With Love From Tennessee

So, my sister-in-law is a dating machine. I'm talking every time I blink this girl gets asked out. How does she do it you ask? I wish I knew her secrets, but I bet it has something to do with the homemade goodies she thinks to send to her man-of-the-moment. LMGI's newest request comes from my dear SIL, who says, "What is something that I can bake to send a guy I am dating (who isn’t Southern) that has to travel to California frequently? It has to travel/mail well and remind him of Tennessee."

What a lucky guy!


Well I thought long and hard about this, and after ruling out a bottle of Jack Daniels (because what kind of message does that send?!), I came up with two homemade goodies perfect for shipping.

This beautiful pile of cookie goodness comes courtesy of one of my favorite recipe mavens, Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks

Heidi's Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies are the perfect gift to send a new dating partner. First of all, who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies? Secondly, not only does the mesquite flour remind you of BBQ and therefore the South/Tennessee, but it also provides that little somethin' somethin' that man-of-the-moment just won't be able to get out of his head. Perfect!

The second recipe I'm going to recommend my SIL include in her box of homemade goodies would be Cooking Light's Spiced Pecans. How delicious do these little gems look? Nothing gets more Southern than pecans, and they are perfect for the traveling man who might need a little snack (read: romantic reminder) while plane hopping.

Mary, hope these recipes serve 'ya well!

Heidi's Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe below)

Cooking Light's Spiced Pecans

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies
From 101 Cookbooks

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1 cup mesquite flour, sifted if clumpy

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp

2 cups natural cane sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips



Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, position racks in the upper half of the oven, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, then beat in the sugar until of a consistency like thick frosting. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next and scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. Stir in the vanilla until evenly incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in 3 increments, stirring between each addition. At this point, you should have moist, uniformly brown dough. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand, mixing only until evenly distributed.

Drop 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on both top and bottom. Don't overbake these; if anything underbake them. Cool on wire racks.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen chunky, medium-large cookies.