THE ROAD TAKEN : Covid Cafe: The Chocolate Cure

Good day from Covid Cafe. Have we been driven to chocolatey distraction on this, the 97th day of a virus-filled March?

Katharine Hepburn's brownies

Rob just made this batch in his Chicago kitchen, remarking that the note on this recipe says it all: "Much like its author, this recipe is a no-fuss classic. It calls for just 1/4 cup of flour, which yields an incredibly rich and gooey brownie, and it's super easy to make.”

½ cup cocoa
½ cup butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 cup chopped or broken-up walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Melt butter in saucepan with cocoa and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, nuts and salt. Add to the cocoa-butter mixture. Stir until just combined.
Pour into a greased 8 x 8-inch-square pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Do not overbake; the brownies should be gooey. Let cool, then cut into bars.

The lucky recipient is postman Jimmy, with Rob's thanks for staying on the job

Our friend Barb made these brownie cupcakes

Her sister Phyllis says: Along with a nice glass of white wine, they're so much better than all those healthy meals we've been eating. (Salut!)

Keto lava cakes

Don't ever bake like this, with your keyboard half and inch from the ingredients. (I must have been crazed by a chocolate impulse.)

This recipe speaks to my need to occasionally have something chocolate in 75 seconds. Here's the recipe. I'm not a huge fan of the microwave, but in this case...

Crunchy Chip Cookies

Holly has three kinds of cookies in the house, mixed and frozen but not baked, including this recipe, which has chow mein noodles as a secret ingredient. Pre-Covid-19, Holly's plan was to bake and serve all these cookies at two nights of mah jongg, as a thank you gift, and as a new neighbor welcome plate. "When it became clear I would not be using them, I broke down and baked a dozen. Far too easy to devour, so today...baking eight."