chocolate

• Preheat oven at 375-degrees.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a big mixing bowl, beat butter and cookie butter until completely blended. Add the two sugars. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Use a tablespoon scoop to dole out dough onto a cookie sheet, giving each one room to spread while baking. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until golden, then let them sit on the sheet another 5 to 10 minutes to set. Transfer to rack to completely cool.
• Store in a sealed container at room temperature. They will keep well for up to 3 days.

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• Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Cut a piece of parchment to fit inside a 9-inch round cake pan. Apply nonstick spray in pan, place parchment, then spray parchment as well. Set aside.

Make brownie batter

• Melt together the chocolate and butter either in a double boiler on the stove or in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until everything is mixed and smooth. Stir in sugar. Set aside to cool for a few minutes before mixing in the eggs and vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into chocolate mixture just until combined. Set aside.

Make snickerdoodle dough

• Beat together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy; in a stand mixer, this will be at about 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl a few times. Add the egg and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into butter mixture. Dough will be quite thick.

Assemble the cake

• Spoon large dollops (about 3 tablespoons each) of brownie batter into bottom of the prepared pan, leaving space between each lump. Crumble dollops of snickerdoodle dough in between brownie batter. Top with any more scoops of brownie batter and snickerdoodle dough. Gently use fingers to even out top.
• Bake until the middle passes the toothpick test, 33 to 40 minutes.

Make topping

• Stir together cinnamon and sugar. As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, sprinkle the mixture across the top.
• Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting in. Cake can be served warm or at room temperature. It can also be frozen in slices and thawed for later enjoyment.

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• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together 4 cups flour, white sugar, yeast, and salt.
• Using a saucepan or the microwave, heat 1 cup water and 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter until it is 120 to 130-degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Pour the water mixture into the flour mixture. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add one egg and egg yolk, and beat for another 2 minutes. Beat in a 1/4 to 1/2 cup more flour until a soft, sticky dough forms.
• Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at low speed until dough is soft, smooth, and elastic, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add nonstick spray to a large bowl. Shape dough into a smooth ball, and place in bowl. Roll it briefly to coat in oil. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Use nonstick spray on a 12-cup muffin pan.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 Tablespoon butter. Add to it the cookie butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla, stirring until smooth.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into roughly a 20x12-inch rectangle. Spread cookie butter mixture onto dough. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Fold rectangle crosswise into thirds as if folding a sheet of paper for an envelope, forming a smaller rectangle, about 12x6 inches.
• Cut rectangle crosswise into 12 (about 1 inch) dough strips. Gently stretch and twist one to coil it inside a prepared muffin cup, tucking the end inside edge of cup to create a rounded top. Repeat 12 times. If desired, press a couple of additional chocolate chips into the top of each babka, but try to place them so they won't melt off the pan during baking.
• Cover and let rise in a warm spot until they are puffed, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325-degrees.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the last egg with 1 Tablespoon water. Brush tops of dough with egg wash.
• Bake until babkas are golden brown, about 17 to 25 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted in center should register 190-degrees.
• Babkas are much better served warm--eat them fresh, or heat up later with a 20-30 burst in the microwave! This makes the dough soft and the chocolate gooey. They keep well sealed at room temperature for up to 3 days, but can also be frozen and thawed later.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, and continue to monitor a few more minutes, stirring often, to brown the butter. It should have a fresh, nutty smell. Remove from heat. Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla until the sugar is less grainy. Let the pan cool for a few minutes. Beat in the eggs until smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients next, followed by the apple pieces. Fold in the chips last.
• Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out the top. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test.
• Cool to room temperature. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board to slice up. Store the bars in a sealed container, with waxed paper or parchment between stacked layers.

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• Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Line a 9x9 or 8×8-inch pan with foil, letting foil overhang each side. Apply nonstick cooking spray.
• In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate and butter on high in 30 second increments, stirring between each burst, until everything is melted. Let cool slightly.
• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, in a large bowl beat together the sugar and eggs for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are pale, light, and fluffy. Pour in the cooled chocolate and butter mixture, followed by the vanilla.
• Combine the salt and both flours in a bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips. Fold flour mix into the wet ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan and even out.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely. Use foil onto a cutting board to slice into bars.
• Brownies will keep for upwards of a week in a sealed container at room temperature.

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• Line a 13x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt together the peanut butter and butter by zapping in short increments and stirring well between each pass. Once they mix together, stir in the graham cracker crumbs and confectioners' sugar. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan. Use a hands or maybe a piece of waxed paper and a heavy glass to compress the layer as much as possible.
• Use the same microwave-safe bowl to bowl for the chocolate chips and peanut butter, again zapping in brief increments and stirring well between each burst. Once they can mix together smoothly, dump dollops atop the layer in the pan. Use an uneven spatula to even out the chocolate to the edges.
• Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
• Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Let sit for about 10 minutes, enough time to soften the chocolate so that it doesn't shatter when sliced. Use a long knife or sharp bench knife to cut bars. If desired, cut off edges first to produce neater pieces to share.
• Store bars in a sealed container in the fridge with waxed paper between the layers. Keeps for days.

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