National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day is an American holiday that recognizes the most beloved, versatile and frequently enjoyed cookie in America – the Chocolate Chip. Although widely baked with dozens of recipe variations and paired with everything from ice cream to milk, the chocolate chip cookie is a relatively modern creation.
The original recipe was invented out of necessasity in 1937 or 1938 (accounts vary) when innkeeper, dietician and teacher Ruth Wakefield found herself without baker’s chocolate while making a batch of cookies. She substituted semi-sweet chocolate chips, expecting them to blend into the cookie dough in the same fashion as baker’s chocolate. The chips did not blend into the dough or melt away when baked, resulting in a new style cookie that quickly gained popularity. Mrs. Wakefield and her husband operated a tourist lodge in rural Massachusetts called the Toll House Inn, where travelers often stopped to enjoy her renowned home-style cooking and baking. She named her new chocolate chip recipe “Toll House Cookies,” a name that is still used today to describe simple chocolate chip cookies. Swiss food company Nestlé® currently holds the trademark on TOLL HOUSE® relating to its line of chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie products inspired by Mrs. Wakefield’s original recipe.
National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day is celebrated each year on August 4th.
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