Thank you for your emails, some of you were right-some of you were close- Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the full moon after the first day of Spring. If the full moon is ON the first day of Spring, then it’s held the Sunday after. However, before Easter Sunday-we have Valentine’s Day. I had several of you ask about some chocolate recipes to impress your family with. Here are a couple of our favorites.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup softened butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in one egg until completely incorporated. Beat in the last egg along with the vanilla. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Drop by heaped teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden, 9 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions: In the microwave or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and the butter stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, whip eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and the chocolate mixture until well mixed. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually stir into the chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Cover dough and chill for at least an hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll chilled dough into 1 inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets so they are 2 inches apart.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Happy Valentine’s day! Won’t you be my Valentine?
I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you with any suggestions or recipes you like. I can be reached at susieqcooking@ainop.com or c/o Pioneer Times, PO Box 456, Houlton, Maine 04730. See you next week!
