Thick and Chewy Double chocolate cookies

Thick and Chewy Double-Chocolate Cookies
Adapted slightly from The New Best Recipe
**Resist the urge to bake the cookies longer than indicated; they may appear underbaked at first but will firm up as they cool.**
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 ½ ounces) baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (or melt the equivalent of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 ½ cups (10 ½ ounces) packed light brown sugar
½ cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.Melt the chocolate in the microwave (50% power for 2 minutes, then stir and microwave in 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted - be careful not to overheat or chocolate will sieze).

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork; set aside.Beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will look granular. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Finally add the chocolate chips. Do not overbeat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners (this is pretty important - if the cookies are baked on a greased baking sheet only, they will probably stick). Roll the dough into 1 ½ inch balls and place them on the cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart.Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft, about 10-11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets about 5 minutes or until set and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

From: My Kitchen Cafe blog

Mini Banana Cupcakes with Nutella (picture to come later...)

Mini Banana Cupcakes (Muffins) with a Nutella Swirl

Adapted from EveryDay Food and Spork or Foon
· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
· 3/4 cup sugar
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
· 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
· 2 large eggs
· 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
· Jar of Nutella
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
3. With a toothpick swirl in the Nutella, about a ½ teaspoon each.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

From Two Peas and Their Pod blog (yum!)