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.
Jami says
Awesome! Compared to the original, there isn’t the tendency to be greasy. After reading the comment, I gave each dough ball a slight press. (Just took the roundness off. For me, it made 3 dozen not 4. I’ve always used the original top house recipe, but I like this one better!
Christi Johnstone says
Jami, so glad you like the recipes! yes, it gets rid of that tendency to be greasy!
Sulimar says
OMG these are AMAZING!!!!! I ALWAYS said I loved the tollhouse recipe FLAVOR but hated how flat they came out. And way too greasy! These are perfection. I do have a gas oven so I tweaked the temp about 10 degrees less and cook time a bit longer. Worked out great. Nice and puffy, did not deflate. I did chill the dough for like 6 hours though. I freeze the rest in a ziplock and make cookies as we want them, nice and warm! Thanks for sharing! I have given this recipe to five people already 🙂
Cindy Fine says
Made these today, totally delicious! This will be my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Thanks for the great recipe Christi!
Robin says
Unfortunately this recipe did not turn out for me. I followed the directions explicitly and I even tried to manipulate the time the cookies actually baked they came out either overdone or under done
Christi Johnstone says
Robin, do you have an oven thermometer? If you having cookies come out over or under done, that’s pretty indicative of a temperature issue. At one point I had an oven that would fluctuate, over 100 degrees in either direction. Because it was not consistent either direction, I didn’t think it was off, as it wasn’t consistently over or under cooking. Sure enough when I got an oven thermometer, it was pretty eye opening and it explained why I was either completely undercooking or over cooking things. Hope that helps!
Gabby says
What if I’m using a stand mixer? Do I do less beating of egg, sugar and vanilla?
Christi Johnstone says
You don’t have to do anything differently. Enjoy!
Shanelle says
Hi!. I made these today, and they tasted great, however they deflated upon cooling and ended up being too thin. I don’t think my temperature was off because I also tried another oven and the same thing happened again. Could there be another reason they came out flat? Thank you so much for sharing!
Christi Johnstone says
Shanelle, did you chill the dough? And just to verify, because it’s a mistake a few people have made, you are only using 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, correct?
S says
I tried these today. They’re pretty good, but turned out a bit more golden then we like. I think my oven must run hot I went. I double checked the recipe to see if I’d accidentally read temp of 375 wrong, but clearly I didn’t. I struggled with each cookie sheet going in trying to figure out how long to leave them in for. 6 mins seemed the best. Should I lower temp next time or reduce time? I’d like to try them again. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. Many thanks!
Christi Johnstone says
Do you have an oven thermometer? I find that an oven running hot can really impact cookies a lot, almost more than anything else you bake (in my experience). I had that problem a year or two ago. If you don’t have one grab an inexpensive one, it was eye opening for me! I feel like if you reduce the time you’re going to end up with browned and undercooked, and not in the good undercooked way. To compensate, knock the temp to 350 until you get a thermometer and see how that goes.
Also what size are you making them, the smaller they are the faster they will cook.
Tammy says
I’m going to take back my comment from earlier. I made these cookies and froze most of them. The ones I baked I made them too thick. The ones I froze I baked this morning. I cut the “dome” off the top so the were flat and they turned out PERFECT! Not going to to change a thing in this recipe!!
Tammy says
I liked these cookies, followed the recipe as written. My only critique is they didn’t spread enough. I will try making them again, only I think I will add maybe 2 Tbsp more butter or 2 Tbsp less flour.
Jocelyn Knox says
My go-to recipe! LOVE this improved version! They are perfectly soft and puffy every time. Everyone I’ve shared them with agrees. THE BEST!!! And I’ve tried a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years. I’m done. This is it. No more searching. I’ve probably made these at least 10 times since I first came across the recipe a while back. Thank you!!!