Taste the Story:

Miss Pat’s Shortbread Cookies

By: Ari Mathe of Hall is Home for Kids

“I first learned this recipe from a woman who died of Covid in 2020. She was super careful, but she was in her late seventies early eighties, and she got very sick. She was our Mrs. Claus who made literally hundreds of cookies by hand for our 2019 party for foster families in North Georgia. And she was dressed as Mrs. Claus. She made best friends with all the Phi Mus from UNG that came to volunteer. Her name was Miss Pat.

She taught my daughter how to make these cookies when she was just five in her kitchen. She was like an extra grandparent to my kids and she didn’t have any grandkids. So my kids were her grandkids. She instilled a love of baking in my daughter that is still present and she bakes prolifically now, thanks to the time that Pat took to be with her. Pat was in her seventies, late seventies when we met. She still volunteered and she gave; her work with Hall is Home was just the tip of the iceberg on the things she did everywhere – making a huge difference, being loving and caring and having this high pitch laugh that was infectious.

I still miss her so much. But she showed me that anybody can give, anybody can use what they do well and they can make a huge difference. She always downplayed her impact, but she taught everyone around her that if you do anything with love, it makes a difference. And so, we’re gonna miss her a lot this year. But I’m glad that we will always be able to continue to carry forward her cookies and our stories and our memories. So that if people get a chance to make Pat’s recipe, I hope that they’ll remember that, this is a super easy recipe – on purpose – so that anybody can do it. She could make the most elaborate beautiful things, but this is what she taught – it doesn’t have to be elaborate. It can be easy, it can be little to you, but it is very, very big to the world.” – Ari Mathe

Listen to the full interview here.

Taste the Story: A Wayfind Collective Podcast Special Segment.