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Every year on August 4th, cookie lovers across the United States are handed an excuse to indulge in a favorite treat as we celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. This manufactured special day pays homage to one of America's most beloved sweet treats, the chocolate chip cookie. Whether you like them thick and chewy or thin and crispy, made with milk chocolate or dark, it’s the kind of treat that nearly everyone enjoys…at least on occasion.
The origin of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day can be traced back to the creation of the chocolate chip cookie itself. The credit for inventing this iconic cookie goes to Ruth Graves Wakefield, who, in 1938, was the owner of the Toll House restaurant in Massachusetts. Legend has it that while making a batch of butter cookies, Wakefield ran out of baker's chocolate. Instead, she added chopped pieces of a semi-sweet chocolate bar, hoping it would melt and mix into the dough. To her surprise, the chocolate retained its shape, giving birth to the first chocolate chip cookie. Other sources indicate that this was a carefully planned recipe, originally intended to be served with ice cream. Wakefield’s original recipe appeared in her cookbook, “Tried and True.”
In 1939, she sold the rights to the Toll House name and her recipe to Nestle, who still print it on the back of their packages of chocolate morsels. You can find that recipe here. The Toll House chocolate chip cookie gained immense popularity and the recipe spread far and wide. In the decades that followed, chocolate chip cookies became a household staple and a symbol of American comfort food.
If you are particular about how your cookies turn out, you may want to consult this guide, from Handle the Heat, for tips on how to get exactly the kind of chocolate chip cookie you most love.
In a hurry, or don’t have all of the needed ingredients to make your own? That’s no problem! Clifton offers plenty of options for those who want to simply purchase the perfect cookie, already baked and ready to eat! Community members, when asked where to find the best chocolate chip cookie, had several suggestions, though this list is certainly not exhaustive:
Styertown Bakery
Sugamama
Lakeview Bakery
Costco
The Cookie Connect (Although not located in Clifton, this Bloomfield shop does deliver warm cookies right to your door!)
Whether you bake them or buy them, dip them in milk or think that’s yucky, today is a great day to celebrate Ruth Graves Wakefield’s 85-year-old recipe. Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, Clifton!
