Crazy Cooking Challenge: Cappuccino Fudge

Here we are, Crazy Cooking Challenge #2 already!! This month's challenge was to find the ultimate fudge recipe. What a delightful hunt! I have never made fudge before, so it was a bit of an experiment for me as well. Because this was my first time, after drooling over many decadent looking squares, I decided on a rather simple fudge, but as I am sure you will agree, it suits ME to a tee.

If you do not know by now, I am a bit of a coffee nut. Coffee snob. Connoisseur. Whatever. You get the idea. I like coffee. My kitchen fairly swims in it. Take a look at the previous post about Coffee and Cream Drops. See any clues?
Now that we've established (again) my infatuation with glossy brown beans (that includes cocoa beans!), we can move on to the delicious creation I concocted in my kitchen which included both. Cappuccino Fudge. It really was a snap to make- Annie wasn't kidding when she said it was simple. I really thought fudge would be more complicated than this (and maybe some are), but it was easy and turned out fantastic, so my confidence in fudge making is definitely bolstered to try something harder next time!

The first step is to line a pan with foil (hint: this makes for very easy removal later!).

Good old trusty foil.

Next, move over to your stove top! Another thing I like about this is it really only dirties one pot. Start with some marshmallow cream...this stuff is harder to get into the pan then you might think! It is SO sticky! Add instant coffee powder, sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt and heavy whipping cream. Annie's recipe only called for 1 tsp of instant coffee, but after reading some of the comments on her blog I decided I wanted to make sure it had a real distinct coffee flavor. So I put in a whole tablespoon.

Mix it all together until it's nice and smooth (I used a whisk for this part), while heating it over medium heat.

Once it really begins to boil, keep it there and turn on the timer! Here comes the tedious part: keep stirring while it boils for 5 whole minutes.

Then take it off the heat and stir in a bag of chocolate chips till they are melted and the mixture is creamy and smooth again. Pour the whole thing into your nice foil-lined pan and smooth it out.

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before you cut and devour!! Or. Share with your friends. Your favorite friends. Special treats are only for special friends, right?

This fudge tasted exactly as I hoped against hope that it would. A perfect marriage of coffee and rich chocolate. It was firm and the texture was smooth and it sliced beautiful into darling little squares.

If you want to get fancy, you could do like I did and serve each topped with a fine dusting of coffee powder (or cinnamon) and a whole coffee bean. Any way you slice it, this fudge is a perfect holiday indulgence your friends will love you for.

Cappuccino Fudge
(printable version)

by Annie's Eats (with tweaks)

makes about 36 squares

1 jar marshmallow cream (7 oz)

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup butter

1 TB instant coffee powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line an 8” square baking pan with aluminum foil; set aside.

 In a 2 qt. saucepan, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, cream, butter, coffee powder, cinnamon and salt.

 Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. 

Stir in chocolate chips until smooth. 

Pour into prepared pan. 

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. 

Place on cutting board and cut into 36 squares.

Source: Annie's Eats

Coffee and Cream Drops

I have expounded in previous posts about my love for coffee and chocolate and my subsequent adoration of anything combining the two, so I won't bore you by composing another monologue on that subject. That said, however, I must share with you a new cookie discovery employing the combination of those very two blessed ingredients! Just a glance at the name and I knew I had to try them. If you have seen my kitchen, you would know too. It is practically a shrine to coffee (except that would be irreverent, so I can't exactly call it a shrine...a tribute, perhaps?). Anyhow, this cookie recipe is a delightful combination of flavors, with chocolate taking center stage and coffee slipping into the background. I think using espresso powder would bring the coffee taste out more. Another name for this cookie (I think) could be "Two-tone mocha chip cookies". You know the Java Chip Frappuccino at Starbucks? This is kind of like that in cookie form. It is especially unique because not all the flavors are mixed together- they sit companionably side-by-side, and are melded together in the oven.

The dough begins as a basic, chocolate chip type cookie dough, with coffee added. Then, you divide it in half.
One half becomes fudgy and chocolaty with the addition of cream and cocoa powder.

The other gets dressed up with chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate for more chocolaty power!!).

Then, place little bits of each next to each other on the cookie sheet (you will need to coax them to get a little cozy! Hugging is encouraged). :)

Come on, you two. Get close.

That's more like it!

Then, when baked, the two are magically melded into one! I could make this into a good marriage analogy, but I think I'll just leave it right there. The two tones make a beautiful cookies, and the flavors are delicious.

See? Magic!

 The textures are almost identical, though the chocolate side is definitely more fudgy. A perfect addition to any cookie tray- especially wherever coffee is served!!

As you can see, I have some spare coffee beans- I knew they'd come in handy one of these days! :)

Coffee and Cream Drops
(printable version)

makes 48 (the book says- mine made about 42)

2 TB instant coffee crystals (or instant espresso powder)

3 TB light cream or half and half

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup chocolate pieces (mini or reg.- your choice of chocolate)

Preheat oven to 375.

Stir coffee crystals into 1 TB of the cream until they dissolve; set aside.

Beat butter with mixer 30 seconds. Add sugars, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in coffee mixture, egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir any remaining in with wooden spoon.

Divide dough in half. Stir remaining cream and cocoa powder into one portion. Stir chocolate pieces into the remaining plain dough portion. Spoon a scant teaspoon of each dough side by side onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press doughs together.

Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until just set. Cool 1 min, remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens "Biggest Book of Cookies", pg. 25

Of Coffee and Chocolate...and Cookies! (Chocolate Coffee Cookies)

I make a lot of cookies. I love to make cookies, which is a good thing, since I usually make a batch about once a week! For the past year and a half I have been making them for our church's monthly board meetings, and now I also make them on Thursday mornings as a treat for our Thursday evening home Bible study group. The folks are so appreciative so they are a delight to serve!

But over the months, I have gotten a bit bored with oatmeal and chocolate chip and have tried many different varieties. In fact, I borrowed a Better Homes and Gardens giant cookie recipe book from the library for about a month once! While I had that book checked out, I experimented a little with using instant coffee in cookies. As most of you know (if you know me well at all!), I LOVE coffee! My whole kitchen is practically a shrine to it, I have been accused of being a coffee "snob," (okay, maybe it's true...) and I am a coffee shop addict as well. I love the drink and the atmosphere that goes with it! But I have another love. You guessed it- chocolate! Along with many of my sex, I believe chocolate is a great fixer. Not the best, of course, but there are quite a few things chocolate is a perfect salve for. :) I used to be stuck on my milk chocolate, but my older brother finally convinced me that dark chocolate is superior to all other varieties! And the best thing about these two loves is they go so well together! And put that flavor into a cookie- wow!

For my open house Christmas party I made some cookies called Coffeehouse Flats that were coffee/chocolate cookies, and they were actually half dipped in melted chocolate as well- so delicious! But they were also a lot of work! The dough had to be rolled and chilled, sliced and dipped and was rather time consuming (worth every minute though!).

Earlier this week, before our board meeting Tuesday, I felt in the mood to try something different, but not too complicated, so I searched the internet for "chocolate coffee cookies" and when I found a recipe by a blogger who calls herself the "chocolate goddess" I knew they would be good! They were also simple drop cookies, which was perfect for my busy Tuesday! Her recipe is for "Double Chocolate Coffee Cookies" because she adds chunks of dark chocolate to the already chocolaty mix- however, I have one man at our study who doesn't like chocolate chips or chunks in cookies (I cannot grasp this, but I concede anyway...), so I left the chunks out, leaving myself trying to imagine what they would have tasted like with an extra dark chocolate kick! Instead of the chunks, I threw in some chopped walnuts that I'm trying to get rid of (our local food bank gave Travis two large bags full!)- at the chocolate goddess' suggestion. :) First I mixed the instant coffee granules with hot water to dissolve them (this keeps there from being any "crunch" in the finished product!), which made a thick, strong smelling liquid.

Setting that aside, I combined the dry ingredients including- I loved this measurement- two heaping tablespoons of Hershey's cocoa powder!

Then the butter and the wet ingredients in another bowl, adding the thick coffee mixture as well.

Once the wet ingredients were well mixed, I got out my trusty wooden spoon and added the dry to the wet. The dough looked marvelously fudgy and was very tasty (okay, I sampled...and forgot to take a picture!)! The walnuts went in last. I've never really been one for nuts in my brownies, but lately I have enjoyed nuts in cookies, so I gave it a try. I'm still debating whether I like them that way or not. I love walnuts in oatmeal cookies now, but I might leave the nuts out of these next time. Experiment with your own preference! Or try different chocolate, like semi-sweet or milk or even white! After I plopped them on the baking sheet, they were in about 9 minutes and came out....completely delicious! Coffee and chocolate, united in a soft, fudgy, chewy cookie! This recipe is definitely a keeper. Perfect along with a cup of coffee or a tall glass of milk!

Chocolate Coffee Cookies
(printable version)

adapted from The Chocolate Goddess

makes about 3 dozen

1/3 c. instant coffee granules
2 tbsp hot water
2 2/3 c. flour
2 heaping tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

1/2 c. walnuts (or whatever else you want to put in)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Dissolve coffee in 2 tbsp hot water. In a separate small mixing bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar at a medium speed until fluffy. Pour coffee, vanilla and eggs into the butter mixture; mix well. Reduce mixer’s speed to low and slowly pour flour mixture into the butter mixture. Fold walnuts (or chocolate) into the dough. Drop dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake about 9 min.