Recipe: Jocelyn's Chocolate Fudge Bars (Fudge Mint Cookies)

JOCELYN'S CHOCOLATE FUDGE BARS
(Fudge Mint Cookies)

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or peppermint extract)
1 cup chocolate chips
Glaze (optional, recipe follows)

Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together.

When the chocolate mixture is cool, add the sugar and beat in the eggs. Mix in flour, salt and baking soda; add vanilla. Spread into a greased jellyroll pan (that is, 11x17-inches). It won't be trivial; you'll have to use a knife or something to spread it smoothly into all four corners. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes or so. (When they're done, they pull away from the pan just a little bit and have a dull glossy look to them.)

When the cookies come out of the oven, spread with the glaze, if using. Cool slightly, and cut while still warm. (If you wait too long, the glaze will crack when you try to cut the cookies.)

GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP (or more) milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
food coloring (optional)

Mix up the ingredients. It should be like a glaze that will pour, thickly. Add a couple of drops of food coloring if desired.

VARIATION:
You can skip the glaze, if you like. (For example, you might not want peppermint cookies, or you might want to use those miniature baking M&M's.) If you don't glaze them but still want peppermint chocolate cookies, use the peppermint instead of the vanilla. (Or in addition to it, for a slightly different flavor but still good.)