Chocolate chip cookies seem like a classic part of American baking like the apple pie, but actually these delicious cookies were not invented until 1933. Ruth Graves Wakefield was the woman who brought us these delectable treats. Built on the outskirts of Whitman, MA in 1709 as a collection booth for the toll road, Mr. & Mrs. Wakefield acquired the building in 1930 and transformed it into a restaurant and inn.  The newly renamed Toll House Inn was a charming respite for weary travelers, boasting comfortable lodgings along with homemade meals and fresh baked goods.

Ruth Wakefield’s favorite cookie recipe was the Butter Drop cookies. One day as she was making the batter for these cookies, she discovered she was out of powdered baker’s chocolate. She decided to substitute broken pieces of a Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bar. She expected the chocolate to melt and absorb into the batter therefore creating chocolate cookies. The chocolate did not melt, but instead held its shape and became soft and creamy. These new cookies called Toll House Crunch Cookies by Wakefield became an instant hit with guests of the inn. Continue reading “Famous Women Inventors: Ruth Wakefield – Inventor of the Chocolate Chip Cookie” →