mocha

Peppermint Mocha Granola

By in Breakfast, Christmas, GF Mains 1 Comment Tags: , , , , ,

peppermint mocha granola

I’ve gotten into the habit of making a different granola recipe each month, depending on the flavours of the season. My family loves granola and it’s pretty hard to get sick of it when you’re having new flavours all the time.

December is the month of peppermint so naturally the first flavour combination to come to mind was peppermint mocha. After that idea popped into my head there was no going back. And, I have to say I was quite happy with the results. It’s a slightly indulgent, yet healthy way to start the day – all the flavour of a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha without the calories.

It also makes a great homemade edible gift, placed in a jar with a cute tag (these are some of my favourites) or a printed recipe card (I think these are super cute and you can fill out the form online). Whether you keep it all to yourself or share some with friends, I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Peppermint Mocha Granola

  • 4 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup sliced (or slivered) almonds
  • 1/3 cup coconut
  • 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 6 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup instant coffee granules (use decaf for kids)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
  • 4 oz. semi-sweet (or bittersweet) chocolate, chopped

Mix together oats, salt, almonds, coconut and flaxseed in a large bowl.

In a small saucepan combine water, oil, maple syrup, instant coffee, vanilla and peppermint. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and pour over oat mixture. Toss to coat.

Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and line with parchment paper (this will keep the paper from sliding around). Using your hands, squeeze the granola mixture together to create clumps as you transfer it to the baking sheet

Bake at 275ºF for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and stir. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes, until browned and crisp (will continue to crisp a bit as it cools).

Allow to cool completely before  stirring in chocolate.  Store in a sealed container for up to one month.

Makes approximately: 8 cups

*Use gluten-free certified oats if making gluten-free.

 

Orange Mocha (or Hot Chocolate)

By in Beverages, Warm 1 Comment Tags: , , , , ,

Orange Mocha (or Hot Chocolate)

I”m obsessed with drinks. Cold in the summer, hot in the winter. I can”t help myself, they”re just too much fun to make and sip. And, there are so many different flavours to come up with depending on the season. We”ve been nabbing up oranges every time we go to the grocery store – they are soooo good right now! I was feeling the need to break away from the typical fall flavours for a little bit and enjoy something wintery and bright. Wintery = Hot Drinks and Chocolate. Bright = Citrus. Together = Orange Mocha.

If you like the combination of chocolate and oranges together, you will love this. It is a great change of pace from all those spiced drinks we”ve all been enjoying so much. For myself and my hubby, I like to make it into a mocha by stirring the chocolate orange sauce into coffee. For the kiddos, I heat up a glass of milk and stir some in, to make Orange Hot Chocolate. They love it. And, I love that it”s not coming out of a package filled with sugar and artificial flavourings. Win. Win. ;)

Orange Mocha

For extra decadence top with Cinnamon-Honey Marshmallows or Orange Whipped Cream.

  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder

  • 1/2 cup milk (or dairy-free alternative)

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 1 orange

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a small saucepan whisk together cocoa powder, milk and maple syrup. Remove the rind from the orange with a vegetable peeler or pairing knife, being careful to avoid the white pith. Stir into cocoa mixture. Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice into the chocolate mixture. Stir in cinnamon. Remove the orange rind, if desired (if it”s cut into nice strips I don”t bother). Use immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make a mocha, stir 2-3 tablespoons of the chocolate orange mixture into 1 cup of hot coffee. Add additional sweetener or milk, if desired. (For hot chocolate stir into 1 cup of warm milk.)

Makes: 1 cup sauce (6-8 servings)

Mocha-Chip-Fudge Cheesecake

By in Cakes, Chocolate, Creamy, Mothers Day, Sweets 12 Comments Tags: , , ,

mocha chip cheesecake

In all my time in Norway not once did I see a block of cream cheese. Spreadable cream cheese was everywhere but the one time I tried to make a cheesecake with it (in my desperation) it did not end well. Three years is far too long to go without a slice of cheesecake!

So you can imagine that it was at the top of my list of things to make when we moved to New York. And, I can now say, it was worth the wait! It was pretty hard to decide which one to make first but I’ve been craving coffee lately (I credit that to the exhaustion of furnishing an entire house from scratch in one week. Whew.) so I decided to go with Mocha Chip. It was a great choice.

On a whim I added a mocha fudge topping because I thought it might pretty it up a bit. In the end I can’t imagine the cheesecake without it. It gave it a much more intense chocolate flavour that I think would have been lacking without it. I don’t think I need to go into much description about how good this tastes. Mocha. Fudge. Cheesecake. Enough said right?

In order to help myself have some self-restraint and not be wasteful (who wants to waste cheesecake?), I decided to slice these into individual servings and freeze them. That way if we’ve got company, or are craving an indulgent dessert, I can just pull out as many as we need, let them thaw and then serve. I love the idea of having something in my freezer to serve guests that doesn’t take any work but is more special than just cookies (although there’s nothing wrong with “just” cookies).

I was a little nervous about making cheesecake again. It had been such a long time that I’d built it up in my head as something difficult. But it couldn’t have been more easy. I hope you try it soon.

Mocha-Chip-Fudge Cheesecake

My springform pan is almost 10 inches and it worked fine for this recipe. I just didn’t press the crumbs as far up the sides of the pan.

Crust
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine cookie crumbs and sugar, stir in butter until evenly coated. Press into the bottom and approximately 2 inches up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan.

Mocha Chip Filling
  • 3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in flour until well combined. At low-speed, beat in eggs just until combined.

Mix together cream and instant coffee. Let sit for 1 minute, stir to dissolve. Add to cream cheese mixture along with vanilla. Stir just until evenly distributed. Stir in 3/4 cup chocolate chips.

Pour cream cheese mixture into crust. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

Bake at 325ºF for 50-60 minutes or until centre is almost set. Let cool completely at room temperature.

Mocha Fudge Topping
  • 6 oz. (1/2 of 12 oz. package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Put all ingredients in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute at 50%. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Spread on top of cooled cheesecake.

Cover cheesecake with foil and refrigerate overnight.

To serve: Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Warm a sharp knife under hot tap water, wipe it dry with a clean kitchen towel and cut one slice. Rinse it clean under hot tap water and repeat.

Makes: 14 servings

Adapted from TasteofHome.

Mocha Almond Biscotti

By in Christmas, Cookies & Bars, Sweets 8 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Mocha Almond Biscotti

Right now I”m in the middle of a big move – across the ocean. We”re tired, jet-lagged, nervous and excited. This Christmas will definitely be an interesting one, but we”re looking forward to it. I won”t be around much for the rest of the holidays, but I”m sure you understand right? ;)

I couldn”t let this Christmas pass me by without sharing this recipe with you, since it”s made an appearance on quite of few of our Christmas platters throughout the years. I”m not much of a coffee drinker (besides the wimpy sugary/flavoured kind) but biscotti makes me wish I was. I would gladly make a batch of coffee just to dip these into. This cookie is not a side. The coffee will become the accompaniment, not the other way around.

I made mine with caffeine-free instant coffee, so my son could have some too. He dipped his in warm milk and I had mine with some Brazilian Baia Tea (my favourite). These will definitely continue to be a yearly tradition for us. Just look at that melty chocolate, coffee-infused cookie with bits of almond. Yum! I”m already looking forward to making more once we”re settled in our new place.

Now if you”ll excuse me I have some sleep to catch up on… after I go shopping… and take care of my kids…. and look for new apartment furniture in Christmas crowds…. and unpack….. and… ok maybe that bit of sleep is lost forever. :)

Mocha Almond Biscotti

  • 2 eggs

  • 2 tablespoons instant coffee

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 2 cups flour

  • 1.5 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 cup chopped almonds

  • 4 ounces baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

Whisk together eggs and instant coffee until coffee is dissolved.

Beat butter and sugar in a separate bowl until well blended. Add egg mixture and beat to combine.

Stir together flour and baking powder; gradually stir into butter mixture until well blended. Stir in almonds and chocolate.

Divide dough in half and roll each, on a baking sheet lined with a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, into 14 inch logs; placing them at least two inches apart.

Bake at 325ºF for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool 10 minutes and then slice each log into 18 (3/4 inch) slices. Stand slices upright on baking sheet and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until crisp and dry. Cool completely before storing, covered, at room temperature.

Makes: 36 (3 dozen) biscotti

Adapted from Kraft Canada.

Mocha Chip Banana Bread

By in Breads, Chocolate, Christmas, Fall, Sweets, Valentine's 11 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Mocha Chip Banana Bread

This banana bread is much more reminiscent of a cake – with its rich chocolate flavour and deep undertones from the coffee. It”s almost guaranteed to win over even the harshest banana bread critic.

The deep chocolate look of this bread speaks romance to me. Although, the most romantic we got was to sit huddled up to the coffee table sipping milky chai tea and eating this moist, dark, chocolate, banana bread while watching Bones (admittedly not the best show to watch while you”re eating). That”s what romance is when you have a 7 month old and a 3-year-old at home. Any quiet moment to yourselves without being needed by someone else is considered a date! And, a good night sleep makes for marital bliss. :)

This is not the type of banana bread that you eat for breakfast. It”s much more reminiscent of a cake – with its rich chocolate flavour and deep undertones from the coffee. It doesn”t taste anything like a classic banana bread, which makes it a perfect way to use up those old bananas and serve them to people who are otherwise adverse towards baked bananas. I almost guarantee that if you call this Mocha Chocolate Chip Bread (or loaf cake) they will never guess. Not that you want to be sneaky… but sometimes it doesn”t hurt. :)

One note of advice: It”s important to sift cocoa powder, when using it in recipes, because there are always chunks in it that never quite mix into the batter. I don”t own a sifter, but a fine mesh sieve works just as well. Simply place it over your mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and stir to push through. Discard any hard pieces that don”t want to break up.

Do you make banana bread? What”s your favourite way to use up bananas before they go bad?

Mocha Chip Banana Bread

The key to a moist loaf is to not overbake. Ovens vary in temperature so start checking for doneness earlier then the suggested time.

  • 1.5 cups flour

  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder

  • 1.5 cups sugar

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 2 eggs

  • 2 medium bananas, mashed (1 cup)

  • 1/2 cup canola oil

  • 1/4 cup sour cream

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 tablespoon hot milk

  • 2 tablespoons instant coffee

  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, bananas, oil,sour cream and vanilla. Dissolve instant coffee in hot milk. Stir into banana mixture.

Stir wet ingredients into flour mixture, just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased 9×5 loaf pan. Bake at 325ºF for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool completely before slicing.