‘Soul Food Dessert’

Charleston Chewies get their place at the table

By Jenny Peterson

Charleston Chewies—ooey gooey, buttery, toffee-like brown sugar squares topped with powered sugar—have been a staple dessert for African-American families in the Lowcountry for generations.

Not to be confused with a Charleston Chew, the thick taffy candy, Charleston Chewies are dessert squares baked in a 9x13 pan, barely an inch tall, resembling brownies in size and shape only. Traditional Charleston Chewies more closely represent a blondie, with no chocolate or cocoa powder in the recipe.

Unlike blondies, however, traditional chewies include pecans or walnuts folded into the batter for a satisfying crunch. They are always topped with a generous amount of powdered sugar that clings to the top of the soft, dense treat.

In the cookbook Gullah Geechie Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island, esteemed chef and author Emily Meggett writes in the headnote, “Chewies have been in the Gullah Geeche community for generations.”

While the dessert doesn’t have a lot of documented history, stories from local Black pastry chefs who regularly bake the desserts say chewies likely became popular due to the recipe’s use of humble ingredients—staples many already had in the home. All you need is brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, butter, vanilla extract and nuts, most commonly pecans or walnuts.

“We don't have to make a special trip to grocery store to make them. Basically, it’s the stuff that ordinary people already have in their pantry or in their kitchen,” said Christie Wheeler, pastry chef and owner of Take A Bite Desserts.

The basic chewie recipe calls for melting butter in a saucepan before stirring in brown sugar until smooth and then removing it from the heat to cool slightly. Stir in eggs, vanilla extract and nuts pecans or walnuts, traditionally along with self-rising flour and give it a good mix before spreading it on a baking dish. Cook for 40 minutes at 350 degrees if using a baking pan and be sure to pull out while it’s still a little doughy in the middle. Let cool completely before sprinkling powdered sugar over the top, then cut into squares and serve.

“It's a soul food dessert,” said Nate Brown, who with his wife Chasity Brown co-owns Daddy's Girls Bakery, located in North Charleston on a colorful block on Reynolds Avenue dotted with public art murals. “They’re as traditional as red rice, benne seed wafers or pound cake.”

Made With Love

Like all cultural passed-down recipes, each baker has their own version, tweaked to taste like the chewies from their childhood, or the version they first fell in love with. A recipe posted on the Food Network has been adapted to add almond extract; Wheeler said she once became suspicious when a baker revealed she makes chewies using coconut oil.

As Nate notes, "Not everybody's chewies come out the same."

Chasity grew up in Charleston with chewies always on the table, a treasured dessert as ubiquitous at family gatherings as banana pudding for Southern families. She adapted the recipe from her aunt and began baking full-time in 2016, initially selling chewies at local barbershops and salons in the area. The couple opened Daddy’s Girls Bakery in 2021, naming the business after their twin daughters.

Entering the bakery, you can see Nate in the kitchen behind a large glass window baking up the chewies and other treats each day. The case has many types of chewies sold by the dozen, half pan or full pan along with cookies, cupcakes and homemade vanilla ice cream with chewies folded in—a must try that the team plated up at this year’s Charleston Wine + Food’s Festival's “The Lowcountry High Life” event.

Wheeler had a more unusual introduction to chewies. The Ridgeville, South Carolina native didn’t grow up with them on the family table, rather, she discovered chewies when she was working at the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company on Meeting Street downtown and a customer, “Mr. John,” would bring a batch to the employees to show his appreciation.

“He came into the office on a Monday with a box of chewies that he brought for all the ladies there and I fell in love. He would bring them in once a month,” Wheeler said.

She spent time tweaking and adapting the basic recipe to recreate “Mr. John’s” signature chewies, a laborious multi-step process that included taste testing them with fellow employees.

“A lot of people bake theirs at 325 or 350 degrees, but I like it slow. I bake mine at 300 degrees,” said Wheeler, who started baking full-time in 2009 and runs her catering business out of Goose Creek. Wheeler maintains that the lower temperature turns out a more “gooey” chewie. She also uses salted butter and takes an extra step to toast pecans. “My other signature is that I bake mine in a brownie pan,” she said.

The sweet treat has been steadily gaining more recognition, with chewies being featured at booths at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival's Culinary Village, the Black Truck Food Festival and recent event hosted by The Center for Heirs' Property Preservation. For larger catering events, the pastry chefs often forgo nuts to appeal to a wider range and to those with nut allergies. Daddy’s Girls Bakery has a weekly booth at the Charleston Farmer’s Market in Marion Square, selling several types of chewies.

Both bakeries cater a large number of weddings and other events throughout the year, with the holidays season a busy time as people look to bring the traditional Gullah dessert to parties and to the table.

“The size of the chewies is very shareable—you don’t need a knife or a plate, it’s just like finger food,” Chasity said. They’re also affordable; at Daddy’s Girls Bakery, a dozen Charleston Chewies runs about $10.

A Spin on Tradition

The beauty of the chewies is that they are fully customizable with an already decadent base. Wheeler said specialty chewies she’s created for weddings have included snickerdoodles with cinnamon added to the batter; a red velvet version and many toppings folded in, like M&Ms, Snickers and toffee pieces.

Daddy’s Girls Bakery offers a “chewie” cheesecake, pound cake and chewie ice cream, available daily at their bakery. “We’ve even fried the chewie before,” Chasity said. While Emily Meggett writes in her cookbook that she didn’t personally grow up making chewies, her granddaughter became a fan and crafted the recipe that is included in the book. The headnote mentions that it requires a bit of “elbow grease.”

“But the sweet, sweet payoff is well worth the energy,” Meggett writes.

Daddy’s Girls Bakery is located at 2021B Reynolds Ave., Suite 102, open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for grab-and-go items. They are also at the Charleston Farmer’s Market Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Marion Square.

Take A Bite Desserts offers catering. Reach Christie Wheeler at 843-530-9803, takeabitedesserts@icloud.com and www.takeabitedesserts.com

Other bakeries offering traditional chewies include Bert & T’s Desserts (a featured participant at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival) and Charleston Chewies, LLC.