As I begin a new Amish series of squeaky-clean romances, the kind Beverly Lewis and Cindy Woodsmall have so successfully published, I delve into the secrets and temptations and human inclinations that my characters try to hide from God…the sides of our souls that scurry from the light. Envy, greed, unforgiving hearts, succumbing to temptation…we’re all in there! Our dark sides are never out of reach, really, and my characters in Willow Ridge will strive to admit and reconcile these tendencies.

But sometimes…we feed our temptations, don’t we?! Like this morning, when I rifled through my recipe box looking for something healthy and saw a cookie recipe instead!
And rather than moralize or delve any further into the human condition, I’ll simply say: DARK CHOCOLATE. It’s all you really need to know about heavenly decadence.

Here’s a recipe I revamped, that would delight my Amish baking ladies. Devour a couple of these sinfully delicious dark-on-dark cookies and I’m guessing you’ll see the light (or you’ll just keep snarfing them and think “Hey–temptation! Is that a BAD thing?!”

DARK-ON-DARK COOKIES

1 ¼ C. butter or margarine, softened
2 C. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
¾ C. Hershey Special Dark cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 bag Hershey Special Dark chocolate chips.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter/margarine and sugar, then blend in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients and mix into the dough, adding the chocolate chips last. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased/parchment papered baking sheets and bake 8-9 minutes. Cookies will be soft and puffy. Allow to cool on the sheets about a minute, until they settle around the chips, and then cool on a rack. About 5 dozen.