We might not know which came first — the chicken, or the egg — but when it comes to chocolate chips and their namesake cookie, the history is well-documented, and it might not be what you think. Chocolate chips actually came after the chocolate chip cookie, and despite their ubiquity, are likely younger than your grandmother (they were first marketed in 1940!). Legend has it that the chocolate chip cookie was a happy accident, born when baker ran out of baker’s chocolate and opted for semi-sweet instead.
The recipe spread like wildfire, and after a few years of selling their semi-sweet chocolate bars with a chopping tool (for easy chunking of the bar), Nestlé went one step further by introducing chocolate “morsels” to the world. With such a history, and with so much mass appeal, it’s no surprise that this kitchen delight deserves celebration, and that’s why, on May 15, we’ve got National Chocolate Chip Day.
