Toll House cookie

The Toll House Cookie was developed by Ruth Graves Wakefield, owner of The Toll House Restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts, in 1930. She invented the cookie by accident. She was making chocolate cookies but ran out of regular baker's chocolate and substituted broken pieces of semi-sweet chocolate, assuming it would melt. It did not, and the cookie with chips of chocolate was born. (The restaurant, housed in a former toll house built in 1709, burned down in 1984.)

The standard version of the recipe can be found at Nestle Toll House Cookie Recipe.

A variant on this recipe is:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 stick margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 extra large eggs
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12-ounce package) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels/Chips

Another variant (using the same procedure) is:

• 225 g unsalted butter, softened
• 160 g brown sugar
• 145 g granulated sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 270 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dry ground lemon or orange peel (optional)
• 300-350 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 150 g chopped nuts (optional)

(1 teaspoon = 5 mL)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 Celsius).

Cream butter, margarine, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated. Add vanilla extract and beat in.

In a small bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (except chocolate). Add to the wet mixture in two parts and fold until combined. (If you beat this too long, you may get some gluten formation which will change the cookie texture).

Stir in chocolate morsels (chips). Some recipes suggest stirring in a cup of chopped walnuts; please be considerate of people with nut allergies, by mentioning the nuts if you use them.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets. There should be enough fat in the cookie dough to prevent sticking, but using parchment paper or non-stick pans may help if you find this not to be the case.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown (cooking times may vary). Let stand for about 1 minute and remove from hot baking sheet to cool on a wire rack.

Suggestion: The quality of the flavoring ingredients makes a great difference in the outcome. Using top-quality butter, chocolate, and vanilla will produce a superior cookie.

Ingredient Alternatives: Use cake flour instead of all-purpose, replace granulated sugar with brown sugar and use butter instead of margarine. Using cake flour and brown sugar allows you to use butter without fear of your cookies becoming puddles (which is the only reason to use margarine in the first place). Some people also recommend chilling dough before baking, though this is usually not nessecary. In places where vanilla extract is not readily available, substitute two teaspoons of vanilla sugar for granulated sugar. Using chopped bar chocolate instead of pre-formed chips will result in a more rustic texture -- just make sure the pieces are small enough to eat comfortably. The proportion of granulated to brown sugar may be adjusted to suit taste.