A Magnificent Mistake

Recently, I was surprised to learn that the invention of the chocolate chip cookie was actually the result of a missing ingredient.  Say it isn't so.  How could it be that a cookie that is slightly crispy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside is anything less than perfect?  As hard as it is to believe, chocolate chip cookies did not exist before 1930.  That is, until a woman (or should I say culinary genius) by the name of Ruth Graves Wakefield set out to make a batch of her trusty Butter Do Drop Cookies only to discover that she was missing baker's chocolate.  Ruth and her husband, Kenneth, were the owners of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.  Ruth prepared meals for her guests and had gained notoriety for her desserts.  When she found herself without the needed ingredient, Ruth improvised by using a semi-sweet chocolate bar cut up into bits.  This seemed like a suitable substitute until she discovered that the chopped up chocolate did not melt completely.  It only softened and hence, the chocolate chip cookie was born.  The chocolate bar had been a gift from Andrew Nestle of the Nestle Chocolate Company.  As the Toll House recipe became more and more popular, sales of the Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar increased.  Eventually, Andrew Nestle and Ruth Wakefield entered into an arrangement.  Nestle would print the recipe on their packaging and Ruth would receive a lifetime supply of Nestle chocolate.  Talk about sweetening the deal!

I have experimented with my fair share of chocolate chip cookie recipes but I have found this one to be the best.  The key to a successful batch of cookies is to make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature.  Oh, and let's not forget that warm cookies must be accompanied by a tall glass of ice-cold milk.  If you're like me, you may even take it to the next level and dunk your cookie into your frosty white beverage, combining the two to create a deliciously drenched invention.  Some like to call it the dessert "ying and yang,"