chocolate chip banana bread with walnuts

i can't help myself, i love this recipe. it's from america's test kitchen, ultimately fool-proof, and comes out perfect every time. and who doesn't love warm, moist banana bread fresh from the oven? i can literally eat an entire loaf to myself (and not ashamed to say that it's happened on occasion - i have no self control).
do yourself a favor and make this bread. soon.

ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
10 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts; chopped
1 cup bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
1/3 cup plain whole yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions
1. adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. grease all sides of a 9-5-3 inch loaf pan; set aside. mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl, add nuts and chocolate, set aside.
2. mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in a medium bowl. lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick & chunky. scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

serve warm with a little bit of butter, and enjoy :)

s'morgasmic fudge brownies. pure decadence.

oh. my. god. these are the most fudgey, rich, chocolately, peanut-buttery brownies on the face of the planet. if you are in the mood for the ultimate indulgence, this is the only way to go.



ingredients
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped coarse
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped coarse
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 tablespoons dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (topping)
1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips (topping)
mini marshmallows (topping)

directions
1. adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. fold 2 pieces of foil to form a sling over a 9-by-13 inch baking pan. grease bottom and sides with butter.
2. melt bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate, butter, and cocoa powder in microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth. set aside to cool slightly.
3. whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture, then stir in flour until just combined. pour mixture into prepared pan, spread into corners, and level surface with a rubber spatula. bake approximately 20 minutes, then sprinkle semisweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and marshmallows onto top and return to oven.

4. continue baking until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it. cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan in foil sling. i had some issues cutting the brownies, but regardless, they don't need to be in perfectly cut squares to be ridiculously delicious and enjoyable.

and if you think these aren't satisfying enough by themselves, here's another tip: top the brownies with ice cream. my personal favorite is ben & jerry's cookie dough.


yeah, i told you they were good.


(insert moaning here).

mocha chocolate chip muffin bites. heaven.

these muffins are the epitome of the quote: "chocolate, coffee, and men. some things in life are better rich." my kitchen smelled like mocha heaven for several hours afterwards.


ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 tablespoons instant espresso
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole plain yogurt
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions
1. adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. grease a 12-cup muffin tin (i used smaller muffin tins, so the recipe yielded 2 batches).
2. whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder together in a large bowl. in a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt, eggs, and instant espresso together until smooth. gently fold yogurt mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined, then fold in the melted butter. do not overmix the batter.
3. portion the batter into each muffin cup. bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs attached, about 20 to 25 minutes.
4. let the muffins cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

blueberry lemon muffins. scrumptious.

inspired by the beautiful photos on the crepes of wrath (click link for recipe). the raw sugar topping is key and makes for a crunchy, sweet topping. my friends could barely inhale them fast enough, and i only managed to keep one for myself...but that one little muffin was daaaay-um delicious.

white chocolate macadamia cookies. divine.

hands down one of the most fabulous cookies i've made in a very long time.


ingredients
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top of cookies

directions
1. adjust an oven rack to lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
2. in a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.
3. reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined. mix in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until incorporated.

4. working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into even balls and lay them on the baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. sprinkle tops with raw sugar.
5. bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, about 16 minutes. let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

once I got down to the bottom of the bowl, there was barely any dough left, so my last batch was practically all white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. the more, the better.

valentine's day m&m chocolate chip cookies.

i know it's a little early, but i couldn't resist getting in valentine's day spirit with these adorable cookies.

ingredients
2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup valentine's m&m's to stud the dough

directions
1. adjust an oven rack to lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
2. in a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined.
3. reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined. mix in the chips until incorporated.
4. working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into even balls and lay them on the baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. stud the dough with the m&m's :)

5. bake the cookies until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, about 16 minutes. let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

triple chocolate chip cookies. so indulgent.

warning: may cause chocolate-induced coma.


ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant coffee
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
16 oz semisweet chocolate, melted & cooled
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

directions
1. adjust oven racks to upper middle & lower middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in medium bowl. in a small bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla, and instant coffee together until coffee is dissolved.
2. in a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. beat in the egg mixture until incorporated. beat in the melted chocolate.
3. reduce mixer to low and slowly add flour mixture until combined. stir in chips until incorporated. cover bowl of dough with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until consistency is scoopable and fudge-like (about 30 minutes).

4. working with 3 tablespoons of dough, roll into balls and lay on baking sheets about 2 inches apart. bake cookies until edges are set and beginning to brown but centers are still soft & puffy, about 10 to 12 minutes (cookies will look raw between the cracks and seem underdone).
5. let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

dried cherry & pecan banana bread. carbolicious.

damn you, carbs. it's impossible to eat only one slice of this bread. so moist, not too dense, and full of tart cherries and crunchy nuts.

ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
10 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped toasted pecans; chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
1/3 cup plain whole yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions
1. adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. grease all sides of a 9-5-3 inch loaf pan; set aside. combine first five ingredients together in large bowl; set aside.

2. mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in a medium bowl. lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. add pecans and dried cherries and mix until batter looks thick & chunky. scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. serve warm with butter.

chocolate chip biscotti.

crunchy goodness. dip into a steaming mug of hot chocolate with a splash of amaretto for the ultimate biscotti experience.


ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

directions
1. adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. line a baking sheet with parchment paper. whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
2. in a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. beat in eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla until combined.
3. reduce mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined. mix in the chocolate chips until just incorporated.
4. press dough into two 13 by 2-inch loaves on the baking sheet, spaced about 3 inches apart. bake loaves until golden and just beginning to crack on top, about 35 minutes.
5. let loaves cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

6. transfer loaves to a cutting board and slice each on the diagonal into 1/2 inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. lay the slices about 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes, flipping the slices over halfway through baking. transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving, about 1 hour.