Cookie Time At Grandma's! - Day 3

Unforgettable is one of my favorite little cookbooks. Combining American history with favorite recipes from the decades of the 20th Century, this book is packed with interesting information and mouth-watering recipes. It details how cocktail parties emerged for the first time during Prohibition. Meatloaf, chili and casseroles helped stretch food budgets in the 1930s, and food using vegetables from Victory Gardens sprung up in the 1940s.

Tucked in and among the recipes for Eggs Benedict, Meatless Meatloaf and Tuna Noodle Casserole, Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow topping, Zucchini Bread and Quiche Lorraine, there is only one cookie recipe. Toll House Cookies are definitely a cookie you'll want to include in your holiday baking.

According to the book, Ruth Wakefield of Whitman, Massachusetts created the recipe in 1933. She thought she could save time by adding in bits of semi-sweet chocolate to her cookie batter but they didn't melt as she had hoped. She named them after the Toll House Inn she and her husband owned. The Nestle Corporation, which began selling chocolate chips in 1939, purchased the rights to the Toll House name. The rest, as they say, is history.

Did you know that chocolate chip cookies account for more than half of all the cookies baked in the United States? I know I've sure baked a lot of them. Haven't you?

Toll House Cookies

2-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine,
softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 package (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, soda and salt. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture, mixing just until combined. By hand, stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees F for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes about 5 dozen cookies.