Frosted Mocha Brownies

I love baking and used to bake treats all the time, but I can't even remember the last time I made a dessert before last weekend.  I actually don't eat dessert myself that often, but I like trying new recipes and sharing treats with others; the problem is that everyone I know seems to be on diets or trying to eat healthier lately (which is a good thing!), and there aren't really any big dessert-worthy celebrations in the summer, so I haven't had an excuse to bake in a long time!

This past weekend though, I had a sudden urge to bake something so I decided to stop waiting for an excuse and just make something to give away to the boyfriend's coworkers (after trying one myself, of course!).  I was in the mood for a warm and comforting dessert but wasn't quite ready to break out the apples and pumpkin yet (though now that it's cooled off, that will be up next!), so I decided to go with brownies.  Everyone loves brownies, and I had all the ingredients for these latte bars I'd had bookmarked for a while, so I went right to work!

The original recipe for these bars was called 'latte bars', but since they're made up of coffee and chocolate, and mine turned out much more like brownies than bars, I'm calling them mocha brownies.  They're chewy and dense and everything you'd want a brownie to be (i.e. not too fudgey and not too cakey - just in between), with coffee in both the brownie, frosting, and the chocolate coffee beans on top, giving them the perfect amount of subtle coffee flavour.  I topped mine with a cream cheese frosting instead of buttercream because I think everything is better with cream cheese!

I'm not a huge chocolate lover but I do love coffee and I loved these bars, and so did the coworkers who were kind enough to help me eat them all!  I know the pictures are terrible (it was pretty dark out when I got time to take a few pics), but trust me that these are way better than I've made them look!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Frosted Mocha Brownies

Adapted from Land O Lakes

Makes one 8x8-inch pan; can be sliced into 16-20 brownies

Ingredients:

For the Brownies:

1 tablespoon instant coffee (+ 2 teaspoons hot water)

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

8 oz (one brick) cream cheese, softened (I used light cream cheese)

3/4 – 1 cup icing sugar

1/2 tablespoon instant coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Topping:

16-20 chocolate covered coffee/espresso beans (or more, if desired)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray an 8x8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray (I lined mine with parchment paper instead for easy removal after – use whatever method you like for brownies).

Prepare the brownies:  Combine instant coffee with hot water and mix until dissolved in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, and salt, and whisk to combine.  In another separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and coffee mixture until combined.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula until just combined.  Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 23-27 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Prepare the frosting: Combine instant coffee with vanilla extract and mix to combine in a small bowl.  Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, until smooth and creamy, 2-3 minutes.  Add icing sugar and mix until combined.  Add coffee-vanilla mixture and mix until combined.  Taste and add more sugar if needed (I don’t like it to be too sweet).  Keep frosting in fridge until bars have completely cooled.

Once bars have cooled, spread frosting over them (you might not need all the frosting), and slice into bars.  Top each bar with a chocolate coffee bean, or chop multiple coffee beans and sprinkle overtop.

Mini Baked Peppermint Mocha Doughnuts

First I made cheesecake bars, then there were shortbread cookies, and now here I am with another peppermint holiday dessert, this time doughnuts! For those of you who hate peppermint, I promise this is the last one (at least for a little while)!

These go a step further than basic peppermint by adding chocolate and coffee flavours to resemble one of my favourite Starbucks’ holiday drinks, the peppermint mocha. (Although I’ve since discovered white peppermint mocha frappucinos and that is now my new favourite drink – try it!)

Though I don’t often make doughnuts because they’re better eaten fresh and I don’t usually have a big group of people to feed fresh doughnuts to, I do love them because they’re so cute and easy to eat, plus they’re a little better for you than their full-sized, fried counterpart.

These little guys have a coffee chocolate base covered in a peppermint white chocolate glaze with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes on top. They’re so festive looking and reminded me a lot of a peppermint mocha!

These had just the right amount of subtle coffee flavour for me, but you could add more coffee or espresso powder if you want a strong coffee taste. Or you could eliminate it and just go with a chocolate base if you don’t like coffee. Similarly, you could eliminate the peppermint extract from the icing if you’re not into minty things – I know some people who tried these weren’t really a fan and I assume it’s because they either don’t like coffee baked goods or minty baked goods or the combination of the two. If you’re not sure if you do, just leave out the coffee and peppermint and you’ll have a chocolate doughnut with a little crunch of candy cane that will be just as good!

In other news, my holiday preparations are in a lot better shape than the last time I wrote – all but one of my gifts I ordered online have now arrived and I’ve finished my shopping for all but two people. I’m sure people who finished their shopping in November would scoff at that, but it’s pretty good for me! I’m also done with school for the semester (though I’ll still have work to do from home over the holidays) and am looking forward to spending lots of time with my family and boyfriend and doing lots of Christmassy activities over the next week!

Mini Baked Peppermint Mocha Doughnuts

Idea inspired by Starbucks’ peppermint mocha; glaze recipe my own; chocolate doughnut recipe adapted from Buns in My Oven

Makes 24 mini doughnuts

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Coffee Doughnuts:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon instant coffee

1 large egg

1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with a teaspoon of white vinegar added)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the White Chocolate Peppermint Glaze:

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract - optional for peppermint flavour, but you could leave out and just use the candy canes if you like

1-2 tablespoons milk

Crushed candy canes (about 1/4 cup total)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Lightly spray a mini doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa, salt, and instant coffee.  In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, then whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, and vegetable oil.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until just incorporated.  Transfer mixture to a ziplock bag, snip off the corner, and squeeze the batter into the doughnut pan, only filling each mold halfway full (they will puff up when baking).  It's a lot easier to fill the molds by squeezing it out of a bag, trust me.

Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cooked through and the top springs back when touched.  Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Prepare icing by melting the chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave, then stirring in the icing sugar and peppermint extract (if using).  Add 1 tablespoon of milk, stir, and add up to 1 additional tablespoon of milk until desired consistency is reached (I used the full 2 tablespoons, which makes a thin glaze).

Once doughnuts have cooled, dip the top of each doughnut in the icing, then set back on the wire rack, which should be placed over a baking sheet or sheet or parchment paper to catch drippings.  I like to coat each doughnut twice to ensure there is enough glaze.  Only coat a few doughnuts at a time the second time, then sprinkle crushed candy cane over the top while the icing is still wet so it sticks.

These are best served immediately and eaten on the same day, but note that after about half a day, the candy canes may start to melt into the icing.