Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

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By Chef Diane

My aunt made the best chocolate chip cookies.  Every year she would bake some and bring them for Christmas and by the time she left, there were no leftovers.  My father loved them, so one year she went about making the best Christmas present ever.  She got a solid white tin can, like the ones popcorn comes in, only a little bigger.  She painted her daughter's hands and made handprints on the can, then she started filling the can up with chocolate chip cookies.  It took her a few days of baking to fill up that can, but we all loved that gift, and my dad still has the can to remember it.

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In my baking experiences, I have found that most people only like 2 types of cookies.  Men like oatmeal raisin, and women like chocolate chips.  Yes, there are other kinds of cookies out there, but these (in my opinion) are the favorites. The chocolate chip cookie was accidentally developed by Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1930. She owned the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts, a very popular restaurant that featured home cooking in the 1930s. Her cookbook, Toll House Tried and True Recipes, was published in 1936 by M. Barrows & Company, New York.  It included the recipe "Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie", which rapidly became a favorite to be baked in American homes.

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Below is the recipe, when I make them, I only use a half bag of chips.  While I love chocolate, in the cookies, I like the cookie taste too.  This way I can make 2 batches of cookies and enjoy them longer.

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Today is Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.  If you don't have time to bake them from scratch, you can get the slice and bake, or already cut in the dairy section at your local store, or get a bag of Chips Ahoy. But on such a special day, I recommend baking some, and enjoy some nice warm gooey cookies.

NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE COOKIES

Ingredients

2 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

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

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.