Last Thursday, January 12th, a tornado swept through my town of Selma, AL. Our family, home, and business were mostly okay, but the city is another story: trees, bent over and split in half, metal roofs tangled around light poles, whole brick buildings crumbled to the ground, and hundreds left without a livable home. To the human eye, it’s a disaster. 

What I’m believing is this: God is still faithful. The hope, love, service I’ve seen playing out does not come from human ability- it’s the heart of Jesus at work in our community. Minutes after the storm passed, neighbors were checking on neighbors, while others, armed with chainsaws and tractors, cleared roads for linemen and emergency officials. There have been stories of countless miracles, one-in-a-million stories that let me know we weren’t abandoned. Even in our state of total destruction, there are glimpses of peace and moments of laughter that tell me this isn’t where the story ends. 

I’ve decided not to share photos or my personal story of that day, because, frankly, there’s enough of those floating around already. Instead, I’ll tell you what I am standing on now. Psalm 27:13 says, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,” and that is us. God’s provision, goodness, and love is all over our city, and even as we grieve all that has transpired and the steps that are to come, He is working all things for our good. 

How to Help

Many, including local churches and the United Way of Selma, are taking donations, and I’d urge you to consider sharing if you’re interested. In addition, please pray for our community. Pray for resources and hope, for fair insurance adjusters and quality construction workers. Pray for timely removal of the debris piles that are already covering most front lawns and sidewalks. And pray that our community would be transformed, hearts turned and healed, by the love of Jesus. 

Marbled Chocolate Chip Cookies

We had a number of people in and out of our home that first week after the storm, and thankfully, our generator was rocking. With our grocery store closed, we started preparing what we could from the freezer, and I was particularly grateful for these: marbled chocolate chip cookies. Here, two doughs mix and mingle to create a cookie that is part chocolate, part chocolate chip. Truly, they are divine. Let me tell you how to make them.

We start by making the base dough. Butter and sugar come together in a bowl, followed by eggs and vanilla. Next, the dry ingredients, including flour, leavening, and salt, add in. Finally, the dough is split in two with additional flour added to one half and cocoa powder added to the second. Both get a serving of chocolate chips before handfuls of each are balled together and baked. 

These marbled chocolate chip cookies are super fun and even more delicious. Give them a try and let me know what you think! And thank you for your prayers and love for our town. I can’t tell you how valued both are. 

Marbled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Print Recipe

These marbled chocolate chip cookies are chocolate and vanilla cookie doughs swirled together and loaded with chocolate chips!

• Author: Kate Wood
• Prep Time: 10
• Total Time: 120
• Yield: 24
• Category: Dessert

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1–1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups plus ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 1teaspoon baking soda
• 1–1/4 teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups chocolate chips, divided

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape sides of bowl and add eggs and extract. Mix on medium speed just to combine. Add 2 ½ cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until combined  combined into a wet sand, consistent mixture. At this point, divide the dough in half- a scale for accuracy really helps here. To one bowl, add the remaining ¼ cup of flour, stirring on low just until combined. To the other bowl, add the cocoa powder, stirring on low just until combined. Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to each bowl and fold to combine. Use a medium-sized cookie scoop to scoop 1-1/2 tablespoon-sized balls of each kind of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Next, combine a chocolate dough ball with a plain one. I like to split one of the dough balls in half and sandwich the remaining piece of dough in between. Marble the two together, repeating with the remaining dough balls. Cover the baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap. and place in the fridge to firm up, about 2 hours.
2. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet at least 2” apart and bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden and the cookie tops are nearly set, about 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool briefly before sharing.