Chocolate Chip Cookies — From Ruth Wakefield’s 1938 Toll House Accident to a Brown-Butter Modern Bake

Overview

This video explores the fascinating origin of the chocolate chip cookie, tracing it back to Ruth Wakefield's accidental invention at the Toll House Inn in 1938. It then delves into a modern brown-butter cookie recipe, providing expert tips and techniques for achieving a deep-flavored, perfect chocolate chip cookie.

Ingredients

• 225 grams unsalted butter (16 tablespoons)
• 200 grams dark muscovado or dark brown sugar (1 cup packed)
• 100 grams granulated white sugar (0.5 cup)
• 1 large egg (60 grams)
• 1 additional yolk (20 grams)
• 12 grams vanilla extract (1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
• 280 grams all-purpose flour (2.25 cups)
• 4 grams baking soda (0.75 teaspoon)
• 5 grams fine sea salt (1.25 teaspoons)
• 300 grams high-quality chocolate, chopped (10.5 ounces, half dark 70%, half milk chocolate)
• Flaky sea salt (for finishing)

Instructions

1. In a stainless steel skillet, melt 225 grams of unsalted butter over medium heat (140°C / 285°F).
2. Whisk constantly for about 6 minutes until the butter melts, foams, the foam subsides, and the milk solids on the bottom turn deep amber, smelling like toasted hazelnuts.
3. Pour the brown butter, including all brown bits, into a heat-safe bowl and cool for 10 minutes until liquid but no longer hot.
4. Into the cooled brown butter, whisk 200 grams of dark muscovado or dark brown sugar and 100 grams of granulated white sugar for 1 full minute until it looks like wet sand.
5. Add 1 large egg and 1 additional yolk; whisk for 45 seconds until pale and ribbon-thick.
6. Stream in 12 grams of vanilla extract and, if desired, 1 tablespoon of bourbon; whisk for 30 seconds more until the mixture is glossy and emulsified.
7. In a separate bowl, whisk 280 grams of all-purpose flour with 4 grams of baking soda and 5 grams of fine sea salt for 30 seconds to distribute thoroughly.
8. Tip the dry ingredients into the wet mixture in three additions, folding with a silicone spatula, stopping the instant you no longer see flour streaks to avoid overworking.
9. Fold in 300 grams of chopped high-quality chocolate (half dark 70%, half milk chocolate, irregular pieces from dust to half-inch shards) in two additions, reserving a handful.
10. Press the dough flat into a parchment-wrapped disk, cover tightly, and refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours (72 hours is better).
11. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) for a full half hour, ensuring the middle rack is in place.
12. Portion the dough using a number-20 disher (60-milliliter cookie scoop, approximately 70 grams each) and place six per parchment-lined half-sheet pan, well-spaced for spreading.
13. Press a few reserved chocolate shards onto the top of each portioned cookie dough and finish with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
14. Bake for exactly 12 minutes, rotating the pan at six minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers are still pale and visibly underdone.
15. Pull the pan immediately from the oven and bang it once on the counter to deflate the centers, creating the classic bakery wrinkle.
16. Rest the cookies on the hot pan for 10 minutes; carryover heat will finish cooking them to perfection.

In this video

• The chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1938 by Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, when chopped chocolate unexpectedly held its shape in butter drop cookies.
• By 1940, Nestle printed Ruth Wakefield's recipe on every Toll House label, paying her one dollar and a lifetime supply of chocolate.
• The single most important element distinguishing a great chocolate chip cookie from a good one is brown butter, also known as beurre noisette.
• To make brown butter, whisk 225 grams (16 tablespoons) of unsalted butter in a stainless steel skillet over medium heat (140°C / 285°F) for approximately six minutes until the milk solids turn deep amber and it smells like toasted hazelnuts.
• Incorporating 200 grams (1 cup packed) of dark muscovado or dark brown sugar provides moisture and a butterscotch flavor, while 100 grams (half a cup) of granulated white sugar ensures crisp cookie edges.
• When combining ingredients, fold dry elements into wet in three additions with a silicone spatula, stopping immediately once flour streaks disappear to avoid overworking the dough and developing tough cookies.
• For superior chocolate chip cookies, use 300 grams (10.5 ounces) of high-quality chocolate, hand-chopped into irregular chunks and dust (half dark 70%, half milk chocolate), rather than pre-tempered bagged chips.
• Dough must rest in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours, with 72 hours being ideal, allowing flour to fully hydrate and sugars to dissolve for deeper-flavored, less cakey cookies.
• Bake cookies at 190°C (375°F) for exactly 12 minutes, rotating the pan at six minutes, until edges are golden brown and centers remain pale and visibly underdone.
• Immediately after baking, pull the pan from the oven and bang it once on the counter to deflate the centers, then rest the cookies on the hot pan for 10 minutes to finish cooking through carryover heat.

Frequently asked questions

Who invented the chocolate chip cookie and when?

The chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1938 by Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, during an accidental baking experiment.

What is the secret to a great chocolate chip cookie?

The single thing that distinguishes a great chocolate chip cookie from a good one is brown butter (beurre noisette), which adds a rich, toasted hazelnut flavor.

How long should chocolate chip cookie dough be chilled?

The dough should rest in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours, with 72 hours being better, to allow for full flour hydration and deeper flavor development.

What kind of chocolate is best for chocolate chip cookies?

Use 300 grams (10.5 ounces) of high-quality chocolate, hand-chopped into irregular chunks and dust, ideally a mix of half dark 70% and half milk chocolate, rather than pre-tempered bagged chips.

What are the ideal baking instructions for chocolate chip cookies?

Bake cookies at 190°C (375°F) for exactly 12 minutes, rotating the pan at six minutes, until edges are golden. Bang the pan once immediately after baking, then rest on the pan for 10 minutes.