A week ago, my mom and sister spent the weekend at my apartment. While they were here we baked about ten different recipes, some to send as care packages for friends and family and some we made just for us. Among the products we made were two great desserts made with chocolate, that I thought I’d share with you.

The first one we made was an old favorite, chocolate brownies. A specialty of my mom’s. This is an easy recipe that comes on the back of Baker’s chocolate boxes, all you need to do is to microwave butter and chocolate together until melted and stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour. We normally then bake our brownies in a 13×9 in. pan, but since we had cute Valentine’s Day mini baking cups (from Sur La Table) we decided to make brownie bites-which are a perfect poppable size. Since we changed the brownie size, it is important to keep an eye on these guys since they are much smaller, it took 10-15 min. in my oven to bake. Once cooled, we then packed them in small clear bags for care packages.

My sister is responsible for finding the recipe for Tyler Florence’s chocolate banana bread. The combination of cocoa powder, melted bittersweet chocolate, and bananas makes this my favorite banana bread recipe. Since we were giving these loaves away we baked them in four mini loaf paper molds that we also found at Sur La Table. This bread baked up beautifully, with a crackly rustic top. When the loaves cooled we wrapped them in plastic wrap and packed them in clear plastic bags to keep them as fresh as possible.

The weekend spent with my mom and sister was one of the best weekends I’ve had at my apartment. It was amazing how much we accomplished, it was so much fun! I hope you try these recipes, especially if you like chocolate!

Baker’s One Bowl Brownies

4 squares BAKER’S Unsweetened Chocolate

3/4 cup  (1-1/2 sticks) butter

2 cups sugar

3   eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup  flour

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil. (Or line muffin tin with baking cups)

MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.

BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature. (Bake 10-15 if using mini muffin pan)

Chocolate Banana Bread (Tyler Florence)
Makes 1 loaf (or 4 mini loaves)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 large eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter until lightened, then beat in the chocolate, eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients just until combined; do not overbeat.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake until a toothpick stuck into the center of the bread comes out almost clean, 50 to 60 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 15 minutes before unmolding.