If you’re a coffee lover, it’s only natural to gravitate to desserts that offer a tasty jolt of caffeine. From hard candy to an oven full of espresso-laced cookies, consider the following suggestions when looking for sweet treats that please the coffee connoisseur in you.

Cookies

From Triple Chocolate Espresso Cookies to adding a bit of espresso powder to your favorite recipes, don’t be afraid to slip into your apron and put your oven to good use. The Internet is swarming with cookie recipes that incorporate coffee as one of the ingredients. Other ideas include Espresso Brownies and coffee-flavored biscotti.

Hard Candy

Hard candies come in many different forms and flavors. Some melt in your mouth, while others soften in your hand. Looking for a few ideas?  Bali’s Best Coffee Candy offers flavors such as espresso and latte. Also, don’t forget to take a walk on the wild side and explore international delights, such as the Kasugai Sumiyaki Roasted Coffee Candy, which is very popular in Japan. Other types of hard candy may include coffee-flavored chocolate discs (similar to plain M&Ms) – encased in colored sugary shells.

Chocolate Candy

Consider satisfying your sweet tooth with chocolate bars offering added coffee flavor or beans. For example, Charles Chocolates (at Chocolate.com) makes a Mocha Java Bar that combines mocha java pieces and 65% bittersweet chocolate. Other candy options include coffee-flavored truffles and coffee liqueur-filled chocolates.

Espresso Beans

Chocolate covered espresso beans are a popular sweet treat for coffee lovers, which come in many different varieties, including dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and even mint chocolate.

Coffee Spoons

Similar to the concept of honey spoons for tea drinkers, coffee spoons offer a little something extra for a regular cup of Joe. Butterscotch, mocha, chocolate, whiskey, and cocoa are just some of the flavors and ingredients a coffee spoon can add to your favorite beverage.

Dessert Coffees

Whether you add a hint of Irish Cream to your java or top with fresh whipped cream, it’s simple to enjoy a dessert coffee. Sometimes, it’s as easy as purchasing a bag of dessert-flavored coffee, such as Chocolate Fudge Brownie Coffee.

Espresso isn’t just a morning pick-me-up, but the popular beverage also has a place in the world of cooking and baking. Hot water forced through finely ground coffee at high pressure is how the darkly colored drink espresso is made. Originating in Italy, the coffee is typically served in small glasses or in “shots” measuring about one ounce. For instance, making the average latte or cappuccino calls for two shots of espresso.

Starbucks is not the only place that you can enjoy a hot cup of rich, dark espresso. Coffee lovers can make their own at home with an espresso maker, which differs from the regular coffeemaker.  Outside of the beverage world, espresso can provide a distinct taste to dishes and desserts.

A few ideas for baking and cooking with espresso include:

Baking with Espresso

Adding a small amount of espresso to your typical dessert recipes can provide a different experience for your taste buds. A few ways to incorporate a coffee flavor for your next sweet treat include:

Espresso Biscotti: When making your favorite biscotti recipe, experiment with instant espresso powder. Start off by adding 1 teaspoon to your typical ingredients list and adjust according to your taste.

Espresso Brownies: Coffee lovers can add 2 tablespoons of espresso powder to any boxed brownie mix to enhance the taste of their next batch. If you like glazing your brownies with a powdered sugar coating, add 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to your recipe.

Espresso Sugar Cream Pie: After brushing the inside of an unbaked pie crust with melted butter, whisk together 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder until well blended. Pour the ingredients into the prepared pie crust. Bake in a 350-degree preheated oven until pie has set – about 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to completely cool on a rack. Add one cup of chocolate whipped cream as piping for the edge of the pie.

Chocolate Espresso Cookies: Deliver an extra kick to your cookies with about 2 ¼ teaspoons of finely ground espresso beans added to your favorite chocolate cookie recipe.

Cooking with Espresso

There are also a variety of creative ways to incorporate espresso into some of your favorite meat-related dishes. For example, when you’re looking to shake things up for your next BBQ, consider serving Espresso Rubbed Barbecued Burgers, which are sprinkled with a mixture of espresso powder and freshly ground black pepper on both sides of the patties before grilling.

You could also make an Espresso-Bourbon Sauce to coat grilled meats, such as beef steaks. Combine 1/4 cup bourbon, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder in a small saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer the sauce uncovered for 8 minutes or until the sauce thickens and is reduced to about half. Occasionally stir and then add in 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Keep warm until grilled meat is ready for eating.

For a non-bake treat, consider Espresso Bark. First, combine 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon margarine in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 30-second stretches of time until the ingredients have melted and show a smooth consistency. Stir between each round of heating. Mix in 3/4 cup whole coffee beans. Pour the chocolate mix onto the waxed paper and create an even layer. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chopped white chocolate pieces onto the top of the chocolate. Lightly press the bark and place in freezer until set – around 5 minutes. Break the bark into pieces and store in an airtight container.

From enhancing the taste of coffee to elevating confections, crème de menthe is a mint-flavored liqueur that adds to the flavor of desserts and beverages without overpowering other ingredients. Sometimes added during the preparation of recipes, crème de menthe also serves as a syrupy topping for cakes, pastries, fresh fruit, and ice cream. Since the flavoring is concentrated liqueur syrup, you’ll find that a small amount of crème de menthe goes a long way. When you’re looking for a dessert or drink with a minty flavor, consider the following suggestions that take full advantage of crème de menthe:

* Grasshopper Pie

Using a graham cracker crust or cookie crust made out of chocolate wafers (or Oreos), Grasshopper Pie (shown above)  is a chiffon pie served cold that offers a distinct chocolate and mint flavor. The crust is typically baked for a short time and then chilled before adding ingredients. Depending on the recipe, you may use marshmallows, cream cheese, and whipping cream when making the pie filling.

* Crème de Menthe Parfaits

For a frozen sweet treat perfect for dinner parties, create a parfait using 1 pint fresh raspberries, ½ cup crème de menthe liqueur, and 2 pints of French vanilla ice cream as layers – all topped with whipped cream. Many recipes exist, which make use of other ingredients, such as white creme de cacao, chocolate wafer crumbs, crushed pineapple, and fresh mint leaves.

* Crème de Menthe Coupes

Coupes are usually ice cream or fruit-flavored ice sweet treats served in a special dessert glass. Haagen-Dazs offers a recipe for Crème de Menthe Coupes that uses a carton of their Mint Chip Ice Cream layered with green creme de menthe syrup and chopped pistachio nuts. Fresh mint leaves, hot fudge sauce and whipped cream serve as delicious toppings.

* Crème de Menthe Cheesecake

The options in cheesecake know no bounds and there are plenty of variations that take mint flavors to new heights. For example, you can use 2 tablespoons of green or white crème de menthe liqueur to enhance the flavor of filling for a creamy cheesecake that uses mint candies as a garnish. Land O Lakes has a recipe with a crust that uses finely crushed chocolate graham crackers.

* Creme De Menthe Brownies

When you crave a chocolaty sweet treat with a little kick, consider the minty blast of Creme De Menthe Brownies. Use a package of Creme de Menthe baking chips to heighten the taste of the brownies. A chocolate frosting makes a delicious cover for the dessert. Since shaved Creme de Menthe thins serve as a topping, using Andes is a convenient and inexpensive way to decorate the brownies.

Crème de Menthe for Drinks

Crème de menthe allows you to add a mint flavor to your favorite coffees and teas. From a variety of hot and cold beverages, just ½ teaspoon of the liqueur will do the trick. Another way to include crème de menthe in your drinks is to add ¼ teaspoon over ice before pouring a glass of soda. The flavoring also adds pizzazz to an assortment of after-dinner drinks and fruit-flavored alcoholic beverages, including daiquiris and margaritas.

Ingredients
450g/1 lb of strawberries
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup fresh cream
1 tub (250g/9 oz) mascarpone

Directions:
Wash strawberries and grind in food processor, set aside.
Add the confectioners sugar to marscapone and whip for only a minute.
In a separate bowl, beat fresh cream until stiff peaks.
Now, fold in fresh cream into mascarpone a little at a time.
Do not add all the fresh cream, leave a small amount for piping.
Lastly fold in the ground strawberries.
Spoon into bowls and pipe fresh cream on top and garnish with sliced strawberries.

Enjoy!

Crust ingredients:
250g butter
250ml (1 cup) sugar
2 x-large eggs
500g (3 1/2 cups ) cake flour
10ml (2tsp.)baking powder
pinch salt

Filling ingredients:
750ml (3 cups )milk
cinnamon stick
45 ml (3Tblsp) custard powder
15ml (1 Tblsp) cornflour
condense milk (according to taste…I used a little over 10 Tblsp.)
pinch salt
15ml (1Tblsp) butter
3 x-large eggs, separated
Directions:

Preheat oven to 180c.

Crust
Cream the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs and beat well.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
Add to the egg mixture, beating well.
Press into two greased pie dishes or cut out rounds and make minis and place in mini foil trays or muffin pans.
Bake for about 10mins.

Filling
Heat the milk and cinnamon together.
Combine the cake flour,cornflour,condense and salt.
Add a little milk to the flour mixture and make a paste.
Then stir the paste into the hot milk and bring to the boil stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
Add the butter.
Beat the egg yolks and add to the milk mixture .
Remove from stove.
Beat the egg whites until stiff and add to the filling.
Pour the filling into the crusts and sprinkle with a little cinnamon powder.
Bake for 10 mins.

So you’re over 21 and you’re not getting any younger. Welcome to the club. Age is one of those dear facts of life with which we’re routinely slapped in the face. Remember though, being the lovely age of 35… 52… 76… or… 112, comes with a few perks. One of them, bestowed upon us by legislative dictum, grants us the privilege to imbibe spirits (just as long as we don’t go driving afterward).

There is a time and a place for spirits. For example, you’ve just finished moving gigantic heavy boxes, and you sit down on the stoop while your dry tongue just screams in your mouth for a cold, refreshing beer… or a margarita. Or, you’ve just enjoyed a light, delicious dinner on the veranda and you can’t fathom arising from the table without another wine spritzer. Now imagine… it’s a hot summer day, you’re lounging with your friends by the pool, and you have a craving for dessert… or a drink… or dessert… Well, really you want both dessert and a drink, but your butler’s on vacation, and putting out all that effort to get either of those two things seems completely ridiculous (especially in light of your intention to spend the entire day relaxing).

It’s a terrible thing to waste a magical summer’s day, so here’s a solution to hold you over until your butler returns. Try creating this refreshing drink and dessert all at the same time. It requires one box of red wine (quart size works well), and a freezer. That’s right, boxed red wine and a freezer. Seriously, try it. Take the box of red wine, put it in the freezer, and viola: you have created a delectable summertime dessert and drink in one – a wine popsicle.

To create a more esthetically pleasing version for company, pour the red wine into plastic popsicle molds and put them into the freezer. When mostly frozen, remove them from the mold and arrange on a platter with fresh berries and a sprig of fresh mint. For those who prefer to drink their dessert, I recommend breaking off bits of the frozen wine and dropping them into a glass of sparking fruit juice (or soda) in the flavor of your choice. Enjoy!