The Original Toll House Cookie Recipe
on Jun 15, 2022, Updated Jul 15, 2024
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How many of you grew up making the cookie recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chip bag?! It is THE chocolate chip recipe that started it all, the original Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe! Toll House Cookie Recipe is a classic that is easy to make and turns out great every time!
I love knowing random factoids, so here is a good one for you! Do you know who invented the original chocolate chip cookie? A woman named Ruth Wakefield ran the successful Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts, in the 1930’s! She was making a batch of cookies when she decided to break pieces of Nestlé Semi-Sweet chocolate into the cookie dough.
To her surprise, the chocolate didn’t melt; instead, it held its shape, giving the best texture to her cookies. Ruth officially became the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie. She sold the rights to her recipe to Nestlé for only $1.00! Little did she know this would become the most popular cookie ever and turn into THE famous Toll House Cookie recipe!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Everyone needs a tried-and-true chocolate chip cookie recipe, and this one won’t disappoint. It is easy, legendary, and delicious.
- This recipe has withstood the test of time! You only need everyday ingredients to make them; they are so yummy.
- You can double or even triple this recipe and freeze the extra. The dough can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour – all-purpose
- Baking soda
- Butter – to add a little extra love, try making your own butter! If using unsalted butter, you will need to add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Sugar – brown and white sugar (granulated)
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Original Toll House Cookies
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients and whisk, then add the remaining ingredients.
Step 2: Gradually beat together until well combined, and drop a heaping tablespoon of dough onto the baking sheet.
Step 3: Bake until barely golden brown and let cool on the pan.
Step 4: Enjoy while warm with a cold glass of milk!
Recipe FAQs
Nope, this recipe does not need to be refrigerated before baking. Yay for no waiting on cooking!
Yes! 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, take the dough from the freezer, warm to room temperature and bake as instructed.
These classic cookies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days without losing flavor. If the air temperature is warm, though, store them in the refrigerator so the semi-sweet bits of chocolate don’t melt.
Expert Tips
- I recommend making cookie dough balls in a heaping tablespoon and baking them for 11 minutes to achieve a desirable spread.
- For a crispier cookie, flatten the dough balls slightly before baking or bake just a little bit longer to get thin crisp edges. It’s a personal preference, but I like my Toll House chocolate chip cookies to be a little soft and chewy, so I stick with the original instructions off the back of the Nestle chocolate chips bag.
- For a little extra texture, use nuts in this recipe (any kind you like, I prefer pecans!)
- If you love experimenting with chocolate chip cookies like with this retro recipe, try my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies, or my Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!
How to Make Toll House Cookies Soft & Chewy
To prevent 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!
How to Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookies
Although it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever have this problem, here’s what to do with leftover chocolate chip cookies—freeze them!
Allow the freshly baked cookies to cool completely, preventing moisture build-up and freezer burn. Once cooled, set the cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer for about an hour. This initial freezing step, called flash freezing, helps maintain the cookies’ shape and prevents them from sticking together.
After the cookies are solid, transfer them to an airtight container or a resealable freezer bag, placing parchment paper between layers to avoid sticking. Label the container with the date, and store the cookies in the freezer for up to three months.
When you’re ready to enjoy a cookie, simply let it thaw at room temperature for a few minutes or warm it in the microwave for a quick, comforting treat. Freezing chocolate chip cookies not only preserves their flavor and texture but also makes it easy to satisfy your sweet tooth anytime.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes to Consider
Dessert Recipes
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Edible Cookie Dough
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
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 large mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a second bowl add the sticks of 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 cookies 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 a little bigger than my normal cookie scoop (1 tablespoon), so I recommend making your cookie dough balls heaping tablespoons and baking them for 11 minutes. They were perfect!
- Store leftover cookies in a closed container or the freezer for much longer.
- Take cookies out of the oven just before they look done. You want them to be golden brown. They will continue to bake on your baking sheet for a couple of minutes.
Anyone know how to modify this to be oatmeal chocolate chip cookies?
There’s a recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. https://www.blessthismessplease.com/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/
How much butter is in this recipe?
is it measured in cups or sticks?
This is a great recipe. Instead of 2 eggs I use 1 whole egg and an egg yolk to keep them from being runny. I also put in 2 cups walnuts. They are delicious!!! This is a good recipe.
I have baked these for years. I’m 81.
Yes! Just substitute half the amount of flour with quick-cooking oast. All the other ingredients stay the same. You can pulse some or all of the oats in a food processor if you like fir a variant on the texture.
My cookies turned out flat, but the taste was good I think I should have taken out the oven a few minutes earlier.
Put the dough in the fridge for at least a hr, so that the butter has time to set back up, blending the butter breaks it down there is a word for this and idk what it is but means the same thing
Perfect cookies!! I used a little less chocolate chips (personal preference) no nuts, we are allergic. Just read after to add more flour. Didn’t. Got many compliments. The suggestion as to when to remove from oven was perfect! Thank you! I was asked for your recipe
I grew up making these with my mom. Now, I normally use a different chocolate chip cookie recipe but decided to try good ol’ Tollhouse tonight. My butter was soft, not melted….i added the extra flour…..and yet, they still spread soooooo much (too much). I’m not sure what I did wrong or what I should be doing differently…..
What’s the recipe you use now?
I always recommend to put the dough in the fridge before you cook them. Typically that’s why when you buy pre made cookie dough it’s cold, something about the butter
Hi, did you refrigerate the dough overnight? That helps the dough to not melt down too fast in the cooking process and become flat. Butter has a low melting point, so while it makes a delicious cookie, it can be a flat, unattractive cookie. Chilling the dough combats this.
I have also found if I have no time for chilling dough, then butter flavored Crisco sticks are better than using butter. Shortening has a higher melting point, so you can mix up the dough and bake right away (no chilling required) and it won’t turn into a flat cookie.
I followed the directions exactly. I also followed your recommendations. I made one batch without pecans & added the 2 Tbs of flour. I made larger cookies in both batches and it took 11 minutes as you said. Both batches turned out great! The cookies without pecans were a little flatter. I wonder if a little more flour would make them thicker. What do you think?
These came out perfectly! I followed the recipe and cooked them for 9 minutes on convection bake in my oven. Easy and delicious!
For those wanting to make 1/2 recipe, it’s helpful to know that 3/8 cup is 6 tablespoons. When I’ve divided for myself, I’ve often made a math error, resulting in odd cookies. This time I did it just right and these were ONO!
I used Simple Truth brand allergy-friendly 72% cacao dark chocolate chunks instead of Hershey’s chocolate chips. For dark chocolate lovers, they are a great substitute, and better, in my opinion than Hershey’s Special Dark chips.