Main Street Memories in a Jar: Chocolate Chip Cookies That Will Make Your Holidays Extra Sweet

While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads…  

What sweet memories do you have of the Main Street Bakery at Walt Disney World? For me, those delicious chocolate chip cookies will always have a special place in my heart!

Since converted into a Starbucks, this once-traditional Nestle Tollhouse bakery located at the end of Main Street, USA was the perfect place to get your coffee fix and splurge on a sweet treat. Rich aromas filled the Main Street air, luring you in for some of Mickey’s finest and most decadent baked goods, as well as an exceptional view of Cinderella’s Castle!

Serving up Nestle coffee (which was a favorite!), the stickiest and sweetest cinnamon buns, and scrumptious chocolate chip cookies, there was something for everyone to enjoy at Main Street Bakery! 

Where Would We be Without a Bakery?

The art of baking was developed early on by the Roman Empire. (Thanks, Rome!) Bakeries date all the way back to 168 BC when the first baker’s guild was established in Rome. Pretty soon, there was a big demand for baked goods at feasts and weddings and even in small Roman towns. After all, who can resist a batch of chocolate chip cookies?

However, rather than chocolate chip delights, it was bread, biscuits, and pastries that were in demand, and everybody wanted a bite. Baking quickly became a respectable profession for Romans.

Eventually, with the emergence of the female workforce and society’s eating habits, the growth of the baking industry skyrocketed further, and there was an expansion of bakeries all over the world.

Established in 1860, the oldest bakery in the world can be found in Falmouth, England. Still thriving today, Warren’s Bakery is a family-run establishment and a testament to the stronghold baked goods have on society, even today!

Chocolate Chip Cookies: A History

Despite the long history of baking, our beloved chocolate chip cookies are a far more recent invention, having only graced our wired oven racks since the 1930s. Other tasty treats, like the chocolate crinkle cookie, have mysterious or unknown origins, but the beginnings of this legendary dessert are actually well-documented.

The recipe was crafted by Ruth Graves Wakefield, who ran the Toll House restaurant with her husband, Kenneth. The “Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookie” recipe first appeared in a 1938 cookbook authored by Wakefield. The cookie, created to be paired with ice cream, was so delicious that Betty Crocker took notice and featured it on her radio program. Eventually, Nestlé bargained with Wakefield to use the recipe and Toll House name.

The outcome of the bargain? Nestlé purchased the iconic recipe (still printed on bags of chocolate chips) for one dollar – which Wakefield claimed to never have gotten. (Though she went on to work as a consultant for Nestlé for many years and reportedly received free chocolate for life.)

While some versions of the story claim Wakefield stumbled upon the recipe because she ran out of baker’s chocolate while making chocolate butter drop cookies (an old colonial favorite), the substitution of semi-sweet chips was likely more thought-out than that. Wakefield was a college-educated chef, professional business owner, and a perfectionist; the likelihood of an unstocked shelf in her kitchen seems unlikely. In fact, in a 1974 interview, she explicitly said the chocolate chip cookie was a conscious invention: she was “trying to give them [patrons] something new.”

Chocolate chip cookies became a comfort food during the Great Depression, of soldiers fighting in WWII and of millions of households across America. Today, chocolate chip cookies continue to reign supreme as not only a Christmas favorite but also an everyday delight.

Chocolate Chip Memories are the Sweetest Memories

Cookies, cakes, and pastries bring plenty of comfort and joy, especially when sharing them with loved ones during the holidays! It’s a tradition to serve up something sugary and satisfying at the end of a good meal, usually with a complimentary cup of coffee. During the Christmas season, there’s no better sight than a tray of warm, freshly baked cookies decorated with festive frosting! 

While perhaps surprising to some, it is no secret to others that the chocolate chip cookie still ranks as the most popular cookie during the holidays. Like Peter Pan, some things just don’t grow old.

While it may be simple, chocolate chip cookies often evoke loving memories for so many. That’s why we recommend including a few on that holiday cookie tray!

It’s also why I wanted to share a special Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Jar recipe with all of you – so you can share this creative gift with others and create your own special memories for the holiday season!

I personally have so many wonderful memories of enjoying chocolate chip cookies and drinking hot chocolate with my daughter at the Main Street Bakery in Walt Disney World. At the end of a long day, while the crowds charged for the exit, we would grab our sweet treats and watch the people go by. Those are memories I will cherish forever; they are special moments etched in time. 

So, for this holiday season, I encourage you to use this recipe as an opportunity to make new memories with your loved ones. Be in the moment and enjoy the time. You will look back on it fondly, as I do. And the chocolate chip cookies…well, they’ll make those memories that much sweeter.

Do you have any sweet memories of the Main Street Bakery? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below! Oh, and let us know how your cookies turned out, too!

Happy holiday baking, everyone!

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Featured photo: MouseEars TV Creative Team