Great news! A day that can be dear to all our hearts! May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Day. What could be better?

I was looking for inspiration for May cooking columns and found National Chocolate Chip Day. Imagine my delight! Isn’t it amazing the things you can find on the Internet?
So, here is some Chocolate Chip history...

Ruth Graves Wakefield is the lady we can thank for chocolate chips. Her family owned an historic tourist lodge built in 1709 in Whitman, Mass., known as the Toll House. In 1937 she chopped up some chocolate and added it to the cookies she was making. They were a huge hit and her place in history was made.

The first commercial chocolate chips were made by Nestle in 1939, the famous Toll House Chocolate Chips. The recipe on the back of the package is Ruth Wakefield’s.

Ruth Wakefield’s Toll House Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-ounce package) Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for two minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Pan cookie variation: Grease 15x10-inch jellyroll pan. Prepare dough as above.
Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes four dozen bars.

Refrigerator dough for preparation later: Prepare dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for one hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes up to one week. (May be frozen for up to eight weeks.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for eight to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for two minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about five dozen cookies.

For high altitude (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for eight to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

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Nieman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.

Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the coffee powder and chocolate chips.

Using a tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out, but don’t get it too thin. Bake for about 15 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. You could test a few to see how fast they bake. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie. Makes two dozen cookies.

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Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream together:
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
Add:
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Mix together:
4 cups flour
5 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
Add:
24-ounce bag chocolate chips
3 cups chopped nuts, your choice (walnuts, pecans, peanuts, macadamia)

Especially if you use old fashioned oats, blend handfuls in a blender to make it not so bulky before you add it to the dough mixture.

Mix together all ingredients in order listed. Make golf ball-sized dough balls, 2 inches apart. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets. and bake at 375 degrees for six to eight minutes. Makes approximately 112 cookies.

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The next two recipes are from Webterrace.com.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup margarine
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat margarine, peanut butter and sugars. Add eggs and beat again. In a small bowl, combine flour and soda, set aside.
Gradually add dry ingredients and beat until creamy. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop on cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.

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Chocolate Chip Orange Delights

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs or equivalent amount of egg substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange flavoring
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon fresh or dried grated orange peel
3 cups thick old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Soften butter or margarine; add to sugars and beat together until creamy. Beat in eggs or egg substitute, vanilla and orange flavoring. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and grated orange peel. Mix well. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 to 11 minutes.
Let cool on cookie sheet for a minute or so, then place on paper towel to cool.

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Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake
From smittenkitchen.com

1 stick of butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, separated
16 ounces sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
12 ounces chocolate chips

Have ready a greased 9X13-inch rectangular baking pan. Set the oven at 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar, then mix in the egg yolks, sour cream and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into the butter mixture.

Beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, then fold into the batter. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and the chocolate chips.
Pour half of the cake batter into the pan. Sprinkle the top with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Pour remaining batter on top, then cover that with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake 40-50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.