Cocoa Drop Cookies are an old-fashioned family favorite for the holidays. It has become a tradition at superman cooks to post a favorite Christmas cookie recipe each year. As much as I am fond of this tradition, each year I agonize over which cookie to select. What’s more, I agonize over the baking process involved. Thankfully (after careful scrutiny), Keith and I selected and a surprisingly simple, yet incredibly tasty Cocoa Drop Cookie this year. It is a very old recipe family, handed down from generation to generation, and we quickly discovered why it is a family favorite.
Baking Christmas cookies with my mother is one of my most cherished memories. From about the time I could stand up straight, I was propped up on a chair that reached the counter and taught to mix and roll out dough, cut out cookies, and decorate them. Our family Christmas gatherings always include plates full of different Christmas cookies, and each of us has her favorite. We even have a family Christmas Cookie cookbook, thanks to my incredible aunt, who took the time and patience to pull all the recipes together.
These Cocoa Drop Cookies are credited to my grandmother. She passed away when I was young, so my earliest memories of these cookies were of my grandfather making them. As a kid, I always reached past them, as they paled in comparison to the colorful selections on the plate. But as an adult, I have learned to appreciate them in a whole new way. They are deliciously chocolatey and soft, not too sweet, like most modern chocolate sweets. They have the consistency of cake, rounded out by the texture of the pecans. It really is difficult to eat just one! Most importantly, they are so easy to make. One bite and it is easy to understand why this recipe has stood the test of time.