Chocolate chip cookie

Achocolate chip cookieis adrop cookiethat featureschocolate chipsor chocolate morsels as its distinguishing ingredient. Chocolate chip cookies are claimed to have originated in the United States in 1938, whenRuth Graves Wakefieldchopped up aNestlésemi-sweetchocolate barand added the chopped chocolate to a cookie recipe; however, historical recipes for grated or chopped chocolate cookies exist prior to 1938 by various other authors.
Generally, the recipe starts with a dough composed of flour, butter, bothbrownandwhite sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips,eggs, andvanilla. Variations on the recipe may add othertypes of chocolate, as well as additional ingredients such asnutsoroatmeal. There are alsoveganversions with the necessary ingredient substitutions, such as vegan chocolate chips, vegan margarine, and egg substitutes. Achocolate chocolate chip cookieuses a dough flavored with chocolate orcocoa powder, before chocolate chips are mixed in. These variations of the recipe are also referred to as ‘double’ or ‘triple’ chocolate chip cookies, depending on the combination of dough and chocolate types.
The most notable chocolate chip cookie recipe was invented by American chefRuth Graves Wakefieldin 1938.She invented the recipe during the period when she owned theToll House Inn, inWhitman, Massachusetts. In this era, the Toll House Inn was a popular restaurant that featured home cooking. A myth holds that she accidentally developed the cookie, and that she expected the chocolate chunks would melt, making chocolate cookies. That is not the case; Wakefield stated that she deliberately invented the cookie. She said, "We had been serving a thin butterscotch nut cookie with ice cream. Everybody seemed to love it, but I was trying to give them something different. So I came up with Toll House cookie."She added chopped up bits from aNestlésemi-sweet chocolate bar into a cookie.The original recipe inToll House Tried and True Recipesis called "Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookies". Wakefield gave Nestle the recipe for her cookies and was paid with a lifetime supply of chocolate from the company.
Wakefield's cookbook,Toll House Tried and True Recipes, was first published in 1936 by M. Barrows & Company, New York. The 1938 edition of the cookbook was the first to include the recipe "Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie" which rapidly became a favorite cookie in American homes.
During World War II, soldiers fromMassachusettswho were stationed overseas shared the cookies they received incare packagesfrom home with soldiers from other parts of the United States. Hundreds of soldiers wrote home asking their families to send them Toll House cookies, and Wakefield received letters from around the world requesting her recipe,helping spread their popularity beyond the east coast.Chocolate chip cookies were first sold in the UK in 1956 byMaryland Cookies.
Sue Brides, a baker who worked withRuth Graves Wakefieldat theToll House Inn, passed down the original recipe to her daughter, Peg, who shared it in a 2017 interview:
Chocolate chip cookies are commonly made withwhite sugar;brown sugar;flour;salt;eggs; aleavening agentsuch asbaking soda; a fat, typically butter orshortening;vanilla extract; andchocolatepieces. Some recipes also include milk ornuts(such as choppedwalnuts) in the dough.
Depending on the ratio of ingredients and mixing and cooking times, some recipes produce a soft, chewy cookie while others will produce a crunchy, crispy cookie.Regardless of ingredients, the procedure for making the cookie is fairly consistent in all recipes: First, the sugars and fat arecreamed, usually with a wooden spoon orelectric mixer. Next, the eggs and vanilla extract are added followed by the flour and leavening agent. Depending on the additional flavoring, its addition to the mix will be determined by the type used:peanut butterwill be added with the wet ingredients while cocoa powder would be added with the dry ingredients. The titular ingredient, chocolate chips, as well as nuts are typically mixed in towards the end of the process to minimize breakage, just before the cookies are scooped and positioned on acookie sheet. Mostcookie doughis baked, although some eat the dough as is, or use it as an addition to vanillaice creamto makechocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
The texture of a chocolate chip cookie is largely dependent on its fat composition and the type of fat used. A study done by Kansas State University showed that carbohydrate-based fat substitutes tend to bind more water, leaving less water available to aid in the spread of the cookie while baking and resulting in softer, cakelike cookies with less spread.
There are at least three national (U.S./North America) chains that sell freshly baked chocolate chip cookies inshopping mallsand standalone retail locations.Several businesses—includingDoubletreehotels—offer freshly baked cookies to their patrons to differentiate themselves from their competition.
To honor the cookie's creation in the state, on July 9, 1997, Massachusetts designated the chocolate chip cookie as the Official State Cookie, after it was proposed by a third-grade class fromSomerset, Massachusetts.