Did you know the world’s favorite cookie was created at a New England inn? Ruth and Kenneth Wakefield opened their Massachusetts inn in an 18th century house that had once been a haven for travelers on the toll road, so they named it the ‘Toll House Inn’. According to legend, Ruth was famous for her skill in the kitchen, especially baking, and her cookies became a tradition for guests. One fateful day in 1937, she found herself without the chocolate she always used for her ‘Butter Drop-Do’ cookies, but finding bars of Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate in her pantry, she chopped the chocolate into pieces and added them to the dough. She was surprised to discover that the chocolate did not melt and spread through the cookies as she expected, but she served them anyway to her expectant guests. When guests began requesting her accidental creation, the Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookies were born. Her recipe was soon featured in newspapers and radio shows, and its popularity spread nationwide. Nestle began printing her recipe on all their Semi-Sweet Chocolate (in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate for Ruth), and in 1939, the ‘morsel’ was born so bakers did not have to chop up the chocolate bars. The rest is history, and ‘Toll House’ is now the household word for a chocolate chip cookie. Did you know:
- Chocolate Chip is the official state cookie of both MA and PA.
- One out of every two home baked cookies includes chocolate chips.
- A 1987 contest for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe received over 2,600 entries!
- The world’s biggest cookie, chocolate chip of course, weighed 20 tons!
You’ll often find chocolate chips are part of the afternoon treats at the Inn. If you can’t join us for a spring getaway soon, why not bake some of the Inn’s Riverstones Cookies or Oatmeal Craisin Toffee and Chocolate Chip Cookies yourselves to celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Week?
