National Chocolate Chip Day is on Saturday, May 15, 2027, and it falls on May 15 every year. It celebrates the little morsels that made the chocolate chip cookie America’s favorite. Chips also star in pancakes, muffins and trail mix.
When Is National Chocolate Chip Day?
It’s always May 15. It’s an unofficial food day. National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day is a separate day in August.
Who Started National Chocolate Chip Day?
No founder or start year has been documented.
Background: Ruth Wakefield and the Toll House
In 1930, Ruth Wakefield and her husband, Kenneth, bought a cottage in Whitman, Massachusetts, for $6,500. They turned it into the Toll House Inn, Tasting Table notes.
Wakefield was a trained cook and a cookbook author. The 1938 edition of her book Toll House Tried and True Recipes contained the first printed chocolate chip cookie recipe, Yankee magazine reports. She chopped a Nestlé semisweet chocolate bar into dough and first called them “Toll House Chocolate Crunch” cookies.
A popular story says she ran out of baker’s chocolate and expected the chunks to melt. That account has never been confirmed, and some versions are clearly embellished.
From chunks to chips
In 1939, Wakefield gave Nestlé the right to use her recipe and the Toll House name. She was reportedly paid $1 and a lifetime supply of chocolate, though she sometimes said she never got the dollar.
Nestlé printed the recipe on its chocolate bar wrapper and even sold the bar with a chopper. Wakefield is credited with prompting Nestlé to make smaller pieces, which led to packaged chocolate chips.
Why Celebrate Chocolate Chips?
A simple ingredient changed American baking. During World War II, Nestlé ads encouraged families to bake Wakefield’s cookies for soldiers, spreading the recipe nationwide.
In 1997, Massachusetts named the chocolate chip cookie its official state cookie, after a suggestion from a third-grade class.
How to Celebrate National Chocolate Chip Day
- Bake the classic: the Toll House recipe is still printed on chip bags.
- Chill the dough: resting it in the fridge for a few hours deepens the flavor and reduces spreading.
- Chop a bar: try Wakefield’s original method for puddles of melted chocolate.
- Mix chip types: combine dark, milk and white chocolate chips.
- Add sea salt: a pinch on top balances the sweetness.
- Go beyond cookies: fold chips into pancakes, banana bread or homemade granola bars.
- Visit Whitman: the Toll House site, now a fast-food restaurant, has a small display honoring Wakefield.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented the chocolate chip cookie?
Ruth Wakefield of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. Her recipe was first printed in 1938.
Why don’t chocolate chips melt in cookies?
Many chips contain less cocoa butter and sometimes stabilizers, so they soften but keep their shape. Chopped bar chocolate melts more.
Is it safe to eat raw cookie dough?
Not usually. Raw eggs and raw flour can carry germs. Choose edible dough made with heat-treated flour and no raw eggs.