Double Chocolate Brownies

...or maybe better know as "Not-to-be-Forgotten Brownies"

Unlike your favorite piece of clothing, good recipes can't be worn out. Good thing--otherwise this one would have been in shreds by now! My sister-in-law passed this one along to me, and I can't tell you how many times I've made these brownies. Just a heads up--I have always doubled this recipe and baked it in a 9 x 13 as it's noted at the bottom.

Melt over medium heat in saucepan until barely starting to boil. Then remove from heat:
1/3 cup butter
¾ cup sugar
2 TBSP water

Add to butter mixture. Mix until smooth:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Beat into chocolate mixture:
2 eggs
(Pour some of the mixture into the eggs first them pour the eggs into the rest of the chocolate…so the eggs don’t start to cook from the heat.)

Add to chocolate mixture and let cool:
¾ cup flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

Okay, just to let you know that you SHOULDN'T skip this cooling part. I've done that in a hurry and ended up with a gloppy mess of brownies. You want to be able to tell that there are defined chips in there!

Add to cooled chocolate mixture:
1 cup Ghiradelli Double Chocolate chips or the Ghiradelli bittersweet chips (60% cocoa)
½ cup chopped nuts, if desired

Grease an 8” or 9” square pan. Pour in batter and bake at 350 degrees for ~ 30 min.
OR
Double recipe and bake in 9” x 13” pan for 35-40 minutes

You don't want to overbake! If the edges are pulling away from the sides of the pan, but the middle still looks a bit gooey, take them out!

NOTE to DARK CHOCOLATE LOVERS: I've tried to make this recipe even more chocolatey by using bittersweet chocolate throughout the entire recipe. Don't do this as it just turns out too dry. If you really feel the need to do this, you'll have to figure out how much more butter you'll need to compensate for the lack of moisture.

Mocha Truffle Cookies

Another good recipe snatched up from one of my sisters-in-law. Thanks, Ellen! I first tasted these decadent cookies when she made them for Joe's grad school graduation party in May of 2001. You just can't go wrong with chocolate and coffee!

½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 TBSP instant coffee crystals (I use decaf)
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 slightly beaten eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks (I use bittersweet)

Melt butter or margarine and the ½ cup chocolate chips in a large saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in coffee crystals; cool 5 minutes. Stir in granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium missing bowl. Stir into coffee mixture. Stir in the 1 cup chocolate pieces.

Roll rounded teaspoon of dough in your hands and place 2 inches apart onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, flatten dough slightly. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Let cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

Makes 48