There were a few things we KNEW we wanted when we decided there would be an MLK Cookie this year:
1. We wanted it to be Black. Literally. Because Dr. King championed a harmonious racial future in which we honor and celebrate the racial and ethnic heritage of each human person, not a harmony birthed by feigning colorblindness.
2. We wanted the cookie to teach you a real thing about Martin King the person. Something like, “his favorite dessert was pecan pie.” It was. He was a REAL PERSON. A guy who liked things. Somebody’s friend. Somebody’s daddy. Somebody’s husband. He liked pecan pie.
3. We wanted the cookie to contain a nod to Coretta Scott King. Because there is no Martin without her. The work happened with her and because of her. The celebration happens because she determined in her heart that there would not be a square inch of Earth where the loss of her beloved was in vain.
So we began with the concept of a Southern Tea Cake, somewhat of a cross between a shortbread and a biscuit. We added Black, plain and dutched cocoa. And then we realized this tea cake wanted to be a brownie bar. And a brownie bar is the perfect place for the candied pecans from our Georgia on My Mind Cookie. And then, through internet sauntering, we learned of a rose variety named after Sis. Coretta Scott King.
And so was beauty born. A bar of layered chocolate brownie and candied pecans. An homage to pecan pie and Blackness that would put the best Texas granny’s German Chocolate Cake to shame. It is studded with a coral and white rose candy. A perfect touch.
We hope it makes you smile during these difficult days ahead.