Chocolate Chips

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I believe that chocolate chips are one of the greatest inventions ever created.
Here's the scoop on the origin of Chocolate Chips according to Wikipedia:

Chocolate chips are a required ingredient in chocolate chip cookies, which were invented in 1937 when Ruth Graves Wakefield of the Toll House Inn in the town of Whitman, Massachusetts added cut-up chunks of a semi-sweet Nestlé chocolate bar to a cookie recipe. The cookies were a huge success, and Wakefield reached an agreement in 1939 with Nestlé to add her recipe to the chocolate bar's packaging in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate. Initially, Nestlé included a small chopping tool with the chocolate bars. In 1941 Nestlé and one or more of its competitors started selling the chocolate in chip (or "morsel") form.^[1] The Nestlé brand Toll House cookies is named for the inn.

How would it have been to have a lifetime supply of chocolate???   Heaven!!!

The Wikipedia article goes on to state that chocolate chips should not necessarily be substituted for baking chocolate since they are designed to hold their shape during baking and contain less cocoa butter, but, in a pinch, I have definitely made the substitution.  Granted, in a perfect world, I would always have plenty of the highest quality baking chocolate, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips on hand in the pantry.  However, due to the shrinking budget and the increasing cost of the above said items, I at times  have only one (or even, shockingly, but seldom, None) of the above goodie baking essentials on hand.  When it comes right down to it, if I must choose only one of the great chocolate baking products to have on hand, I will generally choose the chocolate chips.  While I can produce some form or another of almost any chocolaty treat or dessert with a bag of chocolate chips, I haven't yet been able to produce a chocolate chip cookie using cocoa powder. 

I have noticed that chocolate chips generally go on sale at most of my local grocery stores sometime during the months of October, November and December, so I make it a practice to stock up during those months.  This past year I was able to purchase two large bags at our local Costco in addition to several smaller bags at the other stores, so after the holiday baking was done; I still have a big unopened bag of chocolate chips in my store room.  And . . .

Guess what my wonderful DS1 and DDIL sent us for part of our Christmas present?  Another big bag of chocolate chips!!  That bag was put right to use, and maybe (I'll have to double check for sure) we still have some of those chocolate chips in the cupboard with the other baking supplies. 

Thanks Kids!  We love the chocolate chips!