If you ask my family for a chocolate chip cookie, there is a pretty good chance someone is going to ask, “Are you making Memaw Cookies?”

Because in our family, they aren’t really called chocolate chip cookies anymore. They’re just Memaw Cookies.

My mother-in-law’s name is Margaret, but honestly, I had to stop and think about that for a second because I don’t think anyone actually calls her Margaret. Everyone calls her Memaw.

Well… almost everyone.

My dad liked to mess with her and would call her Maggie, Mildred, or pretty much any other M-name he could come up with. 😂 And because Margaret had my husband later in life, there were also plenty of times when someone would hear us call her Memaw and assume she was actually his grandmother.

She isn’t. She’s my husband’s mom.

The whole Memaw thing started when my husband became a dad. When his daughter was born, he started calling his mom Memaw. My sister-in-law and her kids call her Grandma, so depending on which side of the family you’re talking about, she has both names.

But in our house—and with most of the people who know her—she’s Memaw.

And Memaw makes some pretty good cookies.

These cookies actually have a little history with me.

Mark and I went on our first date on July 25, 2009. He was living in Kentucky at the time and was home for the weekend. The following weekend, his sister had a party and Mark invited me.

And apparently, he decided I needed to be properly introduced to the family.

He had his mom make me a three-tier chocolate chip cookie cake.

Not just any chocolate chip cookie cake, either. She used her chocolate chip cookie recipe.

So one of my first real introductions to Mark’s family came in the form of a giant chocolate chip cookie.

Honestly, that’s a pretty good first impression.

So what makes Memaw’s cookies different?

According to Memaw, it’s the vanilla pudding.

She uses vanilla pudding in the recipe, which helps make the cookies soft. Of course, my grandmother did the same thing, so I’m not entirely convinced that the pudding is some kind of secret family magic.

But there’s something about Memaw’s cookies.

I’ve made this recipe myself. I follow the directions. I measure everything.

And mine still don’t quite turn out like hers.

Memaw measures her cookies with a teaspoon from the silverware drawer.

I, on the other hand, have a perfectly good cookie scoop because apparently I like to make things more complicated than necessary.

Her cookies come out smaller and taller.

Mine come out… well, they come out like mine.

When I asked her about it, she basically told me the difference was that she uses spoons.

Of course it is.

These aren’t just cookies anymore.

Memaw makes cookies when people request them, and people request them a lot.

If we’re headed to a gathering, whether it’s with family, friends, horses, SCUBA buddies, or just about anybody else who has been lucky enough to eat them, there’s a pretty good chance someone is going to ask if Memaw is bringing cookies.

Sometimes one batch isn’t enough.

She’ll make multiple batches because that’s just what happens when everyone knows about Memaw Cookies.

My stepdaughter asks for them often. Addison likes them too, although I wouldn’t say they’re her favorite cookie in the entire world.

But I think that’s the thing about family recipes.

They aren’t always about whether something is technically the best cookie you’ve ever eaten.

Sometimes they’re about who made them.

Who taught you to make them.

Who asked for them.

And the memories that somehow get baked right along with the chocolate chips.

So naturally, I’m putting them to the test.

I’m currently in the middle of a little chocolate chip cookie experiment.

I’m making several different chocolate chip cookie recipes and putting them up against each other in a blind taste test. Nobody gets to know which recipe is which. They just get to eat cookies and decide which ones they like best.

And yes, Memaw’s cookies are one of the contenders.

I’m genuinely curious to see how they do.

Because when you’ve eaten a cookie your whole life—or in my case, for the better part of 17 years—it’s hard to separate the cookie from the memories attached to it.

And this year, that feels a little more important.

Memaw turns 80 years old Today.

Eighty years is a lot of birthdays, a lot of cookies, a lot of family gatherings, and a whole lot of memories.

And I don’t know if I’ll ever figure out exactly why hers taste a little different when I make the exact same recipe.

Maybe it’s the pudding.

Maybe it’s the teaspoon.

Maybe it’s just Memaw.

Whatever it is, I’m pretty sure you can’t write that part down on a recipe card.

So, Happy 80th Birthday, Memaw.

Thank you for the cookies, the cookie cakes, and all the memories associated with them.

And now… let’s see how your cookies do against the competition. ❤️🍪