These days we food-types like to jazz up our chocolate chip cookes with bacon, Jacques Torres disks and sea salt. Those are tasty variations, but I don’t know anyone who would dare pass up a big plate of the good ol’ Toll House original. It’s a true American icon. The Nestlé company licensed the recipe from the cookie’s inventor, Ruth Wakefield, and has printed it on bags of its Toll House morsels for decades. We don’t often look to the side of a food package for culinary greatness, but isn’t it interesting that it’s where many tried and true recipes actually came from?
Until recently I had all but completely ignored these on-the-package recipes. Why? Rarely does a photo accompany them and with the two inches of space most are allotted the directions tend to be scant. In other words, I couldn’t easily tell what I was getting myself into. One day recently I decided that it would be a fun project to take the leap and start “revealing” some of these recipes on a blog. Some, like the Toll House cookies, might be hidden gems. Others might be…well…better left on the package. Either way, on-the-package recipes will finally get the spotlight! I hope you’ll follow me on this adventure and subscribe to my updates.
The classic Toll House cookie hardly needs any introduction. Crisp at the edges, gradually transitioning to a chewy bite with the deep flavor of molasses and then finally yielding to a soft buttery center. My mother never made them with nuts so I don’t either. Best right out of the oven, preferably with a tall, cold glass of milk.
Compared to its chunkier cousins (such as the behemoths at the Levain Bakery in NYC that I’m so eager to try) the Toll House chipper is relatively slight and unassuming. It neither seeks to impress nor is it a wallflower. It’s a buttery, sugary, chocolatey original – still holding its own after all these years.
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from the Original Nestlé® Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12 oz. package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Mix in vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop cookie dough in 1 1/2″ mounds (I recommend using a small ice cream scoop) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2″ of space between each.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
I am always up for a classic chocolate chip cookie! Love the new site!!
Maria’s last blog post..Oatmeal Cookies with Lime, Coconut, and White Chocolate
Nestle Toll House will ALWAYS be the only choc. chip cookies I bake – by far my favorite. My husband actually told me that he liked these better than his mother’s! (We’ll never tell her.) GREAT new blog, can’t wait to see what more is in store.
You are so clever – what a great idea for a new blog!
This is always a classic. Love your photos.
Kristen’s last blog post..Mama Is In Denial (Recipe: Tex Mex Calzones)
LOVE this idea for a blog! Looking forward to more updates! I just made chocolate chip cookies today. 🙂
Sheila’s last blog post..Driving Buddies
Congrats on the new blog! It looks great! Those cookies look pretty darn good too! Wish I had one or twelve! 😉
Susan at Sticky,Gooey,Creamy,Chewy’s last blog post..Rest in Peace, Sweet Maria
Congratulations on the new blog! The images of Tollhouse cookies you took are just perfect. I look forward to seeing what else you’ll pull from the back of the box to tantalize us with.
Cute site! Love the concept.
Culinary Cory’s last blog post..BLT with Pesto Goat Cheese
Great fun, Kathy! I just made the pecan pie on the Karo Syrup label. This is a wonderful idea for a blog!
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)’s last blog post..Pecans (Recipe: classic pecan pie)
Great Blog! Can’t wait to read more.
Cool!!! I’ve heard the recipes on the packages are supposed to be really good… that way you keep buying the product!
What a great idea!!
marguerite’s last blog post..Fluffy Pancakes
I love the new site! Look forward to following..
Gaby’s last blog post..Culinary School – Week Two – Chicken!
what a great idea, looking forward to all your “revelations”!!
Rebeca’s last blog post..good airplane karma
Congrats on your new blog! Toll House cookies are a classic but let me tell you. Despite so many people having the same recipe, I find that almost rarely do anyone’s cookies come out the same! And some are better than others. I do think part has to do with butter vs. margarine but still!!! Mine look totally different from yours. Go figure!
Nicole’s last blog post..You’re Invited! An Open House Extravaganza + a Giveaway!
Great idea for a blog. I’m looking forward to reading more interesting recipes.
Oh, will you please do the “Mock Apple Pie” on the Ritz crackers box?? It’s a great mystery from my childhood what it actually tastes like.
Do-Ho’s last blog post..They Eat Donuts in South Africa, Don’t They?
We’re baaaack! Love, love, love this blog idea. We will be here all. the. time!
The Duo Dishes’s last blog post..We Told You So
What a fun idea for a food blog! Great title (and tag line too)—I can’t wait to see what side recipes you try!
Sandie’s last blog post..Moist and Hearty Muffins That Taste Great (Recipe: Banana Walnut-Oat Muffins)
They look yummy!
Jordan’s last blog post..CALORIES
what a great idea for a blog, kathy! and i LOVE the clever title.
meanwhile, the toll house cookies never did do it for me–i think it’s because they’re too thin. i like a little more substance in my chocolate vehicles. 🙂
grace’s last blog post..island in the sun
This is still the recipe I use and our favorite!
Jamie’s last blog post..RISOTTO QUEEN