The "original" recipe for Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies on the bag of Nestlé Semi-Sweet Morsels is not exactly like the original developed by Ruth Wakefield of Whitman, Massachusetts.

Wakefield (1903-1977) was a dietitian, food lecturer, cookbook author and proprietor of the restaurant at the Toll House Inn, along with her husband, Ken.

According to foodtimeline.org, Wakefield developed the recipe in 1933. She broke Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bars into bits and added them into a basic brown sugar cookie dough. In one of her cookbooks, Wakefield titled the recipe Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookies. 

Nestlé capitalized on the creation with an expansive marketing campaign. Eventually, the food producer figured out how to manufacture morsels, replacing the inexact step of cutting chocolate bars into bits. 

A second deviation from Wakefield's original recipe involves the 1 teaspoon of baking soda. The versions published through at least the 1950s called for dissolving it into an equal amount of hot water.

Dilution of the baking soda is not required according to today's bags of Nestlé morsels. I am a basic baker, so I don't have an explanation for why the step was required then but not today. And, I didn't have any luck finding an explanation checking a few online and cookbook sources. 

If you have an explanation, please email me. 

And, one important note about these recipes for chocolate chip cookies. They are missing a key ingredient: patience.

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Cookies are a good entry to baking because from basic ingredients come sophisticated flavors. Using those ingredients wisely is key, and that means taking your time to blend and bake them.

Following are some specific time-related tips for better cookies: 

► Wait until the butter is room temperature. Don't rush by melting it in the microwave.

► Creaming the butter and sugar correctly also is important because the process adds air, which helps to leaven the cookie and give it more body. 

► Chill the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes. Excessively soft butter allows the cookie to spread out more during cooking. Chilling the dough briefly guards against that.

► Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent cookie bottoms that are darker brown than the tops. This one trick was a game changer in improving exponentially my cookie batches. 

► Heat the oven to the right temperature. If your oven temperature dial is not accurate, invest in an oven thermometer for correct readings.

► Once the cookies are baked, let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a wire cooling rack. An immediate transfer increases the chances of the cookies crumbling. 

If you don't have a wire cooling rack, then move the cookies to a wooden cutting board to stop the cooking process. (A metal baking sheet retains enough heat to brown the cookie bottoms.)

► Let the cookies cool before eating. They're worth the wait. 

► When baking the dough in batches, let the baking sheet cool for a few minutes before adding more scoops of dough. The hot sheet can start the cooking process before the cookies go into the oven. That means they will spread more during baking.  

In the recipe below, I halved the measurements of the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the Nestlé package for a smaller batch of cookies. Sometimes, too much of a good thing is a bad thing, and overindulging in cookies falls into that category.

For the "original" version, see the package of Nestlé Semi-Sweet Morsels. 

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Share your favorite recipes or food-related historical recollections by emailing Laura Gutschke at laura.gutschke@reporternews.com.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup (6 ounces) Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. (Tip: Run mixer for about 1 minute, then stop. Use a spatula to remove the dough from inside the mixing bowl wall. Run mixer again for about 1 more minute.)

4. Add egg, beating well after addition.

5. Beat in flour mixture gradually. When combined, stop mixer. 

6. Use a spoon or spatula to fold morsels and nuts into dough.

7. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

8. While the dough is chilling, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

9. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.

10. Bake 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

* NOTE: If omitting nuts, add about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour.

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Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.