Of all the cookie flavors out there, chocolate chip cookies are indisputably America’s favorite cookie. The chocolate chip cookie was originally invented in 1936 by Ruth Wakefield, innkeeper at the Tollhouse Restaurant. When making her usual cookie recipe for her inn and restaurant patrons, Ruth ran out of cocoa powder. To substitute, she broke up a bar of nestle chocolate into the original cookie recipe and hoped for the best. What she got was the ooey, gooey, freshly baked cookie recipe that America knows and cherishes today.
Though Ruth’s cookie recipe still reigns supreme and is available on any package of Nestle chocolate chips, what makes up a perfect chocolate chip cookie is a hotly debated topic among bakers and eaters alike. For example, many love thing, and crispy cookies while others love soft and chewy ones. A lot of people prefer a savory cookie while others would rather skip the sea salt and get straight to the sweet stuff. Ultimately, what is comes down to is an intricate baking science. Depending upon how you treat you cookie baking procedure, your chocolate chip cookie will yield different results.
The outcome of the texture and taste of your chocolate chip cookie entirely depends on the proportions of ingredients you choose to put in it. Butter, for example, lends a lot to the flavor and texture of a cookie. However, to preserve the flavor of the chocolate chip cookie, many choose not to use butter. Instead, they opt for shortening, as it provides the same fat content without the dairy taste.
The kind of sugar you use also makes a difference. A typical chocolate chip cookie contains both brown sugar and white sugar, often in equal parts. But if you’re looking for a chocolate chip cookie that has more of a butterscotch flavor, skip the white sugar entirely and add 3/4 c brown sugar to account for all of the sugar in the recipe.
Often times, the texture of the cookie depends on the temperature of the dough. For thicker cookies, freeze or refrigerate the dough for longer. The colder the dough, the longer it will take for the dough to melt. For thin cookies, chill the batter for a shorter amount of time.
How do you like your chocolate chip cookies? Tell us in the comments below!