I too grew up in Hingham. My mother and Ruth Graves Wakefield were contemporaries and good friends. She was "Aunt Ruth" to me. There are a couple of vague references in the usual Toll House recipe which need correcting. First, it isn't just brown sugar that's used, but dark brown sugar. Aunt Ruth occasionally fortified this by adding a bit of molasses. Second, it isn't just chopped nuts, as if any species would do. Aunt Ruth always used chopped walnuts. She held that their dry flavor reduced the cloying effect of the chocolate. Finally, she didn't set out to make cookies, but a sort of brownie. The butter (Crisco is heresy!) made the outcome crisp and the whole baked into one piece, so the cookie was born. by dropping spoonfuls the next time. It was a lucky accident. What a great accident it was, though! Thank you for providing some excellent clarifications and insight into this recipe. We appreciate the historical accounts we've received since posting about these cookies. Happy Baking! Kim@KAF

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