The Nestle Toll House Cookie Recipe is the first recipe many of us ever made, often with our mothers or grandmothers. This classic chocolate chip cookie recipe is one that has been enjoyed for decades.
While I’ve always loved this recipe, I’ve found a few simple tweaks make it so more delicious! Read on for my easy tips for making Nestle Toll House cookies – even better!
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Reasons To Make This Recipe
- This recipe creates an absolutely delicious chocolate chip cookie.
- Readers here, as well as on Pinterest and Instagram, rave about the results. May say they are the best cookies they’ve ever made!
- You are never fully satisfied with the results you get when you follow the traditional Toll House recipe.
- While you like the flavor of Nestle Toll House Cookies, you long for cookies that aren’t quite so flat.
Toll House Cookie Recipe
Changing the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe feels almost like baker’s blasphemy. They say don’t fix what’s not broken–and Toll House Cookies always come out tasting great.
However, one of my favorite things about baking the same recipes for years is all the little adaptions I come up with over time. If you’re like me (and my mother and her mother before here) you do the same.
I’m excited to share with you MY version of the world’s most famous chocolate chip cookie recipe!
More Flour
Whenever I’d bake the Nestle cookie recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag, I’d end up adding a couple of spoonfuls more flour to the dough to get it the right consistency. This recipe uses slightly more flour than the original in comparison to the amount of butter in the recipe.
With the original Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe, I’ve found the cookies often spread quite a bit. I’ve also found that many times the chocolate chips sink to the bottom of the cookie. The photos below help illustrate this.
Disclaimer: If you like the flat, often greasy cookie that the original recipe makes, may I suggest sticking with that. This is for the people who aren’t satisfied with that.
Less Butter
In this recipe, it turns out less is more! Reducing the butter helps prevent the cookie from spreading so flat. Don’t worry, it’s still got that delicious, buttery cookie taste!
Chilled Dough
Chilling the cookie dough before baking the cookies helps alleviate both problems. I added a half a teaspoon more baking soda to the dough so the cookies spread just the right amount during baking.
Yes, dough chilling can take time and planning. That said, even just one hour in the fridge can make a difference in the outcome of your cookies.
With a few very simple ingredient changes, and some dough chilling, I think these cookies go from good to GREAT.
These cookies are soft and chewy with sweet chocolate chips in every bite. Serve them with an ice cold glass of milk to make the kid in everyone extra happy.
Toll House Chocolate Chips Cookies are the first thing many of us learn to bake for a good reason: they’re so easy and virtually fool-proof. The only equipment you need is a mixing bowl, a spoon and a cookie sheet.
I can’t think of a single occasion when a batch of fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies wouldn’t be welcome. This is the perfect cookie recipe to share with friends over a cup of coffee or to tuck into a school lunch box.
The ingredients in my adaption are the same as the original.
Ingredients At A Glance
Amounts and full instructions found below in recipe card
- Flour – DO NOT OVER MEASURE! If you do, your dough will be too dry. Sift, then gently spoon into measuring cup, and level. If you measure by scooping your flour, it will be too much!
- Baking Soda – Make sure you use soda, not powder.
- Salt
- Butter – Salted or unsalted, I don’t notice much difference so use what’s on hand.
- Brown Sugar – Dark or light will work.
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs – Large!
- Vanilla – Pure Vanilla Extract if possible.
- Chocolate Chips – While I prefer dark or semi-sweet, milk works too!
While the original recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag includes nuts as an optional ingredient, I prefer my chocolate chip cookies without nuts. If you enjoy nuts in your cookies, chopped walnuts or pecans would be a nice addition!
How To Make Nestle Toll House Cookies
Full printable recipe below in recipe card
Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookies are nothing fancy and that’s part of their appeal. Pretty Sugar Cookies, festive Gingerbread Man Cookies and dainty Orange Slice Cookies all have their time and place but sometimes you just want the simple pleasure of a truly good chocolate chip cookie.
If you’ve been making the Toll House Cookie recipe for years, I can’t wait for you to try my “new and improved” adaptation and let me know what you think!
Looking for more great cookie recipes? Give these a try next.
Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies are ideal for the crunchy cookie lovers in your life. Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies stay soft even days later–and my recipe doesn’t even require pudding mix! Neiman Marcus Cookies come with a fun backstory and a well-deserved reputation. If you’re an oatmeal fan like I am, don’t miss my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! Short on time? You can’t go wrong with these thick and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. How about Oreos and Chocolate Chip Cookies all in one? My Oreo Stuffed Cookies do just that! For another famous recipe, try the Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Love a gourmet bakery cookie? Try my Crumbl Cookie Recipe. I’ve rounded up all of my favorite chocolate chip cookies in my Best Chocolate Chip Cookies post, don’t miss it!
Nestle Toll House Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened salted or unsalted is fine
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups Nestle Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips other chips can be used
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer beat together butter, sugars and vanilla until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
- Add in half the flour, along with all the baking soda and salt. Mix by hand to combine, then add remaining flour and chocolate chips.
- If possible, cover and chill the dough for at least one hour, but not more than 24 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Scoop dough into rounded tablespoons and place onto an ungreased baking sheet, leaving approximately 2 inches of space between cookies. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheets, on wire cooling racks, for two minutes. Then transfer cookies to wire cooling racks with a spatula to allow to cool completely. Store tightly covered.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Marianne says
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for the wonderful modifications you made to the original Toll House Chocolate Chip Recipe. In the past, my cookies were so flat that you could almost see through them by the time they finished spreading. Today I made the best cookies following your recipe.
Rochelle says
My dough is super crumbly.. is that how it’s supposed to be??
Christi Johnstone says
Hi Rochelle, how did you measure your flour? Did you scoop it into the measuring cup then level, or scoop it?
Karen says
How do you measure your flour? Mine also appears very thick and dry.
Christi Johnstone says
Spoon it into the dry measuring cup, then level off. The more dry dough means you end up with a cookie that isn’t flat as a pancake! The dough should be thick!
Lisa says
This recipe is FABULOUS! I will never go back to the “standard” one. I was always adding more flour trying to stop them from spreading all over the place. Just made a double batch and they are BEAUTIFUL, and the taste is perfect. Thank you
Christi Johnstone says
Lisa, I’m so glad you liked them!
Nini says
These look GORGEOUS! Can’t wait to try them with my 11 year old granddaughter! Our first cookie together was Peanut Butter Blossoms! aka…Peanut Butter Kisses! Her job was to unwrap the Kisses(a job I absolutely HATE!) Then, place each Kiss on a hot cookie! Zap them in the microwave for 5 seconds or so when they get too cooled off! Now? She does it all herself! We still do it together, but I still put them in the oven & take them out.
These will be so much fun to make & may be our second fave cookie to make together.
The PB Kisses will ALWAYS be our little tradition!
Christi Johnstone says
Thanks Nini! Sounds like you have a great tradition. And yes, it’s great when they are happy to take on those little tasks that aren’t our favorites! 🙂
V Levaggi says
I too have perfected this cookie recipe over the last decade or two. IF you mentioned it already I apologize, making sure the butter is just soft enough to mix is another way to ensure thick and chewy cookies.
Tracy Carte says
Woukd it work if I replace the flour with cake flour?
Christi Johnstone says
Tracy, I havne’t tried that. If you do, I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Kim says
I’ve always used 1/4 c more flour, half butter half butter flavor cisco and frozen chocolate chips rave reviews on my cookies!!
Laura says
Thanks! A friend if mine shared her secret with me for her incredible Tollhouse cookies – she uses Crisco Shortening bars for baking instead of butter and oh what a difference!!! Thank you for sharing your tips – I’ll add them to mine!
Christi Johnstone says
You are so welcome, Laura!
Jon bail says
Mine don’t ever seem to thoroughly cook through even after almost burning them the center is a weird mushy
Christi Johnstone says
Jon, I’d bet money your oven is running too hot. Having had that problem myself in the past, that is a pretty standard result. If you don’t have an oven thermometer, I’d suggest one. And some ovens don’t just run too hot or too cold, they can bounce around. On my old oven I had to babysit almost every temperature when I baked.
Izzy says
Was your adapted recipe meant to have only a 1/2 cup of butter?
Christi Johnstone says
Yes! After making it multiple times this way, I’ve found it works better, and the cookies aren’t so flat.