My Cookie-Baking Superhero

It is no secret that southerners have a long-standing love affair with food. We are certainly not unique in that regard, as there are plenty of other places who herald an intimate relationship with cuisine, but when I call to mind the foods I love most, comfort me the most, they all come from Aunt Mattie's very southern kitchen table (with the single exception of Uncle George's chicken n' dumplins, but she need never know I preferred his over hers). Mattie's biscuits, fresh from the oven, melted in your mouth and her famous Hill gravy was good on almost anything, including the biscuits! Her beef stew, however, made with vegetables she got from her garden still remains my all-time favorite comfort food meal.

I have always had a wicked sweet tooth, so her sweet treats were a shamelessly guilty pleasure...decadent German Chocolate Cake, fresh fruit pies, and classics like Banana Pudding, a summertime staple (although the best part, for me, was always the mushy cookies...I could take or leave the banana). My top dessert choice, however, has always been homemade cookies (okay, maybe it slips a bit over the line of "choice" and into an addiction). When Aunt Mattie knew I was feeling blue, she'd always make me a batch (I promise, I never ate the entire batch all by myself)! The cookies were out of this world delicious, particularly when they were hot and gooey, straight from the oven, but the best part was the love she infused in them, in a way that only she had the ability to do when I was little. She always added a pinch of "it's going to be O.K." and a dash of "you matter to me" in with the butter, sugar and vanilla. She was liberal with chocolate (my personal crack) and "as long as I'm alive, you have a home"...a heady and nostalgic ingredient combination. So many wonderful things packed into bite-sized pieces, I was convinced that she had super powers! When I left home, she gave me an envelope stuffed full of her favorite recipes, faded with time and much use. The cookie recipe below was among them and always brought a smile to my face when she baked them...what's not to like about double-chocolate???!!! I baked a batch today, mimicking the steps I'd seen her go through a hundred times, while she silently watched over me. I don't know what we're doing for dinner, but we've got dessert covered! Cookies at my house, y'all!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 c. (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg (room temperature)
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
2 TBSP. milk
1 c. finely chopped pecans or walnuts
6 oz. chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)

1. Stir together flour and baking soda. Set aside.
2. Cream butter; add vanilla and sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg.
3. At low speed, beat in cocoa, then milk. With a wooden spoon mi\x in flour just until blended.
4. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 12-13 minutes (I did 12 min. 30 sec.). Remove oven and cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet (if you use parchment paper, just slide the whole thing off onto a cooling rack). Makes about 3 dozen.

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