"Who Invented
Chocolate Chip Cookies?"

Ruth Graves Wakefield is who invented chocolate chip cookies. You may have never known the name before today, but you may now sing her praises every time you bite into one of these pieces of confectionery genius.

In 1933 Ruth and her husband Kenneth were running the Toll House Inn in Whitman Massachusetts where Ruth cooked for all their roadside guests. She had begun to prepare some Butter Do Drop Cookies for her weary travelers when she realized she was out of Baker’s chocolate. Ruth had on hand a Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar which she readily chopped up and used as a substitute in her recipe.

Well, you can guess the rest of the story. The chocolate didn’t melt into the dough as Ruth had anticipated, but instead softened and left little pockets of chocolate throughout the cookie. Ruth was not deterred by this (thank heavens!) and served them up to her customers anyway and history was made.  They were a huge hit and quickly gained local popularity after the recipe was printed in a Boston newspaper. At the time they were called “Toll House Crunch Cookies.”

As word spread of who invented chocolate chip cookies andwhat was in it, Nestlé’s semi sweet chocolate bars began to fly off grocery store shelves. Just as Ruth was shrewd enough to know she had a great recipe, she was also business savvy and approached Andrew Nestle with an offer that would not be refused. In exchange for all the Nestle chocolate she needed for her baking, Ruth would allow Nestle to print her popular recipe on the backs of all his chocolate bars. Another piece of history was made and today Ruth Wakefield’s original chocolate chip cookie recipe can be found on the back of all Nestle Chocolate Chip bags. We know it as Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

It may not matter to some who invented the chocolate chip cookie. There are so many different variations of the original recipe today, it is hard to imagine a beginning and there will certainly never be an end. Some seven billion chocolate chip cookies a year are consumed in the United States. This tasty little confection has the power to evoke memories, emotion, and feelings of nostalgia in children and adults alike.  The recipe has evolved over the years and many a home and professional baker has taken liberties in altering with Ruth Wakefield’s creation. In the end they are all the same cookie made for the same reason. 

So for all you chocolate chip cookie enthusiasts out there, I am sure you would join me in saying, “Thank you! Thank you, Ruth for not dumping the cookies in the trash that fateful day.”