In undgraduate school at USM in Hattiesburg, MS, I worked for Lewis and Carolyn Hitt at The Frame Market on Hardy Street. With aspirations of becoming a chef at one time, I was enrolled for about a year in my university’s hotel and restaurant administration program. So, while the topics of conversation at work ran the gamut–the Hitts were so bright, funny, compassionate and informed–they often included food.

One day, Lewis and Carolyn came to work with the most astonishing chocolate cookies that a friend of theirs had made. The cookies were deep, dark, rich and, best of all, chewy. Lewis, especially, took great pleasure the rest of the day in teasing me by saying that they couldn’t give me the recipe as it was their friend, Theresa Ball’s, “secret family recipe.”

Ultimately they did share the recipe which didn’t include eggs–hence the chewiness over cakiness–so all I had to do was replace the butter with vegan butter and the condensed milk with the substitute that I devised not so very long ago: Cream of Coconut. (To date, it has worked brilliantly in any vegan recipe calling for condensed milk by not noticeably changing the texture or flavor of the end result.) I also like to make these cookies with white whole wheat flour for a tiny “+” in the health-conscious column.

The original recipe calls only for chopped nuts as the “mix-in.” But I’ve made them with combinations of additional vegan semi-sweet, dark or white chocolate chips; Oreo pieces; and dried cranberries. It seems practically not to matter what quantity you add as long as they are well distributed and there is more dough than mix-ins.

So, Theresa, I hope I’m not divulging any family secrets. But if I am, I trust you will forgive me, as these cookie are too special to keep to oneself.

1/2 cup vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
12 ounces vegan chocolate chips
14 ounces Cream of Coconut (not coconut milk), or about 1 1/4 cups
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts
1-1 1/2 cups unbleached white whole wheat flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
1 cup chopped nuts
Optional: 1/2 to 1 cup of additional mix-ins such as more vegan chocolate chips, vegan white chocolate chips, Oreo Cookie pieces (they are vegan!), dried cranberries, or some combination

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a baking sheet(s) or line with Silpat. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate chips together. Remove from heat and stir in Cream of Coconut until well combined. Cool mixture for a few minutes and then stir in remaining ingredients in the order listed, adding any optional mix-ins with, or in place of, the nuts. The dough should be somewhat stiff and usually requires the larger amount of flour. Using a small scoop, deposit equal-sized mounds of dough about two inches apart in offset rows. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until they have achieved the degree of “done-ness” you prefer. If using two baking sheets, rotate halfway through baking time. Cool for a few minutes on sheets and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.