The history of the Chocolate Chip Cookie
A chocolate chip cookie is a drop cookie that features chocolate chips or chocolate morsels as its distinguishing ingredient. Chocolate chip cookies are claimed to have originated in the United States in 1938, when Ruth Graves Wakefield chopped up a Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bar and 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, both brown and white sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips, eggs, and vanilla. Variations on the recipe may add other types of chocolate, as well as additional ingredients such as nuts or oatmeal. There are also vegan versions with the necessary ingredient substitutions, such as vegan chocolate chips, vegan margarine, and egg substitutes. A chocolate chocolate chip cookie uses a dough flavored with chocolate or cocoa 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 chef Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1938. She invented the recipe during the period when she owned the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, 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 a Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bar into a cookie. The original recipe in Toll House Tried and True Recipes is 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.
A treat for all the family
Mastering chocolate chip cookies can be difficult as there are so many recipes available with all different techniques. This recipe however will be the last chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need. I never really gave much thought to chocolate chip cookies and periodically I would see recipes in books and on television which made subtle differences to taste or texture, then a few weeks ago, I was made aware of Sephra’s chocolate chip cookie recipe. I feel sad to push aside my grandmothers recipe, however I think that is only right that future generations can enjoy the very best recipe.
Ingredients
Blend two cups of butter, two cups of sugar and two cups of brown sugar together. Add four eggs and two table spoons of vanilla. Mix four cups of flour, five cups of ground oatmeal (measure before grinding), one table spoon of salt, two tablespoons of baking soda and two tablespoons of baking powder together. Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Blend with a mixer until moist. Fold in 680g of Sephra dark chocolate buttons, 226g of Sephra milk chocolate buttons and three cups or chopped walnuts (optional)
Preparation
Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. If you prefer them chewy so i usually take the cookies out when they look slightly underdone and shiny on top. Then once they cool they are chewy rather than crispy or crumbly.