With 93% of all households serving chocolate chip cookies, and sales topping 11.5 billion per year, it is no wonder why they are America’s favorite type of cookie. Whether you like them crispy or chewy, with dark or milk chocolate, with or without nuts, there is no denying the ooey, gooey, chocolatey dessert is best served with a chilled glass of your favorite milk.

So, where did the chocolate chip cookie originate? In the 1930s, an inn owner by the name of Ruth Graves Wakefield was baking one of her famous chocolate cookies and had run out of baker’s chocolate. She did, however, happen to have some Nestle semi-sweet chocolate, which she cut into smaller chunks and added to her recipe. To her surprise, the chocolate didn’t melt. Who knew?

As Bob Ross would say, this turned out to be a “happy accident.”

Ruth turned her happy accident into a profitable one by selling her recipe to Nestle Toll House, which then reprinted the recipe (with a few tweaks) on every bag of their chocolate chips.

Ruth’s recipe, which was originally named “Butterdrop Dew Cookies,” is as follows:

• 1 1⁄2 cups (350 mL) shortening
• 1 1⁄8 cups (265 mL) sugar
• 1 1⁄8 cups (265 mL) brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoon (7.5 g) salt
• 3 1⁄8 cups (750 mL) of flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoon (7.5 g) hot water
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoon (7.5 g) baking soda
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoon (7.5 g) vanilla
• chocolate chips

Mark your calendars, as chocolate chips have become so popular that they even have a National Holiday on May 15, and chocolate chip cookies have their own National Holiday on August 4.

I wanted to up the ante on the traditional recipe and introduce some of our BioTRUST Nutrition Ageless Multi-Collagen Protein into the mix. While we have the traditional unflavored version, I chose to use the vanilla flavor for my collagen cookie recipe. However, you could use whichever flavor (or unflavor) you choose. I also wanted to use oats instead of flour to give them some texture. You can experiment with your favorite ingredients or add-ins, but I am excited to hear what you think of my collagen cookie recipe!