Saturday, December 3, 2011

Who Invented the Chocolate Chip Cookie?

!±8± Who Invented the Chocolate Chip Cookie?

Have you ever wondered who invented the chocolate chip cookie? Because chocolate chip cookies are so common, it is easy to forget that these treats have not been around forever. In fact, did you know that chocolate chip cookies are not even one hundred years old? It's true!

The answer to "who invented the chocolate chip cookie" is: Ruth Graves Wakefield.

Ruth Graves Wakefield was born on June 17, 1903 and she is person who invented the Toll House Cookie, which was the world's first chocolate chip cookie.

Ruth Wakefield was educated at the Framingham State Normal School Development of Household Arts and she graduated in 1924. After graduating from school, she worked both as a doctor and gave lectures about food.

In 1930 Wakefield and her husband purchased a lodge for tourists in Whitman, Massachusetts (part of Plymouth County). The lodge was first built in 1709 and has a long and rich history of its own. Many weary travelers have spent the night at the lodge as it is conveniently located around halfway between New Bedford and Boston. This is usually where passers through paid a toll, changed their horses and stopped for some much appreciated home cooked food. When the Wakefields bought it, they named the lodge the Toll House Inn and made sure to keep up with the lodge's traditions. All of the home cooked meals were prepared and served by Ruth and it was not long before her desserts earned her some local fame. There were many visitors to the lodge, one of the most famous being John F. Kennedy (when he was still a Senator).

In 1940, Ruth wrote a cookbook called Toll House Tried and True Recipes. Ruth passed away in 1977 and the Toll House Inn burned down at the end of 1983. While there are plenty of companies that make and sell chocolate chips now, the recipe printed on the back of the Nestle Toll House bags is the original Ruth Graves Wakefield recipe. As of today, Nestle is the only company with the rights to print the recipe on its bags. All of the recipes that are printed on other company's' bags are different from the original recipe.

The chocolate chip cookie was invented in the late 1930s (making it almost seventy seven years old) though there are different stories about how, exactly, the original chocolate chip cookie recipe was invented. Some stories say it was an accident, others say it was an experiment and still others say that it was a purposeful recipe. The story of how the chocolate chip cookie was invented varies according to the person telling the story. One thing is for certain, though, and that is that the answer to "who invented the chocolate chip cookie" is Ruth Graves Wakefield. Who knew that what might have started out as an experiment or an accident would someday be one of the most common treats in the Western World? Who doesn't remember eating chocolate chip cookies after school?

Copyright (c) 2008 Steven Magill


Who Invented the Chocolate Chip Cookie?

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Saturday, November 5, 2011

Official Cookies by US States

!±8± Official Cookies by US States

While many states have an official bird, flag, and even an animal, few have an official state cookie. However, only two states in the union have claimed an official cookie. They are New Mexico and Massachusetts. And these are only recent developments. Discover the truly fascinating history behind these two state cookies and you'll begin to wonder why more states haven't petitioned for their own state goodies.

It was only recently, in 1989, that New Mexico took on the Bizcochito as its official state cookie. Pronounced bihs-ko-hee-tow, this cookie is a mlange of spices and tradition. As one food writer describes it, it is pure heaven. Miguel Hambriento, author of the popular The Foods of Old Mesilla, described them as "heaven's own little cakes blended delicately of sugar and spice, flour and wine and other secret ingredients, shaped by the swift fingers of the linda seora into small diamonds and baked until they are the delicate brown of the maiden's cheek kissed by the New Mexico sun." Can't you smell them baking right now?

A debate raged on in the House of Representatives in New Mexico when it came time to adopt the state cookie. Factions split off to plead their side as different parts of the state spelled the name of the cookie differently. One used an 's' and one used a 'z' in the spelling of bizcochito. Should it go into the history books as biscochito or bizcochito? In the end, the Senate decided to adopt it with the 'z' officially.

Apparently the bizcochito is a fairly easy cookie to make and is rich with tradition and lore.

The other state to adopt an official cookie is Massachusetts. In1997, this state took on the Toll House chocolate chip cookie as its own. The cookie gets its name from the inn where it was first baked. In 1930 Ruth Wakefield purchased an old toll house in Whitman, MA. It had been used in the centuries before to collect tolls and was a place a tired traveler could stop and get a meal. When Ruth began baking for her modern day guests, her desserts were quickly the celebration of all New England. One day she ran out of nuts while baking and cut up a Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar and mixed it into the batter instead. From there, the Toll House cookie was born. Wakefield eventually sold her recipe to Nestle where they continue to this day to print her recipe on packages of semi-sweet morsels. The catch? Ruth asked for a lifetime supply of the semi-sweet chocolate for the rest of her life. Not a bad deal. The company went from marketing just the semi-sweet bar to semi-sweet morsels so their customers would have an easier time baking Wakefield's recipe. The next time you're in a grocery store, grab a bag of Nestle semi-sweet morsels and you'll see Wakefield's recipe for yourself.

If your state doesn't have an official cookie perhaps it's time to think about approaching your state representatives. That's how the other cookies got on the books. Is there a recipe your town is famous for? Whether it's the whoopee pie or a classic shortbread, each region has its own specialties. Maybe you're known to send cookies home with friends because they are so delicious. Why not concoct your own recipe? You could be the next Ruth Wakefield.


Official Cookies by US States

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