I often ask myself why it is so hard, impossible almost, for me to follow even the most basic and classic recipe exactly as written. Someone once told me that a recipe is not meant to be a suggestion. Other people see recipes as a jumping-off point. I 100% subscribe to both schools of thought. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, follow the recipe exactly from beginning to end. No substitutions. No extra touches. No last-minute replacements or epiphanies when at the grocery store. This was going to be a tough challenge for me.

I decided to put this to the test with one of the easiest and most classic recipes ever invented. A recipe that everyone who makes it, uses the same recipe. It is a pure genius recipe. It is the Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony of cookies. There is no need to change notes or add an extra chorus or more percussive instruments. It is perfect as-is. Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies. Follow the recipe on the bag, if you have not memorized it, so far, in life (which if you have not, this might be a demerit).

I had not even melted the butter yet when, technically, I changed the recipe. I decided to make only half the cookie quantity. Sometimes, fewer cookies in the refrigerator can be a good thing. The only “problem” (for me) was I had to remember, going forward, to divide everything by two. Half-way through the recipe, due to distractions in the kitchen (which were not an example of conscious cooking, see more on this topic in Hot Off the Panini Press), I forgot this rule and added the full measurement of salt and baking powder. Change (accidental) #1.

Change #2: When getting some of the ingredients out of the refrigerator, I saw my jar of dark cocoa powder. This cocoa powder is gorgeous, and I use it sparingly, unnecessarily so. I should use it more, EVERYDAY even and I should buy it in gallons. But it is not an ingredient in Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies. I pictured dark chocolate on a plate in cookie form. I do not know how much of the cocoa powder I added, and more tumbled into the bowl then I planned or hoped. It was around ¾ cup-ish.

Change (mistake) #3:I set the oven temperature too high. 350 degrees instead of 325. Oopsie. This mistake was not intentional so should not count as me changing the recipe. But I am sure it had an impact on the final result of the cookies.

Change #4: I rarely taste the vanilla extract in Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies. It is an ESSENTIAL ingredient though, not listed as optional (unlike nuts, for example). But with the high price of top-quality vanilla extract these days, a product that would have to be ordered online adding days to my cookie making and being on the low-side supply of it, I decided to skip the vanilla extract.

Change #5: I saw the crystalized ginger in the refrigerator whilst putting away the eggs. This ginger is very, very good, and the hubby LOVES it.  Did I mention it is organic? How delicious it would be in a dark chocolate chip cookie … Out came the micro planer and into the batter the ginger it went. When the cookies came out of the oven, I sprinkled more of the crystalized ginger on top for extra measure.

I tried. I really did. I had the best of intentions to follow the rules, stick with the memo, stay in my lane, and not think the grass would be so much greener. Fortunately (which, truth be told, only encourages the rebel in me), the cookies are delicious with the richness of dark chocolate intertwined with the powerful taste of ginger. The cookies are soft but not too pillowy, slightly crunchy but not crisp and no rough edges. They are unique and original cookies that might even be featured on a social media post as the newest recipe to make on a rainy day. They are cookies that my guests might take a bite or two, ponder the taste, and then eat four more. But they are not true Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies. Truth be told, even if I wanted to make these same cookies again, I could not unless I made the same “changes” and did not make ANY new mistakes or changes. Impossible for me! But that is ok because there is not enough time in life to make the same EXACT recipe twice.

Pixie (March 2024)