Chocolate on the Brain: Foolproof Recipes for Unrepentant Chocoholics

The quirky mother-and-son team of the Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook is back with unsophisticated yet satisfying treats for the end of the meal. These chocolate desserts are about as far from haute cuisine as you can get: they're gooey and sweet, and most can be produced quickly (a handy index ranks the recipes by preparation time). There's nothing new about Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake or Triple Chocolate Brownies, but the tone here is cheery and appealing. Clearly, any book that gives recipes for Chocolate Pizza and Brownie Fudge Pie is not meant to be a comprehensive volume along the lines of Nick Malgieri's Chocolate, but a brief overview that includes quick fixes for those who eat straight from the Nutella jar. Kevin Mills contributes an introduction that begins, ""I don't trust people who say they don't like chocolate,"" while Nancy Mills is a little more subdued in her ""Mom Tips,"" which include time-saving suggestions like using bottled lemon juice in Chocolate-Lovers' Lemon Squares. A few lengthier recipes, such as Chocolate-Filled Baby Brioches, are challenging, but mostly this is unabashedly geared to beginners. (Oct.)