The Original Recipe, Measured

Every quantity from the original formula, given in cups, millilitres and grams.

The original recipe uses 1.5 cups (350 mL) shortening, 1.125 cups (265 mL) sugar, 265 mL brown sugar, 3 eggs, 7.5 g salt and 750 mL flour. The white and brown sugars are measured at identical volumes, side by side.

Shortening is the fat in this version. Its softness at room temperature is what makes the creaming stage straightforward, and it is measured at 350 mL — the largest single volume in the formula after the flour.

The flour is the largest component at 750 mL, about 3.125 cups. Salt is the smallest measured item at 7.5 g, roughly 1.5 teaspoons. Baking soda and vanilla are recorded at 7.5 g each.

Weighing removes the main source of variation: flour packed differently into a cup changes the dough's hydration, and that change appears as a drier or spreadier cookie. Millilitres and grams are given here exactly as recorded, without further conversion.

• Shortening: 350 mL (1.5 cups).
• White sugar: 265 mL (1.125 cups).
• Brown sugar: 265 mL.
• Eggs: 3.
• Salt: 7.5 g (1.5 tsp).
• Flour: 750 mL (3.125 cups).
• Baking soda: 7.5 g. Vanilla: 7.5 g.

Further reading

• Mix the Dough, Step by Step
• The Toll House Inn, 1930s