Lavonia Ardella Reid's collection of short stories, the other side of home, has a central theme: family. And when I think of family desserts, I think of chocolate chip cookies. But these stories aren't your average snapshots of family life. They're darker. They're uncomfortable. They're raw. 

I can make chocolate cookies darker. I can make them uncomfortable (bare with me). And I can make them look raw while they're fully cooked.

I can make red velvet chocolate chip cookie cups.

The chocolate and red food coloring make the cookies nice and dark. When you press the cookies down after they come out of the oven, they're a blood red color and look like they may still be raw (they aren't).

And the uncomfortable part? Well, biting straight into a scoop of ice cream isn't the most comfortable thing to do, but it's definitely worth it.

I decided to ask Lavonia a few questions before I began baking. (Check her out on Facebook (Lavonia Reid (Author)!)

M: What would you say was the hardest part of creating this book?

LAR: The hardest part was finding/ creating the right image for the cover. The majority of the writing happened during the winter break [of the final year of grad school], and the majority of that was in January. That's why I think most of the stories have a centered theme about family life. I wanted to find a way to represent it.

M: Your dedication definitely fits. You show, not just home, but family life as a "condition," as something that can be incredibly uncomfortable. Is there a story who's family dynamic really speaks to you or really stands apart from the others?

LAR: Honestly, no. Each story has a family dynamic to it that seems like it could happen to any family. My favorite, I would say, is "heritage." It originally started out as a modern re-telling of "Red Riding Hood."

M: Are any of your other stories inspired by fairy tales?

LAR: No. None of the other stories are.

M: Have you thought about writing more modern day fairy tales, or expanding on "heritage?"

LAR: After completing this collection of short stories, I decided to take a year away from writing. I'm just now beginning to write again, and, so far, I have no plans on expanding the short stories in the other side of home, or writing any new fairy tales.

M: What are you working on now?

LAR: I'm currently free writing story lines for a novel.

M: Any specific genre, or anything that seems promising?

LAR: Not yet.

M: In the story "heritage," there is a lot of information about old houses and everything that goes in to reviving them-- do you do a lot of research before writing, or did you know a lot about that already?

LAR: I do a fair amount of research, though I can't remember how many days it took to gather it all.

M: Okay, last question. What kind of ice cream do you like with cookies? I know you usually get a lactose-free type of ice cream.

LAR: I don't normally mix cookies with ice cream. I don't know. I trust your judgement.

And now, on to the recipe!

Cookies!

-1 1/2 c  all purpose flour + 1 tbsp

-1/4 c  unsweetened cocoa powder

-1 tsp  baking soda

-1/4 tsp  salt

-1/2 c  unsalted butter (room temperature)

-3/4 c  light brown sugar (packed)

-1/4 c  white sugar

-1 egg

-1 tbsp  milk

-3 tsp  vanilla extract

-2 tbsp  red food coloring

-1 1/2 c  semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together.

2. Add the vanilla and egg.

3. Mix in the cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.

4. Add the milk and red food coloring.

5. Mix in the flour a little at a time.

6. Stir in the chocolate chips.

7. Using a spoon, drop some of the batter into a mini-cupcake pan. It should look like this.

         8. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. 

                 -You don't want the cookies to be hard when you take them out! The first reason is because you have to make your little indent to turn the cookie into a cup, so it should still be soft. The second reason you shouldn't cook them until they're hard is because you need to leave them in the pan for a little bit to cool, which means they'll continue cooking.

       9. Take them out of the oven and take a spoon. While they're still warm, you want to press on the center of the cookie to create a little bowl, as shown in the picture near the top of the page.

      10. Let the cookies cool! I gave mine about 10 minutes. If you try to take them out too early, they'll break. When you take them out, you should be able to just grab the sides and gently wiggle them free.

      11. Choose an ice cream to fill your cookie with (I chose chocolate and coconut), and make tiny scoops to fit into your little cups.

Take a bite and enjoy the slightly uncomfortable, but definitely delicious, ice cream-filled, red velvet chocolate chip cookie cups.