Chocolate chip cookie is a very popular sweet snack with chocolate chips as its main component. This cookie falls under the category of drop cookies. Drop cookies are usually made with soft dough that is dropped onto the cooking sheet with the help of a spoon.
Many variations including different types of chocolates along with nuts and oats are also quite popular throughout the world. Chocolate chip cookie is one of the most commercialized versions of cookies. The biggest confectionary company, Nestle is the largest seller and marketer of these cookies.
USA and Canada are the largest consumers of these cookies. Big food chains present in USA are famous for selling freshly baked cookies containing chocolate chips in various shopping malls and retail shops. The popularity of the cookies among the American consumers can be seen by the fact that almost all baking cookbooks sold in USA have at least one recipe for this type of cookie.
History and Origin of Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
In 1930, chocolate chip cookie was accidentally created by Ruth Graves Wakefield, the owner of Toll House Inn, Massachusetts. The restaurant was distinguished by its homemade style of food along with the special dessert including homemade cookies.
Wakefield published her cookbook in 1936 with the name of ‘Toll House Tried and True Recipes’ that included the easy recipe for chocolate crunch cookies created by the Toll House. That recipe became one of the most popular cookie recipes in American households.
The incident that is believed to be the main origin of chocolate chip cookie is the use of morsels of semi sweet chocolate produced by Nestle. Wakefield used that chocolate to make the cookies with a belief that while baking they would melt in the batter, but surprisingly chocolate chips remains as the solid particles and cookies with chocolate chips birthed.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: Ingredients and Preparation Overview
Evidently chocolate chips are the most important component in making these cookies. Other standard ingredients include flour, white and brown sugar, butter or any other shortening along with eggs, vanilla, little salt and baking soda.
Chocolate chips are usually derived from semi-sweet chocolate that tastes best with in cookies. Some variations prescribe the use of nuts such as walnuts and milk with in the dough. The texture of the cookies largely depends upon the ratio, cooking time and the mixing procedure of the ingredients. Few chocolate chip cookie recipes produce chewy and soft cookies whereas some of them are optimized to create crunchy cookies.
Whatever ingredients are used, the method adopted for making these cookies is usually the same for all recipes. Baking is the one and only method to make these cookies, only the method of spooning the dough over the cookie sheet may vary. Being a drop cookie, the mounds of cookie dough are created and flattened with spoon or spatula. Dough making is also an easy task only the proper and smooth mixture should be ensured. Nuts or chocolate chips should be added in the last stage of the mixing in order to avoid breakage.
Serving of Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookie is a great tea-time snack that is eaten all over the world especially in USA and Canada. Various versions of cookies are available in American market in either baked forms or in ready to bake variety.
Variations of Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
· M&M or Party cookie – This variation typically uses M&M in place of chocolate chips. M&M’s are the colorful sweetened candies that are named after the surnames used by the founder of the company. Shortening was initially the main fat used in the preparation, but later butter was prescribed by the recipe.
· Chocolate Chip cookie – In this variation, the original dough is also flavored with the chocolate powder or melted chocolate.
· Macadamia Chip cookie – Instead of chocolate chips, macadamia nuts are used along with white chocolate chops. Mrs. Fields bakery is famous for making these cookies as its signature cookie.
· Chocolate Chip peanut butter cookie – In this chocolate chip cookie, peanut butter is incorporated to replace the original vanilla flavor.
· Other variations include the varied shapes and use of dark chocolate chips as well as milk chocolate chips. All these different ingredients largely affect the texture and flavor of the cookies.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:Trivia