Original Toll House Cookie Recipe With Shortening

It’s the most popular cookie in the world, and for many people the recipe they grew up with is the one on the back of the bag for Nestle Chocolate chip morsels. But here’s a look at the history of the chocolate chip cookie, and the original toll house cookie recipe with shortening. It has many of the classic ingredients you would expect, but the original recipe also has a few distinctions. This recipe may be the original, but does it deliver the best chocolate chip cookies?

Why Is It Called a Toll House Cookie

The Toll House cookie was created at the Toll House in Whitman, Massachusetts. In the 1930’s, Ruth Graves Wakefield and her husband Ken bought a small Cape-style home in Whitman. The house was located on a toll road that people used to travel between Boston and New Bedford. As the half-way point between these two cities, it was the place travelers would stop to rest their horses and get something to eat.

So when Ruth and Ken decided to turn the property into an Inn, they named it the Toll House Inn, in honor of the location’s history. And when Ruth started serving her Chocolate Crunch Cookies, they quickly became customer favorites, and the name Toll House Cookies was born.

The History of the Original Toll House Cookie

Ruth Wakefield liked to give her customers a cookie at the end of their dinner. She had a shortbread-style cookie with nuts that she usually used, but one day she decided she wanted something a little different and thought that chocolate pieces would be the perfect addition. Of course, the sweet addition of chocolate was a hit and not only were the cookies used in the restaurant. But, they also sent thousands of cookies to soldiers during the war.

Ruth gave the original toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe to the Nestle company for them to use on the back of the bag for their semi-sweet chocolate morsels. Ruth knew that it was a smart marketing plan because the Toll House name would help both her Inn and her cookbook Toll House Tried and True Recipes. The Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookies recipe in that cookbook is the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that many of us grew up baking. It uses butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and equal parts brown sugar and white sugar.

Sue Brides was the head baker at the Toll House Inn and worked with Ruth to create the toll house chocolate chip cookies. But according to Peg Brides, Sue’s daughter, the original recipe her mother used was slightly different. Most noticeably, it used Crisco shortening instead of butter. And, it used a teaspoon of hot water to dissolve the baking soda. These are just two of the differences with the original toll house cookies.

Original Toll House Cookie Recipe with Shortening

How to Make Toll House Cookies

It’s amazing to think that not much has changed in the 85 years since this original chocolate chip cookie recipe with shortening was created. It still uses brown sugar, all-purpose flour, and of course semi-sweet chocolate chips.

I think that one of the great things about this recipe is that it’s such an easy cookie to make. There aren’t a lot of ingredients, and you don’t need any special equipment. You can use a stand mixer, or hand mixer, if you have them. But it’s just as easy to make these cookies in a large bowl and mix with a spoon.

FAQ About Toll House Cookies

How is it that two people can follow the same recipe and get very different results? Here are a few of the most common questions and easy tips for when it comes making the original toll house cookie recipe with shortening.

Butter vs Shortening in Cookies

It’s the age-old question in baking. Which is better to use in cookies, butter or shortening. Let’s take a look at each one and the results you can expect.

Shortening: Shortening, like Crisco, was a popular ingredient when the original toll house recipe was created. Since then, many people tend to substitute butter when they see a recipe calls for shortening. The nice thing about baking is that typicallly the two ingredients can be used interchangeably. You just have to understand that you’ll get a different taste and texture when you use shortening. With vegetable shortening you tend to get cookies that are:

• Less flavorful so you may want to increase the amount of salt and vanilla so that the cookie has more flavor.
• The cookie will be flaky and taller than a cookie made with butter.
• The cookies are much lighter in color, so be sure that you don’t overbake them. Bake just until you see golden brown edges starting to form.
• A good option for those looking for a vegan option. If you use an egg substitute, it’s easy to make vegan cookies using vegetable shortening.

Butter: I think of butter as the gold standard when it comes to making cookies. A cookie made with butter has more flavor than one made with Crisco. And, you end up with chewy cookies. For those who like crisp cookies, butter is the best choice for that too.

It really comes down to how long you bake them in the oven. For a chewy cookie, pull the cookies out of the oven when they are just starting to set and turn color. For crispy cookies, bake them a few minutes longer.

One thing to note about baking with butter. You should always use unsalted butter. This way you can control the salt in the recipe, and you can add as little as you’d like. And if you’re torn about using butter vs shortening in the recipe, you can always use half shortening and half butter. This is actually the way I always made cookies growing up. It’s a great option when you want the flavor of butter, but you want to save money. Of course, some people use butter-flavored shortening, but I just can’t imagine doing that. Stick with real butter and regular Crisco shortening instead.

How to Measure Vegetable Shortening

Shortening is unique. It’s not a liquid, and it’s not a dry ingredient. Which means that your typical measuring cups are not ideal for measuring shortening. There are a couple of options. You can use the measuring cups you use for dry ingredients, but it’s often hard to tell if you have the shortening packed in there properly. And, it’s messy to get it out.

That’s where an adjustable measuring cup comes in handy. This type lets you fill it with shortening and then push up on the plunger inside to release the shortening.

There’s another old technique that works well. This is the method that I grew up using and it’s super easy. For this you need a liquid measuring cup. In this example, let’s assume that you need 1 cup shortening. Fill the measuring cup with 1 cup of water and then spoon shortening into the cup until the water line hits 2 cups. This means that you have 1 cup of shortening in the cup and you can stop measuring. Pour out the water and use a rubber spatula to scoop out the shortening and add it to your cookie dough.

Do I Need to Sift Dry Ingredients

In Mrs. Wakefield’s cookbook she says that she sifts her flour before measuring. For cookies I rarely sift my flour mixture. Sometimes for a delicate recipe I may do that, but for Nestle toll house cookies I do not. This is such a simple recipe it doesn’t call for the extra step of sifting dry ingredients together. Just be sure that you don’t overwork your dough once the flour is added.

Either mix it in by hand (my preferred method). Or, use your electric mixer on low speed and gradually add flour. Mix just until combined. It’s OK if some white is still visible as it will mix more when you fold in the chocolate chips.

How to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can store homemade cookies in an airtight container. The cookies made from the original Toll House Cookie Recipe with Shortening are best on the first day. However, they do keep OK for a couple of days. If you like freshly baked cookies, then freezing the cookie dough prior to baking is a great option.

I like to scoop cookie dough onto a plate and put in the freezer for 15-30 minutes. I then transfer the cookie dough to a freezer ziplock bag. Then when I have a craving, I just put a couple of the frozen cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet and bake as usual. Because the dough is frozen, add about 2 minutes to the baking time.

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Recap Original Toll House Cookie Recipe with Shortening

There’s nothing better than a warm batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. I love to eat them when they are still warm and gooey. But they are also great to bake ahead to use at a bake sale. Whatever the occasion, you can’t go wrong with chocolate chip cookies.

And when you stick with the original Toll House Cookie Recipe with Shortening, you get soft and tender cookies that are super easy to make. There’s a reason why this cookie is so popular and why Nestle wanted the rights to it. It’s the perfect cookie recipe to use for any occasion.

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