10 Most American Foods Ever (Slideshow)

Chocolate chip cookies are a childhood favorite for most people, and it turns out that they were invented in America. In Whitman, MA, to be precise, during the 1930s, Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn, came up with the cookies herself. There are many myths as to how the idea to put chocolate in her cookies really came to be, but the cookies are now a beloved dessert for adults and children. 

No one really knows who invented the classic campfire treat originally. The Girl Scouts were the first to ever write the recipe down though. They put it in their book "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts" in 1927, and that version is the one that most of us make. 

No other nation has the attachment to meatloaf the United States does. Even though a version of it was recorded in ancient Roman cookbooks, the meatloaf we all know and love (or hate) is an American invention. In 1918, Fannie Farmer published the recipe for "Cannelon of Beef" in The Boston Cooking School Cookbook. From then on, it became a classic family meal, with every household coming up with its own recipe.

This is another one that's hard to pin down the exact inventor. We do know that the dish has a rich history in the South. It was originally a favorite for poor farmers because the ingredients were cheap and easy to come by. Now it features in multiple forms in restaurants across America.

This is an obvious choice. After all, no other food in recent history caused such an uproar when people thought they'd never be able to have it again. James Dewar, Hostess' vice president at the time, invented the Twinkie in Illinois in 1930.  A fun fact about the Twinkie is that it was originally made with banana cream filling instead of vanilla.

Key lime pie is the state food of Florida and it comes straight from the Florida Keys, hence its name. Aunt Sally, personal chef for self-made millionaire William Curry, is credited for making the first ever key lime pie during the late 1800s. 

Brothers Carl and Neil Fletcher are credited for creating this American classic. They were former vaudeville actors who, in 1942, sold the first corndogs at a Texas state fair. Now the food is a favorite of state fairs everywhere. And we'd be hard pressed to find a grocery freezer aisle that doesn't have some form of corn dogs.

Cracker Jacks first showed up at the 1893 Chicago World Far. Their creators, Lewis and F.W. Rueckheim didn't actually have a name for the caramel treat until a passing salesperson shouted, "that's a cracker jack," after trying a sample. F.W. decided it was the perfect name.

Peanut paste has existed in many forms since the time of the Aztecs, but it was very different than what we know as peanut butter now. Many people credit George Washington Carver with the invention of peanut butter, but really it was chemist Joseph Rosefield, creator of Skippy, who really made peanut butter what it is today. He added hydrogenated vegetable oil to the standard paste in 1922, and now almost 100 years later, peanut butter sandwiches in their many forms are a popular meal for all Americans. 

Apples aren't technically native to America. In fact it was the first settlers from England who brought the seeds. In fact, apple pie was popular in England before it was even made in America. However, apple pie is one of the most American foods anyone could think of. In fact, many polls and pie charts have proven that apple pie is Americans' favorite variety of pie.