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.
Kayla says
I’ve made these before but need to prep for a party Sunday so I was going to make the recipe today, freeze the dough, but bake the cookies Saturday. Is it doable to do this?
Christi Johnstone says
Sure!
Taryn Hristova says
This is my second time making these cookies and they are really the best chocolate chip cookies I have come across. This recipe is perfection – I love that they use less butter (but you’d never know by the taste) and they aren’t flat. YUM!
Glenda says
I’d love to try your new recipe but I moved to Colorado so we have high altitude I know on the pkg it gives directions for high altitude but not sure what I should do with your modern version
Christi Johnstone says
Glenda, I’m afraid that as a life long desert dweller in Phoenix, AZ, I do not have any experience with high altitude baking. If there are standard modifications that you typically make in baking I would start with those.
Anne-Marie D'Amico says
Hello. I am going to make these cookies tonight and I wondered if I were to add walnuts or dried cherries or shredded coconut, would I have to tweak anything? Also, I am using Bob Mills Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour. Have you ever used GF flours before? Any advice? Thanks for taking the time. Wish me luck!
Laurie says
My cookies did not flatten out at all. They stayed in a ball. Ahh suggestions?
Christi Johnstone says
Laurie, how did you measure your flour? Did you give it a stir, then spoon it into your measuring cups and level off, or measure by scooping? It sounds like you had too much flour, so this would be my first place to check.
Michelle Ramirez says
My husband said they were the best cookie he´s ever had! They are delicious.
Steve says
There are definitely some things about this recipe that I like, but one thing I can’t reconcile. You said you use “more” flour than the original. I just opened both recipes side by side, and the original appears to use more flour. ??
Christi Johnstone says
It’s more flour in relation to the amount of liquid ingredients. While the original recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, this recipe uses 1/2 of butter, so half the butter to the flour if that makes sense.
Janice Wilson says
I was looking for a recipe that didn’t give flat cookies. Had been using the Tollhouse recipe for years. These tweaks make them come out perfect! My search for that perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe is over!
Kristan says
Im a tollhouse tweaker too! Always add just a little more flour, Mexican vanilla, and my secret ingredient is a dash of cinnamon. Best cookies ever!
Aida says
I love the taste, delicious !! but my cookies spreaded out too much, they came out flat.. I’m pretty sure that’s not the way they are supposed to look.
What did I do wrong?
Christi Johnstone says
My first questions would be was your butter melted? What was the temperature of your cookie sheets, were they room temperature or warm/hot? Did you chill the dough? Do you have an oven thermometer – is your oven possibly running hot or variable? Each of these items can have a hand in creating flat cookies.
Aida Pedersen says
Hi Christi
Thank you for getting back to me ☺️
The butter was not melted. I use Lurpak and left it out of the fridge for about 30-40 minutes to get to room temperature.
The cookie sheets were room temperature and I did chill the dough for over an hour.
As for the oven temperature, the oven does have a temperature reader.. The oven is less than 6 months old and I have baked a lot cakes and cookies and this is the first time my cookies went totally flat 😔
I will try it again, because the taste was amazing ..
😊