WWII Ration Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies
City/Region: United States of America
Time Period: 1940s
During WWII, everyone in the US wanted to send chocolate chip cookies to the boys at the front. With wartime rationing in effect, we get a recipe that doesn’t use butter or sugar, but shortening, honey, and maple syrup instead.
The dough is much softer than the original version, and the cookies spread out a lot more as they bake. They bake up softer than the crunchy originals, with a light pillowy texture. They aren’t as sweet, but still have a really lovely flavor. It kind of reminds me of Raisin Bran, but with chocolate. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised.
Check out the episode to see a side-by-side comparison with the original recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup honey
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 14 ounces chocolate chips
Instructions:
- Cream the shortening, honey, and maple syrup together. Mix in the beaten eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet.
- Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Cover and chill overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Scoop the dough onto a baking sheet. With the original chocolate chip cookie recipe, I measured out 14 gram portions, but this dough is very soft and sticky. I eyeballed the portions and scooped and plopped them onto a lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between them.
- Bake for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Take them out of the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.