookies began.
In another version it is said that Ruth Wakefield was such an experienced baker that she knew the chocolate pieces would not melt completely and blend into the dough, but rather that they would simply go soft. In other words, she knew what she was doing and was trying to create a new kind of cookie.
Regardless, what would the history of chocolate chip cookies be without a little controversy? At any rate, the cookies became a big hit at the Toll House Inn and soon the recipe was being published in newspapers through New England.
Eventually she made an arrangement, the story goes, to give Nestle the rights to publish the recipe on their bars of semi-sweet chocolate in exchange for a free supply of chocolate for her Toll House Cookies for the rest of her life. Over time, Nestle began packaging small pieces of their chocolate in packages, which also featured the recipes for the cookies.
Chocolate chip cookie recipes
If you want some recipes for chocolate chip cookies you can find a variety of them if you go to the Nestle Website and type “chocolate chip cookie” into the search function.