# The invention of Toll House Cookies by Ruth Wakefield in 1930.



## Meanderer (Oct 12, 2014)

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/tollhouse.htm

_NOTE: Contrary to its name and the sign, which still stands despite the building burning down in 1984, the place was never a toll house and it was built in 1817, not 1709. The "toll house" and the "1709" was a marketing strategy.
_
Back in 1930, Kenneth and Ruth Wakefield purchased a Cape Cod-style toll house located halfway between Boston and New Bedford, on the outskirts of Whitman, Massachusetts.   It was also here, that the Wakefields decided to open a lodge, calling it the Toll House Inn. In keeping with the tradition of creating delicious homemade meals, Ruth baked for guests who stayed at the Toll House Inn.As she improved upon traditional Colonial recipes, Ruth's incredible desserts began attracting people from all over New England. One day, while preparing a batch of Butter Drop Do cookies, a favorite recipe dating back to Colonial days, Ruth cut a bar of our Nestlé Semi-Sweet Chocolate into tiny bits and added them to her dough, expecting them to melt. Instead, the chocolate held its shape and softened to a delicately creamy texture. The resulting creation became very popular at the Inn. Soon, Ruth's recipe was published in a Boston newspaper, as well as other papers in the New England area. Regional sales of Nestlé Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar skyrocketed. Ruth eventually approached Nestlé and together, they reached an agreement that allowed Nestle to print what would become the Toll House Cookie recipe on the wrapper of the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar. Part of this agreement included supplying Ruth with all of the chocolate she could use to make her delicious cookies for the rest of her life.As the popularity of the Toll House cookie continued to grow Nestle looked for ways to make it easier for people to bake. Soon, they began scoring the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar, and packaged it with a special chopper for easily cutting it into small morsels. Shortly after, in 1939, they began offering tiny pieces of chocolate in convenient, ready-to-use packages and that is how the first Nestlé Toll House Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels were introduced. 
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## Falcon (Oct 12, 2014)

Thanks Meanderer. I didn't know that.  Between you and Google I learn lots of good stuff.


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