Food Holidays: August 4th, 2021

Welcome to our series sharing Food Holidays: August 4th, 2021. Can you guess what I am going to have for breakfast in the morning? No, well it’s Chocolate Chip Cookies and a glass of Milk. Because its okay to splurge sometimes as my dad would say.

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

On August 4th, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day gives us an opportunity to dunk American’s #1 favorite cookie. Whether your Chocolate Chip Cookies are homemade or store bought, pour a glass of Milk and enjoy.

Without Chocolate Chips, the cookie would still be number one. Or would they? Who knows….

For that reason, we also recognize Ruth Graves Wakefield on National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Thanks to her inventiveness and curiosity, Chocolate Chips and a Cookie Dough go together. And for this reason, we hover around ovens savoring the moment the timer buzzes.

How the Chocolate Chip Cookie Began

Imagine if Ruth Graves Wakefield hadn’t run out of Baker’s Chocolate for her Cookie recipe that day in 1937. Because that’s what happened. The Cookie recipe she was preparing called for Baker’s Chocolate and would have blended smoothly into the Dough. However, she was out. And what if Mrs. Wakefield hadn’t considered using Semi-sweet Chocolate instead? She figured the Semi-Sweet Chocolate would just melt into the Dough and work much like the Baker’s Chocolate.

Or, what if someone had interrupted Ruth Graves Wakefield that day and caused the Cookies to burn and ruin the experiment? Would life have gone on?

Well, none of that happened. Instead of interruptions or doubts, the baker added the Chocolate to the Dough. Moments later the mouthwatering aroma began to waft from Mrs. Wakefield’s oven. Perhaps the smell lured a child into the kitchen. Or maybe a guest at the Tollhouse Inn she and her husband owned. We may not know the finer details of the day the Chocolate Chip Cookie came to be. However, we do know Ruth Graves Wakefield made it happen.

And if it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t know the ecstasy of warm Chocolate Chip Cookie melting on our tongue. We know that feeling. When our eyes close in heavenly satisfaction and a perfect smile graces our face. No, if it weren’t for Ruth Graves Wakefield, entire generations would be denied the bliss of Chocolate Chip Cookies.

We could even go so far as to say she is responsible for all those other nuggets of goodness. Those morsels of Butterscotch, Peanut Butter, and white Chocolate we enjoy in much the same way we enjoy our Chocolate delights. Nothing, though, rates quite as high as the Chocolate Chip Cookie Ruth Graves Wakefield brought to us in 1937. No, nothing.

Ways to celebrate the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Make your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies and throw some extra Chocolate Chips into the mix! Give this recipe a try. Other ways to celebrate the day include:

• Read the book Ruth Graves Wakefield: One Smart Cookie by Sarah Howden
• Visit your favorite bakery and give them a shout out, too.
• Organize a Chocolate Chip Cookie bake-off and use the money raised for a fundraiser.
• Try recipes from Ruth Wakefield’s Toll House: Tried and True Recipes.

Post on social media using #ChocolateChipCookieDay.

Five Facts About Chocolate Chips

1. Chocolate Chips are a required ingredient in Chocolate Chip Cookies, which were invented in 1933 when Ruth Graves Wakefield of the Toll House Inn in the town of Whitman, Massachusetts added cut-up chunks of Semi-sweet Nestlé Chocolate Bar to a Cookie recipe.
2. The Cookies were a huge success, and Wakefield reached an agreement with Nestlé to add her recipe to the Chocolate Bar’s packaging in exchange for a lifetime supply of Chocolate.
3. Initially, Nestlé included a small chopping tool with the Chocolate Bars, but in 1939 they started selling the Chocolate in Chip (or “Morsel”) form.
4. The Nestlé brand Toll House Cookies is named for the inn.
5. Originally, Chocolate Chips were made of Semi-sweet Chocolate, but today there are many flavors.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe:

• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 1 cup White Sugar 
• 1 cup packed Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoons Hot Water
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 3 cups all-purpose Flour
• 2 cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup chopped Walnuts or any Nut of your choice if you like. Although, this is optional.

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Step 2 Cream together the Butter, White Sugar, and Brown Sugar until smooth. Beat in the Eggs one at a time, then stir in the Vanilla. Dissolve Baking Soda in Hot Water. Add to batter along with Salt. Stir in Flour, Chocolate Chips, and Nuts if you use them. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
• Step 3 Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates