Story has it that the chocolate chip cookie recipe was created by American Ruth Graves Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn, in 1933. She later sold the recipe to Nestle. Nestle’s bags of chocolate morsels carry the Toll House recipe.
Question: Can a recipe that is promoted to work with a particular brand of chocolate morsels work just as well using another brand?
Answer: A qualified yes. I just baked a batch of chocolate cookies this morning using the Nestle Toll House recipe but with Van Houten chocolate chips. And the cookies are fantastic.
Note, however, that substitutions don’t always work with all products and with all brands. Take, for instance, dessicated coconut. I have a macaroons recipe that works with some but not all brands of dessicated coconut. Why? Quality and formula. The coconuts used by some brands may be more mature than others; the drying formula may be different too.
It’s the same thing with chocolates. So, please don’t ask if the Toll House chocolate chip recipe will work using some other brand of chocolate morsels. That’s something you will have to find out for yourself if you decide on some other substitute.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/8 c. of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/2 of a 250 g. block of butter, very soft
1/2 and 1/8 c. of white sugar
1/2 and 1/8 c. of firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 12 oz. pack of chocolate morsels
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the very soft butter with the sugars and vanilla extract. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir until blended. The dough will be soft and sticky. Fold in the chocolate morsels.
Drop by tablespoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet (I like to line it with baking paper) about two inches apart to allow room for spreading. Bake for nine to 11 minutes (nine minutes for a chewy cookies; 11 minutes for crisp cookies) with the cookie sheet one the middle rack of the oven.
When the cookies are done, take out of the oven, leave to cool for two minutes on the sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool some more.
Quick Notes
1. Leaving the newly baked cookies on the sheet to cool for two minutes help firm them up. Straight out of the oven, the cookies are still soft. So allow them to continue baking, out of the oven, on the still hot cookie sheet. If you don’t believe me, try lifting (use a spatula or you’ll burn your hand) one cookie right after they come out of the oven. Do it again with another cookie after two minutes. Notice the difference.
2. Cooling on a wire rack prevents the cookies from turning soggy. Heat creates steam. The hot cookies still emit steam even after they have come out of the oven. The steam condenses, turns into moisture which gets trapped between the bottom of the cookie and the solid baking sheet. Ergo, soggy cookies. To prevent this from happening, allow air to circulate around the cookies freely so that instead of moisture getting trapped, it evaporates into the air.
3. I don’t know of anyone who will not appreciate getting a bunch of these cooking for Christmas. So, if you’re going to give away baked goodies to friends and associates, try these.
Cooking time (duration): 30 minutes
Number of servings (yield): about 20 cookies, 2 and 1/2 inches in diameter
Meal type: snack
tita! if you like the tollhouse recipe, you should also try to search for the “double tree hotel chocolate chip cookies” recipe! similar to the tollhouse taste, but there’s just something a little more amazing to them.
You’ve got me intrigued.
HI Ms. Connie!
I’ve read before, i just forgot the site, but the addition of brown sugar makes the cookies chewy…as in yung chewiness na masarap…totoo ba? Kasi it will caramelized daw, and it will add nga the chewiness to the cookies.
Yes, chewy. Brown sugar has more moisture than white. I am not sure though if caramelization is the correct term.
hi connie! will it make any difference if i’ll use whole wheat flour (with it’s taste or texture)?
I’ve never used whole wheat flour so I can’t guess what the difference will be.
Hi connie, please help me… I want to try making this recipe. However, we do not have an oven but we do have a turbo broiler. Is it ok to use turbo broiler for this recipe? Do i need to pre-heat the turbo broiler? What temperature should i set using the turbo broiler? Thank you so much?
I’m italian..I tried to do it but the cup of flour are low and dissolve in the oven
I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by “the cup of flour are low.”.
Hi Ms. Connie,
Do I need an electric mixer for this?
No. A wire whisk will do.
hi ms connie! tried your cookie recipe this afternoon at grabe super sarap! malapit na sya sa taste & texture ng Subway cookie hehehe… my 7yr old son told me “mommy this is the best cookie i’ve tried!” hahahaha!
i also used different brand of semi-sweet choc chip (singapore local brand)… thanks so much for sharing this recipe… by the way the 2nd batch of cookie (half of the batter) i added 2tbsp oatmeal sarap! 
Hi Ms. Connie, kindly help me on this one… what do you mean by 1/2 of a 250 g. block of butter? Any brand of butter wiil do?.
Butter is usually sold by 250 grams. Check the package of your butter. Sure any brand will do.
Hi Mrs. Connie. Can i use baking powder instead of baking soda? Can’t find baking soda here in dubai. Also, can i line the pan with aluminum foil instead of baking sheet? Thanks
Baking powder and soda: I suggest you read up on the difference between the two and not simply rely on my yes or no.
Aluminum foil is not non-stick.
baking soda is available in every grocery and supermarket here in dubai, at the baking needs section, i use FOSTER CLARK.
hi ms connie
should i always sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder/soda, cocoa powder, brown/white sugar) even if the instructions don’t say so?
No, sifting is not always required either.
And sugar is rarely sifted. It’s usually beaten with the butter.
thanks po for all the help..ngayon palang ako natututo magbake and i never knew it could be this fun and fulfilling not to mention nakatira ako sa bahay na may oven for 28yrs na..imagine how many years ang pinalampas ko oh my sayang..pero it’s not too late for me to learn
Wow! gusto ko i-try to bukas
pwede po ba kahit hindi gumamit ng hand mixer sa pag mix or pag cream ng butter and sugar? hehe..may nakikita po kasi ako sa ibang sites, gamit nila stand mixer pa
thank you po
Your question has already been asked and answered in this thread, Kath.
hi ms.connie!
ano pong nagaawa kong mali?
my cookies turned out like a bread (super lambot po niya kasi eh)! help
Kath, paano ko naman malalaman yun eh wala naman ako nung ginawa mo, ‘di ba?
hahaha! oo nga naman po…thank s anyway!
ahihi
The tips above are very useful. I tried to do the chocolate crinkles recipe, ang ganda ng shape nya paglabas ng oven then nasa sheet lang sya hanggang di na maiinit, the crinkles become soggy. So, i know na kung bakit nagkaganun. sayang, ngayon ko lang nabasa to but there’s always a next time. hehe! thanks for the wonderful recipes.