Elvis Presley, the legendary singer known as the “King of Rock and Roll”, had quite the sweet tooth. Among his favorite treats were homemade chocolate chip cookies, which he liked to enjoy with a glass of cold milk. Though Elvis was known for his love of fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, the chocolate chip cookie was another dessert staple in his diet.
When did Elvis start enjoying chocolate chip cookies?
According to those close to Elvis, he developed a taste for chocolate chip cookies during his early days in Memphis in the 1950s. Local bakeries would deliver boxes of freshly baked cookies to Graceland, his Memphis mansion. The warm, gooey cookies were a nice complement to the Southern hospitality that Elvis came to appreciate after moving from Mississippi.
How did Elvis like his chocolate chip cookies prepared?
Elvis preferred his chocolate chip cookies to be soft, thick, and chewy. He enjoyed the cookies warm so that the chocolate chips were still melted and would ooze out with each bite. Crispy cookies were not his favorite style. The cooks at Graceland would bake fresh batches of chocolate chip cookies using browned butter for extra richness and vanilla for enhanced flavor. They knew to underbake the cookies slightly so they would come out perfectly soft and chewy, just as Elvis liked them.
Where did Elvis get chocolate chip cookies while on tour?
When Elvis was out of town for his many tours and concerts, he would have his assistants and entourage seek out the best local bakeries and pâtisseries to supply him with chocolate chip cookies. No store-bought cookies would do. Elvis had a discerning palate and could tell the difference between freshly baked artisan cookies versus mass-produced grocery store varieties. Only soft bakery-style chocolate chip cookies passed muster with The King.
How many chocolate chip cookies could Elvis eat in one sitting?
By many accounts, Elvis could eat an astonishing number of chocolate chip cookies when the craving struck. He was known to easily polish off a dozen or more cookies in a single sitting. Graceland staff would have to bake chocolate chip cookies in large batches just to keep up with Elvis’s appetite. Though his diet was far from healthy, the simple pleasure of warm chocolate chip cookies was one of Elvis’s guilty pleasures and greatest vices.
Did Elvis ever make chocolate chip cookies himself?
There is no evidence that Elvis ever attempted to bake chocolate chip cookies himself. He preferred to leave the cooking and baking to the staff at Graceland. However, Elvis was known to occasionally visit the Graceland kitchen late at night to check on batches of cookies coming fresh from the oven. According to some accounts, he would even steal a few right off the cookie sheet before they had fully cooled, burning his fingers in the process.
Did Elvis eat chocolate chip cookies on the night he died?
By most accounts, on the night of August 16, 1977 when Elvis died, he did not eat chocolate chip cookies. He had returned to Graceland after a concert tour and was said to have eaten a meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, biscuits and soup in his room around 4am. However, chocolate chip cookies were likely one of the last sweets Elvis enjoyed before his untimely passing at just 42 years old.
Conclusion
For Elvis Presley, the chocolate chip cookie represented a taste of childhood innocence and nostalgia for simpler times. Though his adult life was filled with riches, fame and excess, the warm, comforting chocolate chip cookie was a guilty pleasure that brought him back to his humble roots. Even as his tastes and appetite grew more indulgent, this classic American dessert remained one of Elvis’s lifelong favorite treats. Each gooey, chocolatey bite let him reconnect with the poor boy from Mississippi who was still at heart.