In honor of Women’s History Month, all of us here at Snapchef would like to honor some of the women who have made strides in the culinary field. Today we would like to honor a local legend who invented one of the sweetest treats out there; Ruth Graves Wakefield.
Born in Easton Massachusetts in 1903, Ruth grew up in the town and attended Oliver Ames High School and then attended the Framingham State Normal School Department of Household Arts. While she was there, she was employed as a dietitian and would teach about different aspects of food.
In 1930, Ruth and her husband Kenneth bought a tourist lodge called the Toll House Inn located in Whitman, Massachusetts. The inn served as a rest stop for travelers between Boston and New York where they would pay a toll, changed horses and would enjoy delicious home-cooked meals cooked by Ruth. She was known for her lobster dinners and desserts. Shortly thereafter, Ruth’s cooking became a big name throughout the region and she hosted many visitors at the Inn including U.S. Ambassador Joseph Kennedy Sr.
Her most popular treat was her chocolate chip cookies. She added chopped up pieces from a Nestle chocolate bar into her batter. This was the invention of the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie.
After the success of the cooking at the Inn, Wakefield went on to publish a cookbook, Toll House Tried and True Recipes.
Below is Ruths’ famous chocolate chip cookie recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheets
- 3/4 cups of firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved into 1 teaspoon of hot water
- 2 1/4 cups of sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of table salt
- 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
- 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Method of Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cream the butter and sugars.
- Add the beaten eggs.
- Add the baking soda dissolved in hot water.
- Sift together the flour and salt then add to the butter mixture.
- Then stir in the nuts, chocolate chips, and vanilla extract.
- Drop the cookie down by tablespoonful onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are browned at the edges,
