The Original Toll House Cookie Recipe
on Jun 15, 2022, Updated Feb 06, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
How many of you grew up making the cookie recipe on the back of the yellow Nestle Toll House chocolate chip package?! It is THE chocolate chip recipe that started it all. Toll House Cookie Recipe is a total classic that is easy to make and turns out great every time!
Everyone needs a chocolate chip cookie recipe that is tried and true and this one won’t disappoint. It is easy, legendary and tastes delicious.
Table of Contents
Toll House Cookie Recipe
I love knowing random factoids, so here is a good one for you! Do you know who invented the original chocolate chip cookie? Well, back in the 1930s, a woman named Ruth Wakefield ran the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts. She was making a batch of cookies when she decided to break pieces of Nestlé Semi-Sweet chocolate into the cookie dough. She was surprised when the chocolate didn’t melt but held it’s shape and gave the best texture to her cookies.
She sold the rights to her recipe to Nestlé for only $1.00! That is pure insanity right?! Little did she know that this would become the most popular cookie ever.
Should you refrigerate Toll House cookie dough before baking?
Nope, this recipe does not need to be refrigerated before baking. Yay for no waiting on cooking!
Can I freeze cookie dough?
I love to make a double or triple batch of cookies so we can eat one, share one and freeze one for later. Store uncooked cookie dough properly in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When you are ready to bake the dough simply take the dough from the freezer, warm to room temperature and bake as instructed.
When is the best time to take chocolate chip cookies out of the oven?
To prevent having hard and burnt cookies, take them out of the oven just before they look done. You want them to be just barely golden brown. They will continue to bake for a couple of minutes on your baking sheet. But this little tip will drastically change your cookies for the better!
More Cookie Recipes
- Homemade Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
- Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Amazing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
If you’ve tried this Toll House cookie recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories AND add your photo to your comment so that other can see your creation.
The Original Toll House Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks salted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, (12 ounce package)
- 1 cup chopped nuts, (I used pecans)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- In a medium bowl add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a second bowl add the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes (you can beat them by hand, with an electric hand mixer, or with a stand mixer).
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the vanilla and beat to combine.
- Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
- Stir in the morsels and the nuts.
- Drop a heaping tablespoon of dough onto your baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minute or until golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 2 minutes after baking. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- If you are omitting the nuts add an additional 2 tablespoons of flour to the dough.
- I liked my cookies that were a little bigger than my normal cookie scoop (1 tablespoon), so I recommend making your cookie dough balls a heaping tablespoons and baking them for 11 minutes. They were perfect!
- Store leftover cookies in a closed container or in the freezer for much longer.
Nutrition
This Toll House Cookie Recipe has withstood the test of time! You only need everyday ingredients to make them and they turn out so yummy. Can’t wait for you to make a batch…or two!
I made my gluten free by only doing 2 cups of the H‑E‑B gf flour blend which doesn’t have xantham gum in it so I added 1&1/2 tsp xantham gum and left out the nuts and didn’t add any extra flour to make up for it as I find gluten free flour to need much less than reg flour in reg flour recipes. And they turned out Delish! With great texture too which I’ve found hard to do with gf baked goods!
I have made these cookies for years and I found that if your cookies are spreading too much its because the room temperature is warm. I just put my cookie dough in the fridge to keep it cold and the recipe turns out perfectly. I use milk chocolate morsals instead of semi sweet.
Great tip! Thank you so much.
My cookies always come out crumbly. Any idea why?
You want to make sure the butter is softened but not melted or half melted, really whip up the butter and spend a few minutes mixing the butter and sugars with a hand mixer or stand mixer before adding vanilla and eggs. The most important thing is to understand bake the cookies a little. I find 8 minutes is usually the perfect amount of time for my oven but it could be 9 or 10 minutes if you make bigger cookies, the bottom and edges should be golden brown but the center should still be soft, then let them cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack, this will let the cookies set up a bit before transferring so they don’t fall apart. I’ve been using this recipe for over a decade and it is always my go to.
I’ve got this recipe down and have made it numerous times. They are always a hit by adding a little extra flour and baking just the right time according to my oven. Love this recipe and is my go-to chocolate chip recipe. Thank you!
Love these cookies, they are always a hit with my family! I use the recipe exactly as written minus the nuts. I never have an issue with them spreading too much. I do not roll into a ball, just grab a chunk with 2 spoons with no specific formation and lay on greased cookie sheet, bake for about 8 and 1/2 minutes once the oven is to temperature. They turn out perfect.
They sound perfect Jessica! Thank you for leaving a review!
I live in higher elevation. I found at first my cookies were flat and disgusting. If you find this you need to add a couple tablespoons of flour. Do a cook test see if that improves. I had no idea the smallest elevation can make a difference.
Delicious cookies thank you.
Used this recipe and they spread terribly. I’ll not use this recipe again.
I made this recipe and the cookies spread horribly! Definitely disappointed
Did you add the extra flour for if you omitted the nuts? It’s just a measuring thing and the peril of the imperial system, you just measure lighter than most I guess.
This happened to me the very first time I made them. I spooned and leveled the flour into the measuring cup and the next time I made them I just made sure to scoop the flour directly from my container and they didn’t spread.
If not adding nuts, add 1 to 2 Tbsp of all purpose flour
Thank you for placing this recipe on Pinterest! I really appreciate having it at my fingertips instead of having to ‘hunt for my recipe’ at home. I made it while visiting my son and his family on the other side of the country from home. It would have been a hassle to get it from home.
great cookies, just like my mom used to make. My grandson made these with me We used “Measure for Measure” (brand name) gluten free flour, but the rest of the ingredients were the same. We divided the dough into 3 parts, one for just chocolate chips, one for Chocolate chips and walnuts, and one for white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts (those were mine). They were all perfect and my grandson took some to the sweet gluten-free lady who lives downstairs from him. T
Thank you!