You may remember when I told you previously that every food has its special day. And since there are a lot of foods out there, there’s a lot of overlap.
I think that I may have also mentioned that some foods are worthy of a shout out.
In my world, chocolate chips fit into that category. They deserve to own May 15.
So just for fun, here’s a bit of chocolate chip trivia...
Ruth Graves Wakefield, proprietor of the Toll House Inn, is credited with inventing the first chocolate chip cookies in 1937.
Wakefield loved to make cookies, but one day she realized she didn't have the baker’s chocolate that she needed. Instead, she had a bar of semisweet chocolate so she chopped it into pieces and stirred the chunks of chocolate into the dough. She assumed that the chocolate would melt and spread throughout each cookie.
But it didn’t.
The chocolate bits held their shape, ergo chocolate chips.
The sales of the Nestle candy bars spiked and Andrew Nestle and Ruth Wakefield made a deal. Nestle printed the Toll House Cookie recipe on its package, and Wakefield would be given a lifetime supply of Nestle chocolate.
It is hard to imagine childhood without them.
Here’s that famous recipe:
Nestle Toll House Cookies2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts
PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.
