My friends, sometimes coffee is not enough. Sometimes you must start the day with more than one shade of brown.

Just a little something. And at the end of the day, maybe a little something again?

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Chocolate Breakfast Muffins

makes 12 full-sized muffins (or 24 minis)

2/3 cup (2 oz.) cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (6 oz.) chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1 cups (8 oz.) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons vinegar
8 tablespoons (one 4-oz. stick) butter or margarine, melted

granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and vinegar. Add this egg mixture, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend until just well-combined.

Scoop the batter into 12 papered muffin cups (or 24 minis). Sprinkle with an even layer of granulated sugar. Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Watch muffins closely – they can slightly burn around edges if overbaked. Remove the muffins from oven.

Allow to cool about 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.

adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

So I’ve been doing a little visiting baker-in-residence act in my mom’s Chicago kitchen. It’s day three of my visit, and the counter resembles a carb paradise: flaky cinnamon twists, apple danish braid, apricot rugelach and, well, a little chocolate fudge.

Why fudge? I spotted a can of sweetened condensed milk in the pantry, and never met an Elsie Borden I didn’t like.

And because we also needed a little something around for breakfast, I made:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

You will need nicely seasoned muffin pans,

my Grandma Edna’s green tray that I totally covet and my mother won’t give up,

and one hungry dad at the breakfast table.

Eat them warm. You go! Wrap yourself in that chocolate banana blanket.

Happy Weekend!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup ripe mashed bananas
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

recipe adapted from Allrecipes