Hello Lovely Friends!  Well, there is so much to talk about that I don’t know where to start.  So, I think that I will just talk about the yummy recipe that I want to share with you today rather than my ridiculous life.  Here goes. 

Who else has been lucky enough to have potlucks as part of your past or current existence?  I spent many, many, many an evening at political potlucks as I was growing up.  My dad was a party chairman in our county and a local politician for most of my childhood.  One of the best parts of that was going to the monthly potlucks.  It is not a fable that little old ladies can cook up magical food.  I have had the privilege to sample some of the best of midwestern cooking and baking.  As my boys were growing up, my husband was also a local politician and they got to experience this phenomenon themselves…and they loved it.  Nevermind that we had to sit quietly and listen to the speeches and obligatory meeting minutes etc.  We got to eat the best food and it was worth it.   

The recipe that I want to share today is reminiscent of one of the greatest (in my opinion) potluck desserts of all time….Texas Cake.  I adore Texas Cake.  I do not make it often and I have no reason for that.  Most people would say that it makes such a large cake and it is too much for everyday baking.  To that, I say, pssshhhaw.  There is never too much chocolate cake. End of story.  I think that, for me, Texas Cake has a special place at the potluck or family gathering and I don’t want to relegate it to an ordinary dessert.   

This recipe is not for Texas Cake, though.  It is for Texas Cake Cookies!!!!!  They taste just like the cake but in my warped, chocolate-fueled brain, cookies are eminently more simple and homey and comforting.  Cookies are for everyday and not just for special occasions.  I’m weird, I know.   

What makes these cookies so special is the icing so don’t skip it.  I am not a person who loves to frost cookies but this is the exception.  I have iced these with and without the addition of chopped pecans.  Both are wonderful.  To me the pecans are a part of the Texas Cake charm but some people are not into them and that is ok by me too. You may notice that in some of my pictures there are cookies made with and without pecans. I made these for a family gathering and I knew that some of my peeps do not like nuts in their cookies.  Go figure.