Recipe: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ah, fall. It's finally cool enough to bake again, and comfy sweaters allow for a few pounds to be gained in the interest of recreational cookery. Here's the recipe for chocolate chip banana bread I've been using for years—really easy to make, maybe 15 minutes of prep and less than an hour of baking. Makes two loaves, for about twenty generous slices.

Photo credit to http://applestoorangesca.wordpress.com/

1 rounded cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
Super-ripe bananas, 4 small or 3 large
2 eggs (cage-free organic if you want to go to heaven)
½ cup whole milk (or if you're like me and never have milk in the house, mix 2:1 half-and-half plus water)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or lemon extract, and swap the chocolate chips for slivered almonds—nom)
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz. package chocolate chips (optional, really, but delicious—also try cranberries, blueberries, raisins, nuts, etc.)

1. Move the rack to the low position and preheat your oven to 350°. Grease the bottoms of 2 loaf pans.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar and butter until smooth. I do it with a fork, but you could use an electric beater, too. If you're a wuss.

3. Add the peeled bananas, eggs, milk, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly.

4. Stir in the flour, salt, baking soda, and chocolate chips (not too thoroughly).

5. Split the batter between the 2 loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick or kebab skewer (or the tip of a sharp steak knife, if you, like me, don't own toothpicks or kebab skewers) stuck in the center comes out clean.

6. Let cool 5 minutes. Run a butter knife along the sides of the pans, to loosen the loaves. Gently turn out the loaves and let them cool under a clean cloth for 30 minutes, then store any extra bread you don't gorge yourself on in an air-tight container or plastic bag.

Recipe: My Unbeatable Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Preheat oven to 325°.

Use a mixer or a strong hand with a fork in it to thoroughly blend:
2 sticks softened butter (definitely not margarine)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup white sugar

Then thoroughly stir in:
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or facsimile)
2 eggs
½ tsp. salt
1 rounded tsp. baking soda

Then stir in by hand:
3 or 4 good quality dark chocolate bars chopped up with a cleaver into small chunks, about 14 oz. (personally I like using ¾ of a Trader Joe's Pound Plus 72% dark chocolate bar, in the red wrapper)
2¾ cups white flour

Drop onto cookie sheet in cotton ball-sized blobs…I usually get about a dozen on a standard sheet. Bake for about 6–8 minutes, or until just golden brown. Remove from sheet once cool and store in an air-tight container. Any unused dough can be frozen for later, or used to bribe loved ones into demeaning themselves for your amusement.