Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie, 1938

Ruth Graves Wakefield and her husband Kenneth in 1930 bought a tourist lodge and called it the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Mass., halfway between Boston and New Bedford. Ruth did all the cooking and the restaurant drew crowds. One especially popular dessert was a butterscotch nut cookie served with ice cream, but she wanted to come up with something different. That something different was the chocolate chip cookie. Graves wrote a cookbook in 1930 called Toll House Tried and True Recipes. It went through 39 printings. The 1938 edition was the first to include the chocolate chip cookie, which she called the Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie. She sold the recipe and the Toll House name to Nestle for $1. The recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Step 1: Ingredients

2¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup white sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon hot water

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups (18 ounces) semi sweet chocolate chips

Step 2: Prep Flour

Sift flour together with salt and set aside.

Step 3: Cream Butter and Sugars

1. Cut 2 sticks of softened butter into pats.

2. Attach paddle to mixer and beat on medium for 30 seconds.

3. Add 3/4 cup of brown sugar to mix

4. Start on slow speed, then beat on medium for 30 seconds. Scrape sides, beat for an additional 30 seconds.(scrape sides)

5. Add 3/4 cup of white sugar in same manner as above.

6. Scrape sides, and remove as much as possible from paddle attachment.

Step 4: Eggs!

1. 2 large eggs, room temperature, in a small bowl.

2. Beat with whisk

3. Slowly add to creamed butter/sugar.

4. Mix until just combined.

Step 5: Baking Soda, Flour

1. Dissolve 1 tsp of b.s. into 1 tsp of hot water

2. Add that alternatively with flour mixture.

3. Mix until just combined.

Step 6: Almost Done!

Have you ever been in the middle of baking and realized you were completely out of any and all extracts? I discovered you can make your own yummier substitute with equal parts of Brandy and Maple syrup!

1. Homemade substitute of vanilla extract, or use the actual stuff if you have it.

2. Add a teaspoon to cookie dough and mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Using a spatula, remove most of cookie dough from paddle attachment. (The leftover is for licks.)

4. Stir in almost 2 bags of high-quality chocolate chips. (The rest is for snacking on the next day when nothing in the fridge makes itself.)

5. Transfer to glass bowl, cover and place in fridge for 36-48 hours. Yes, you read that correctly. Don't mess with the formula. No need to label as that may invite naughty nibblers to reach in and help themselves to a dollop or two.

Step 7: (Bake) Toll House Cookies!

Who doesn't love these perennial favorites!

1. Gather things you need:

Chilled cookie dough, removed from fridge just before you need it.
lined cookie traps
wire racks for cooling
scale to weigh out dollops of cookie drops
spoon, or two, for scooping out dough

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Scoop out 1.5 oz of cookie dough. (This makes generously-sized cookies, maybe 2.5 dozen)

3. Place onto cookie sheets, leaving plenty of room for spreading.

4. Bake for 10 minutes, plus or minus 1. Oi! The smell!! Cool cookies on pan for two minutes, then transfer carefully to wire rack to cool completely. It's okay if the spatula slips and you break one in half. Better to test them to make sure they came out okay. ; ) Store in lined cookie tins/stoneware.

Step 8: Make It Even More Special.

The Toll House cookies are another component of my Yankee Holiday Cheer Package.

My presentation for these classics was simple: Two delectable cookies protected in waxed paper, some Kraft paper wrap over that. Laid upon that is the Toll House Cookie Story, tied up with some simple, yet so functional kitchen twine.