Nestle® Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies recipe is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I remember having as a kid. My mom didn’t bake often, so these cookies were a special treat. These days I prefer my chocolate chip cookies thick and soft, rather than thin and crispy like the original Toll House recipe. Still, Nestle Toll House cookies are classic cookies that make me nostalgic – and what’s not to love about a cookie with chocolate?
What I do love about the original Toll House cookies is the legend behind how they were invented. Supposedly, Ruth Wakefield, who ran the successful Toll House restaurant at the Toll House Inn, was famous for her chocolate cookies. One day, she found herself without any cocoa powder. As a substitute, she broke up pieces of baker’s chocolate into her cookie dough, thinking they might melt and mix to make a chocolate cookie. Well, they didn’t make the cookie chocolate – but they sure made something amazing! The famous Toll House cookie recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chips bag is supposed to be based on Ruth’s original cookie recipe.
Toll House original recipe chocolate chip cookies are a great springing-off point when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. If you’d like to try some chocolate chip cookies with a little more oomph, check out my tried and true BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. I know you’ll love them.
Why This Recipe Works
- Original Nestle Toll House cookie recipe. This classic recipe bakes thin chocolate chip cookies with a crisp edge that will transport you instantly to childhood.
- Customizable. This recipe contains instructions for adding chopped nuts to these cookies, but you could also swap out semisweet chocolate chips to make chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or even milk chocolate chip cookies (or, make my recipe for Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies, instead).
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour: The all-important base of any cookie recipe!
- Baking soda: This recipe for Toll House chocolate chip cookies uses only baking soda, leading to cookies that spread more and get a crispy edge and brown bottom. A combination of baking soda and baking powder typically results in thicker cookies.
- Unsalted butter: The original Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe doesn’t actually clarify whether you should use salted or unsalted butter. Personally, I always default to unsalted butter so I can control the saltiness in a cookie. You can use salted butter, but in addition to possibly baking a saltier cookie, salted butter has a higher water concentration than unsalted butter, which could mess with the bake of your cookie.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar is key to getting that yummy caramelized flavor in Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies.
- White sugar: White sugar helps create cookies with crisp edges, which is the goal with these Toll House recipe chocolate chip cookies.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds complementary flavor to chocolate chip cookies – they wouldn’t be the same without it!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep your oven. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you like, you can line a baking sheet with parchment paper, but it’s not necessary.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine 2¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt. If omitting chopped nuts, add an additional 2 tablespoons flour.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add 1 cup room temperature butter with ¾ cup of brown sugar and ¾ cup of granulated sugar. Mix the softened butter and sugars at medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Once the butter and sugar are thoroughly combined, add 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add flour mixture. Combine flour and butter-sugar mixture and mix until partially combined.
- Add chocolate chips. Pour 2 cups, or one 12 oz. bag, of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the cookie dough, as well as 1 cup chopped nuts (if using). Mix to combine.
- Portion out cookie dough. Use about 2 tablespoons of Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough to make a ball and place on your lined or ungreased cookie sheets. Space cookie dough balls with at least 2 inches in between, as they will spread when baked.
- Bake and cool. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. If you make bigger cookies, bake for 11 minutes.
Recipe Tips
For cookies that spread less, let the dough chill in the fridge for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, scoop out your first round of cookie dough and bake while the rest of the dough continues to chill in the fridge, and repeat.
For chocolate chip and white chocolate chip cookies, use 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup white chocolate chips.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Make Ahead: These cookies stay fresh for a few days, so you can make them up to three days in advance. You can also make the dough and let it sit in the fridge overnight before baking, but this may alter the texture of the cookie.
Storing: Store leftover chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days – if they last that long!
Freezing: Freeze baked cookies in a ziptop bag or airtight container for up to three months. You can also freeze the cookie dough in individual dough balls for up to three months and bake them from the freezer. For more info, check out my posts on Freezing Cookies and Freezing Cookie Dough.
Recipe FAQs
Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies are baked at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. This higher temperature causes them to spread more quickly and get crispy on the bottom and edges.
Depending on the size of your cookie, calories range from 148-202. For these cookies, individual cookies have around 202 calories.
The range for baking Toll House chocolate chip cookies is 9-11 minutes. The longer you bake, the crispier your cookie.
To bake this recipe at a higher altitude, add another 1/4 cup of flour.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
- Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nestle® Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar - packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips - (12 oz package)
- 1 cup chopped nuts - if omitting add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour in place of the nuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the flour mixture and mix until partially combined. Add the chocolate chips (and nuts-if using. If you’re not adding nuts, add an additional 2 T of flour to the dough) and mix to combine.
- Using a 2 T sized cookie scoop (I used a size 50 scoop), portion into rounded balls on a parchment lined baking sheet (or ungreased baking sheet). Make sure to space the cookies out with 2-2 1/2" between each cookie dough ball (the cookies will spread some).
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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