Hi! My name is Stephanie Zonis, and welcome to the September, 2002 edition of "For Chocolate Lovers Only". Each month, you'll find recipes, tips, and recommendations on chocolate specialties. To celebrate returns to school, autumn, and (I certainly hope) slightly cooler weather, this edition is mostly about cookies. Let's get into the kitchen!

Chocolate Recommendation of the Month: Some people make a lot of noise about the products they offer-advertisements everywhere, constant public appearances, things of that sort. But Maury Rubin is different. He has gone quietly about his business for years, improving the quality of foods (especially baked goods) available to consumers. For that reason, Maury's All-Natural Cookie Dough, Maury's Bake Your Own, and The City Bakery deserve to be brought to your attention. The City Bakery, at 3 West 18th Street (very near 5th Avenue) in New York City, now has an expanded menu, so in addition to their delightful pastries and other baked goods you can enjoy homemade ice cream, brunch, and more. (Make sure you try some ginger palmiers if they have them!)

Even if you are not near New York City, however, you can still treat yourself to home-baked goodies, courtesy of Mr. Rubin's clever thinking. Maury's All-Natural Cookie Dough is just that. It is no-artificial-anything, slice-and-bake dough in the refrigerated dairy case section of your market or natural foods store, available in Gingerbread, Oatmeal Raisin, and Chocolate Chip. I have tried the latter two flavors and find them to be far superior to other brands out there, and I really appreciate the use of all-natural and organic ingredients. And Maury's Bake Your Own-well, I wish I'd thought of this first! Spice Cake, Cornbread, and Brownie (with or without nuts) batters are frozen in paperboard containers that go directly into your oven, toaster oven, or microwave. Hint: underbake the brownies a bit, and you'll have a lovely molten-center chocolate cake. Again, these products contain only good-quality ingredients, and we are lucky to have someone around who cares about putting those into a commercial product. You all know I'm a big advocate of baking your own desserts, but when that isn't possible, why wouldn't you eat the best quality you can find? For more information, visit the website at: www.maurybakes.com. Maury Rubin, I salute you!

Do you have a comment, question, or suggestion? You can reach me at: sdziadwm@nac.net; please specify that you are writing about something chocolate-related. Thank You!