Mocha Brownies

Music: River by Bishop Briggs
           No Excuses by Needtobreathe
           Implicit Demand For Proof by Twenty One Pilots
           

Coffee and Chocolate.

Was there ever a more perfect flavor combination?

All right, all right, I can hear you saying "But Amanda! What about cheese and bacon or white chocolate and peppermint or chips and salsa or blah blah blah??"

Okay, so maybe not THE perfect combination, but certainly one of the top 10.

It's certainly in my top 5 flavor combinations. So of course I had to create a brownie with a heavy dose of coffee.

You take a coffee infused brownie base, add a rich, decadent coffee cream cheese filling, top that with a thick layer of pure chocolate, and finish it all off with a delicate swirl of white chocolate.

Sounds good?

Because they are. 

These little mocha gems are totally my jam.

And since my mama raised my to share, I couldn't keep these all to myself. So I'm sharing them with you guys!

(And if you don't like coffee? Well, first off, what in the heck is wrong with you?! And second, these are probably not the brownies for you... Sorry, because these bad boys are coffee-rific.)

Now, let's get down to business (To defeat the Huns! No, no, it's mocha time, not Mulan time. Get it straight.)

Recipe ahoy!

Mocha Brownies

Brownie Base:
1 2/3 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. butter, melted
3 T. cold espresso or very strong, cold coffee
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. all purpose flour
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1T. finely ground coffee
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Filling:
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
2 T. cold espresso or very strong, cold coffee
2 T. whipping cream
1 tsp. finely ground coffee

Topping:
1/2 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
1 T. shortening

Garnish:
1/4 c. white chocolate chips
1 tsp, shortening


For Brownies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together sugar, butter, coffee, and vanilla. Whisk in eggs until well combined. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, ground coffee, baking powder, and salt. Stir into egg mixture. Spread batter into a lightly greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake 18-23 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Just be sure not to over bake because no one likes an over cooked brownie.
Cool brownies completely.

For Filling:
Beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Turn mixer to low and gradually mix in powdered sugar until combined. Add in whipping cream, coffee, and ground coffee. Turn mixer to medium, and beat mixture for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Spread filling evenly onto brownies.

For Topping:
In a microwave safe bowl, mix together chocolate chips and shortening. Melt chocolate mixture on low in microwave at 30 second intervals making sure to stir mixture thoroughly after each interval. Heat chocolate until completely melted. Spread onto filling. Immediately start garnish.

For Garnish:
Follow steps for topping and melt the white chocolate chips and shorting. Pour melted white chocolate into pipping bag equipped with a small round tip. Pipe evenly spaced rows onto the still warm topping. Working quickly, take a toothpick and run it through the topping and the garnish in the opposite direction as you piped the garnish. Do this in evenly spaced intervals.

Let chocolate topping and garnish cool and harden completely before cutting into 24 squares.

There you have it! A pan full of coffee and chocolatey goodness. These go best with a tall glass of milk, or to gild the lily even farther, enjoy them with a cup of your favorite coffee. Because what could go better with chocolate and coffee, but more coffee?