LAKELAND — Jaime and Ammy Gibbons have a passion for cooking and teaching their sons, Mikey, 5, and Ethan, 3, to cook.

“The kitchen is a great place to make memories with children,” Ammy said. “And they learn so many lessons, like how to measure, how to clean up your own mess, and patience all while they are having fun. My boys fight over who gets to help make pancakes in the morning or brownies that night.”

Ammy learned culinary skills at an early age herself.

“I remember being 10 years old and my mom had me in cake decorating lessons (which I loved), and I was always helping other people make cookies,” she recalled.

Her cooking ability is a legacy of her relatives.

“There are so many amazing cooks in my family,” she said. “My mom (Margaret Northcutt of Lakeland) has the best red velvet cake; my uncle, Ricky Dollar (of Valdosta), makes a mean prime rib and the best spaghetti sauce in the world; my husband, Jaime, makes a chocolate bourbon pecan pie that is requested every Thanksgiving.”

The former Ammy Alderman was born in Hahira and grew up in Valdosta. She graduated from Lowndes High School and studied interior design at Valdosta State University. Husband Michael J. “Jaime” Gibbons was born and raised in Fitzgerald, and he is with Farmers and Merchants Bank in Lakeland.

“My husband and I lived in Athens for six years; then we moved back to start a family. … We live in Lakeland, Ga., now, and it is a wonderful place to raise children.”

In their home, she and her husband try to make everything from scratch and mostly organic.

“We use organic ingredients because they taste better, and you feel better after eating them,” Ammy said. “For instance, the dishes I have included today are Mikey’s favorite Chocolate Cake which is completely organic, and a Rum Key Lime Pie which is not organic, but is fun and easy to make. I included the key lime pie because it is a favorite with the adults. And I am always having a request for the chocolate cake, especially around the holidays.”

Ammy also added Jaime’s Bourbon Pecan Pie recipe, which makes two pies.

“He never measures anything, so it was funny watching him measure everything so I could write it down,” she said.

Chocolate Cake

2 cups organic sugar

1 3/4 cup organic all-purpose flour

3/4 cup organic cocoa (Equal Exchange cocoa is my favorite)

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 organic eggs

1 cup organic whole milk

1/2 cup of oil (vegetable or grape seed oil)

2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.

Beat on medium speed for two minutes. Stir in boiling water. Pour into two pans that have been buttered and dusted with cocoa. Bake for 33 minutes on 350 degrees. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting.

I like Hershey’s chocolate frosting recipe:

1 stick butter

2/3 cup cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla.

Rum Key Lime Pie

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lime juice

1 teaspoon rum

Crust:

14 cream-filled vanilla sandwich cookies, finely crushed

6 Tablespoons melted butter

For the crust, combine cookies and butter, and press into a 9-inch pie plate.

Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Filling:

Beat cream cheese and milk with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add lime juice and rum stirring to combine. Pour filling into crust. Combine and chill at least 12 hours.

Jaime’s Bourbon Pecan Pie

2 (9-inch) frozen pie crusts

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cups corn syrup

dash of salt

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

5 eggs

semi-sweet chocolate chips, enough to fill bottom of each pie shell

2 Tablespoons bourbon

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine salt, sugars, syrup, butter, eggs, vanilla, and bourbon in large mixing bowl. Blend well. Place chocolate chips in bottom of each pie shell.

Add chopped pecans on top of chocolate chips. Pour mixture over the pecans until almost full.

Place both pies on a large cookie sheet.

Cook for about 45 minutes, until mixture thickens.