Tequila for the Kids, Key Lime Cheesecake with Patrón Sauce

Call off the Department of Social Services. The kids don’t actually drink tequila in this story. For the third year in a row, I had the tremendous honor of making dessert for the East Central Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Fire & Ice gala in Brookings, S.D. The fundraising event benefits children who have been victims of abuse and neglect.

The menu description for my Key Lime Cheesecake with Patrón Sauce: Like a margarita sitting in the sand, tart Key lime filling nestles into a graham and vanilla crust. The cheesecake is topped with whipped cream and served with juicy Key lime cream spiked with Patrón Silver 100% Blue Agave Tequila.

Two years ago for Fire & Ice I made raspberry white chocolate truffle cheesecakes, and last year I made Italian Tuxedo Parfaits stacked full of amaretto brownies, silky white chocolate cream and fresh strawberries. This year we went tropical and from what I could tell, these babies were a hit. It might have something to do with the pre-gala Bel Brands VIP Reception — it added an extra hour of wine drinking before the meal. *Wink. Wink*

On the other hand, how often do you eat cheesecake with a shot of juicy Key lime Patrón sauce drizzled over the top?

The sauce is simple to make — a sweet mix of sour cream, sugar, Key lime juice, lime zest, and tequila.

People often ask me how I make baby cheesecakes. The cuteness comes from these Chicago Metallic pans. 

The first 50 or so didn’t turn out so well. I believe weather can sometimes affect your baking. This happened…

…because this happened on baking day:

So to ease my frustration, I went outside and took pictures of a female woodpecker that knocked herself into a no-fly zone after hitting her head on our French doors. The pesky robin kept photobombing the picture!

And then I went back in the house and baked more than 260 beautiful baby cheesecakes.

I want to give a shout out to Mike, Ben, Chris, and Evan at the Hy-Vee grocery store in Brookings. Mike (not pictured) is the produce manager and for the last three years, he has hooked me up with fresh, juicy raspberries, strawberries, and Key limes for my Fire & Ice desserts. When I went to pick up my limes this year, Mike was gone and Chris, Evan, and Ben (pictured from left to right) made sure I had the best-looking bunch of Key limes. So I took their picture – the best looking bunch in the produce section. You know the tune, “Where there’s a helpful smile in every aisle.”

I had so many limes leftover that we ate lime chicken tacos for a few days and now we’re crunching through a batch of our favorite Chicken Black Bean Salsa.

Thank you also to the Brookings High School Honor Society and the event staff from SDSU Catering. The kitchen was a harmonious frenzy that night and you helped pull off the dessert presentation and service with swift and gracious style.

Lastly but most importantly, to Julie Wermers, Executive Director East Central CASA, and Darilyn Odegaard, President East Central CASA, and to the East Central CASA Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and Fire & Ice committee — thank you for giving a voice to children who would otherwise be unheard, and for giving them hope for the future.

Key Lime Cheesecake with Patrón Sauce

A 9-inch springform pan will give you 12 slices. If you are using the mini cheesecake pans, this recipe will make 24 babies. 

Crust

3/4 cup vanilla wafer crumbs

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons butter, melted

Cheesecake

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

5 tablespoons sour cream

5 teaspoons flour

4 eggs, room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

1/2 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed to room temperature

1/3 cup Key lime juice, either fresh or bottled – I use Nellie and Joe’s

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Key limes for garnish

whipped cream for garnish

Key Lime Patrón Sauce

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons Key lime juice

1 teaspoon lime zest

1 to 2 teaspoons Patrón Silver 100% Blue Agave Tequila, or tequila of your choice (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix crushed wafer and graham cracker crumbs with sugar and melted butter. Stir until well combined. Spray a 9-inch springform pan or two mini cheesecake pans. Press crust evenly into pan(s). For 9-inch pan, bake for 10 minutes. For mini cheesecake pans, bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

If you are using mini cheesecake pans, reduce the oven temperature to 250°.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft and smooth, making sure there are no lumps. Add the sugar and sour cream, beating until smooth. Beat in the flour. At this point, make sure the cheesecake filling is smooth because once you add the eggs, you don’t want to beat it too hard.

With the mixer on low speed, beat in the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, scraping down the sides after each one.

Add the limeade concentrate, Key lime juice, and vanilla. Mix well.

Pour the filling into the cheesecake pan(s).

For 9-inch cheesecake: bake at 350° for 15 minutes and then turn the heat down to 200° and bake for another 60-70 minutes. The center should be a little jiggly, but it shouldn’t look wet.

For mini cheesecakes: bake at 250° for approximately 25 minutes or until the tops just begin to look done.

For all cheesecakes, cool on wire rack for at least 1- 1/2 hours. Place in refrigerator in the pan. After a few hours, you can remove the cheesecake from the pan and cut into slices but it should chill again in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours for the best flavor. Cheesecake is actually best a couple days after it’s made. When ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator about 1/2 an hour before eating.

Serve with tequila sauce on the side or drizzled over the top. To make the sauce, simply stir together the sour cream, sugar, Key lime juice, lime zest, and tequila. Top with whipped cream and tiny slices of Key limes. They are even prettier with a little lime zest sprinkled over the top. You can find the 1-ounce shot glasses at most party supply stores.

Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Cheesecake can also be frozen for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator a day or two before serving.

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Buffalo chicken dip for people who don’t like bones or blue cheese

Every time I shred a rotisserie chicken, I wonder why I’m not vegetarian. So you can guess I’m not down with gnawing on hot wings because of the bones. And I don’t like dark meat.

But I love buffalo chicken – boneless buffalo white chicken with ranch dressing, buffalo wraps, buffalo chicken salads, the list goes on. But those dishes are often served with tangy blue cheese, not ranch dressing. That’s why this spicy, oh-so-creamy dip is a top pick for people who love ranch dressing with their fiery buffalo chicken, and people you’d never catch at the dinner table with an animal bone in their hands.

You’ll enjoy this dip hot or cold. I mostly like it hot on tortilla chips and Jason likes it more as a cold spread. At least we agree on our favorite tortilla chips; the same big, salty ones we use to scoop up hearty Chicken Black Bean Salsa.

Although this dip has never made it past the chips in our house, it is addicting and you may find yourself craving it every day for every meal. Of course you could wrap it up in a morning burrito, but here are some ideas to use this dip in recipes that will carry you through evening meals and midnight snacks:

1. Grilled [buffalo chicken] cheese sandwiches
2. Tower of buffalo chicken nachos with veggie toppings
3. Buffalo chicken panini
4. Buffalo chicken & ranch quesadilla
5. Enchiladas with creamy buffalo chicken ranch filling
6. Croissant roll-ups
7. Buffalo chicken taquitos
8. Buffalo chicken pizza, topped with crunchy vegetables and baked ’til hot and bubbly

Here’s how you make my favorite buffalo ranch chicken dip:

In a large pan over low heat, slowly melt the cream cheese, stirring until silky and melty. You don’t want any chunks of cream cheese. Keep in pan on low.

In a bowl, stir together the wing sauce and the ranch dressing.

Add to the melted cream cheese and stir until everything is mixed together well.

Add the shredded cheeses to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon until the cheese is melted and the dip is well combined.

Toss in the shredded chicken and stir.

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 (12-ounce) wing sauce (I use Hooters wing sauce, medium, because I’m kinda wimpy that way, but your sauce can be a heat factor of hell’s deepest pit or whatever you can handle without needing flame retardant clothing)

1 cup prepared ranch salad dressing (I use Hidden Valley, but I swear one of these days, I’ll think ahead and make homemade ranch dressing using this recipe from Ree Drummond a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman.)

1 (8-ounce) package Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1 (8-ounce) package Colby-Jack cheese, shredded

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (approximately 1-1/2 cups chicken)

tortilla chips or crackers

1. In a large pan over low heat, slowly melt the cream cheese, stirring until creamy and melty. You don’t want any chunks of cream cheese. Keep in pan on low.
2. In a bowl, stir together the wing sauce and the ranch dressing. Add to the melted cream cheese and stir until everything is mixed together well.
3. Add the shredded cheeses to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon until the cheese is melted and the dip is well combined.
4. Toss in the shredded chicken and stir.

The dip is done. Here’s where you get to decide what you want to do with it. I usually eat some now. And then I put it in a big bowl with a lid and put it in the refrigerator. If it’s a casual weekend around the house, Jason will eat it when it’s cold and I’ll reheat some on the stove and eat it again. And again.

If I’m bringing the dip to a party, I’ll keep it hot in a crockpot. If I’m entertaining at home, I’ll either bake it at 350° until it gets a hot, bubbly crust, or serve it sizzling from a crockpot.

Any way you serve it, this is what it will look like when you’re done.

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Minty Cream Cheese Cookies

It’s a cookie that swerves completely off the track from traditional chocolate chip cookies. You’ll grab a cookie thinking you’ll eat just one. You take a bite, roll your eyes back in delight as you chew the lightly crisp edge. With the next bite comes the soft, dense center that’s dotted with minty chocolate chips. A few more bites and you don’t even realize it but your hand is reaching for another.

1 cup butter-flavor shortening

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1-3/4 cups mint chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add shortening, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well combined.

About half a cup at a time, mix the flour into the cream cheese batter on low speed just until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. The cookies don’t spread so they are about the size that you place them on the pan.

Bake 8 minutes or until just lightly browned. Don’t overbake. Cool a few minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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You know how most cookies are best warm out of the oven? These are good then too, but they seem even better after they’ve been sitting around a few hours or a day or so. What’s even better is if you make the dough, refrigerate it a day or two and then bake them. But keep your eye on the dough. Once the kids find out it doesn’t contain eggs, they’ll be sneaking spoonfuls when you’re not looking.

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What’s in the layers? | Marshmallow chocolate cream cheese bars

You may recognize these treats from childhood potlucks in your church basement or from family reunions with people you didn’t really know. And unless your mom shared the recipe with you, the secret layers in these marshmallow chocolate cream cheese bars have long been revealed only to those who bake them.

Each bite holds four layers of cake-like brownies, sweet cream cheese, chewy chocolate, salty pecans, sticky marshmallows, and soft, almost flaky, chocolate vanilla frosting. You will wear a path in the floor to the refrigerator.

Prepare yourself — you’ll use three mixing bowls, a small bowl, and a saucepan to make these bars. But trust me. I would never steer you down a dishwashing path if it weren’t absolutely, without a chocolate doubt, worth every squirt of dish soap.

Marshmallow chocolate cream cheese bars

Brownie base:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (do not substitute margarine)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 (1-ounce) square unsweetened chocolate, melted and set aside to cool slightly

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup pecan pieces or chopped pecans

Cream cheese layer:

6 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/4 cup butter, softened (do not substitute margarine)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup pecan pieces or chopped pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 cups miniature marshmallows

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter

2 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 (1-ounce) square unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons milk

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, melted chocolate, and vanilla; mix well on medium speed. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Gently stir into chocolate mixture. Fold in the pecans. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 pan and spread evenly.

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and beat until well combined. Beat in the sugar, egg, flour, and vanilla until creamy. Fold in the pecans. Spread evenly over the chocolate layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the cream cheese layer and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes. Edges will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Do not overbake or the brownie layer will be dry.

Remove the baking pan from the oven. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the chocolate chips. Bake another 2 minutes or until the marshmallows become puffed. Remove from oven. Gently spread the marshmallows over the layer of chocolate chips. Cool on a wire rack.

Frosting:

In a small saucepan over low heat, cook and stir the butter, cream cheese, unsweetened chocolate and milk. Slowly melt and stir until smooth. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add one cup of powdered sugar at a time, beating after each cup. Beat in vanilla. Spread over the cooled bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen, depending on how large you cut them.

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{Key Lime Pie for Two Seasons}

Ah, summer time. That’s when you want to make this chilled, no-bake summer pie. The filling is light and fluffy with the perfect sourness of tart lime. When you bite into the pie, the salty crust balances out the sweetness.

The creamy filling uses lime curd, cream cheese, whipping cream, powdered sugar, lime zest, and lime juice. That’s why it’s great for spring and summer. For fall and winter, my favorite Key Lime pie is the kind you bake with sweetened condensed milk and eggs. Problem is, I can’t find the recipe right now.

A few months ago, I was looking for a Key Lime pie recipe that uses lime curd but I couldn’t find one. Last weekend, I was going through piles of recipes and magazines in my office and found this one in a Midwest Living magazine from June 2005. (It’s not Key Lime, but you can use Key Limes if you want. I’ve never been able to tell the difference anyway.) It’s on my blog and Pinterest board now so I’ll know where to find it next time.

Summer Breeze Lime Pie from Midwest Living 

Now, if I can just find my “winter” Key Lime Pie recipe before November…

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{Making Cheesecake a Tradition | Reese’s Salted Cheesecake}

It’s happened twice so I hope it becomes a family tradition.

When my two oldest nephews graduated from high school, I offered to bring cheesecake to their parties. Each time, my offer was accepted. On this year’s menu: Caramel Snickers, Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle, Andes Mint and Reese’s^® Salted cheesecake. This one is Garritt’s favorite.

{Reese’s^® Salted Cheesecake}

3/4 cup finely crushed vanilla wafers

3/4 cup finely crushed pretzels

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

5 packages (8-ounces each) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for topping if desired

Heat oven to 350°. Combine crushed pretzels and vanilla wafers with melted butter. Reserve 1/4 cup for topping. Press the remaining crust mixture into a greased 9-inch springform pan or 3 greased mini cheesecake pans. Bake 8 minutes in a 9-inch springform or 4 minutes if using the mini cheesecake pans. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add white and brown sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Do not over beat. Stir in chopped peanut butter cups.

Pour cheesecake batter into pan. Bake in 9-inch pan for 50-55 minutes. If using mini cheesecake pans, bake 15-18 minutes or until the top starts to turn a light brown and the center still looks a little shiny.

Remove from oven and cool 2 hours. Refrigerate at least 12 hours before serving. Top with reserved crust crumbs and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Do you have a special recipe that is traditionally served at family graduation parties?

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{Almost an Empty Nester | Peanut Butter Brownies for Heidi}

Today is a big day — the day the second of three T-boys graduates from high school, which means my sister, Heidi, only has one more graduation before she’s an empty nester. Although my kids are just in middle school, I can only imagine the mixed emotions you feel when your child graduates and goes off to build their own life. The excitement of the day calls for one of Heidi’s favorite sweets. Cut yourself a big square because these brownies combine the flavors of rich chocolate and smooth peanut butter in a cross between cake-like and fudgey bars.

Garritt’s party was last weekend so I baked baby cheesecakes, including his favorite Reese’s^® Peanut Butter. Today, we celebrate with him as he walks the stage and accepts his diploma. And today we celebrate with my sister who is a mom that many of us aspire to be like. (And now that I took the time to write this post this morning, I’ll be late for my lunch with her — good thing these brownies have forgiving powers!)

{Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Brownies}

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

5 (1-ounce squares) unsweetened chocolate

2 1/3 cups white sugar, divided

6 eggs, divided

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1-3/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350˚. Spray 13×9 pan or line with parchment paper or non-stick foil.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate together, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of sugar, 5 eggs, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until fluffy. Slowly beat in the chocolate mixture until combined.

In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt. Gradually add it to the chocolate mixture, beating until well combined. Spread into the prepared pan and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1 egg. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Drop the peanut butter mixture onto the chocolate mixture and spread until smooth or gently marble with a knife.

Bake for 38-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out with minimal crumbs. Cool completely before serving.

Any of you empty nesters have advice for my Heritage-Softail-riding-hardworking-sports-going sister?

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{Cinnamon Banana Bars with Vanilla Cream Frosting}

There’s been a lot of chocolate around the house lately so it was good timing for something different. Lucky for me, I had bananas that were the perfect ripeness for baking moist, cake-like bars.

Even if you don’t have ripe bananas at the moment, you most likely know that you can freeze extra ripe bananas and thaw them when you are ready to bake. My preferred method is to peel them, smash them, and put the banana mush into freezer bags labeled with the number of bananas I used.  Most recipes call for approximately one to one and a half cups of banana, which you can usually get out of 3-4 medium-sized bananas. It works best to freeze them in that portion size.

Bars:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1-1/2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup butter softened (1  1/2 sticks)

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:

 6 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract (I like using Vanilla Bean Crush which adds the tiny flecks of vanilla.)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 15×10-inch jelly roll/bar pan. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In large bowl beat brown sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes of until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan. 

For Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: beat cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar in a small mixer until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Spread on completely cooled bars. Store in the refrigerator and serve at room temperature.

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{Italian Tuxedo Triffle Makes the Cut}

It was an honor to make desserts for the East Central Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Fire & Ice formal fundraising event this year.

It was tough to make a final choice for this year’s dessert. For the 2011 event, I made Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle Baby Cheesecakes and they were a crowd favorite. This year, event organizers, Darilyn and Julie, narrowed it down to Italian Tuxedo Parfaits and Andes Mint Baby Cheesecakes. Since the night’s theme colors were an elegant black and red damask pattern, the parfaits made the cut, and we moved the Andes Mint cheesecake babies to the 2013 short list.

It all starts with good-quality chocolate and my favorite amaretto liqueur, which appears not to have started the day as a full bottle. Sampling my friends, sampling.

Instagram photo from my kitchen

A tower of butter is needed to bake enough brownies for 240 guests.

Instagram photo from my kitchen

We served the light desserts in petite wine glasses.

Instagram photo from the Old Sanctuary kitchen

The recipe in today’s post makes one large triffle bowl full of deliciousness. Of course, it’s always fun to serve them as individual triffles.

(A special thank you to Mike, the Brookings Hy-Vee Produce Manager, who spent part of the morning picking out some of the best strawberries with me! …and for making sure I had enough Ghirardelli white chocolate.)

{Italian Tuxedo Triffle}

For the rich amaretto brownies:

1- 1/2 cups butter, melted

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon almond extract or bakery emulsion

4 Tablespoons Italian amaretto liqueur (I use Disaronno)

1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate,  finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease 9×13-inch cake pan or line with parchment paper (This is the first time I used Reynolds Wrap^® Pan Lining Paper and I will definitely use it again.)

In a medium bowl, stir together melted butter and cocoa. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and eggs on medium speed until fluffy, about five minutes. Slowly beat in the cocoa and butter mixture. Add flour, salt, almond extract and amaretto liqueur; beat just until combined. Spread half of the brownie mixture in the pan. Sprinkle with finely chopped chocolate. Carefully spread the remaining brownie batter over the chocolate all the way to the edges. Bake for 35-37 minutes. Cool completely. Cut into bite-size pieces. 

For the silky white cream:

4 ounces white chocolate

4 Tablespoons milk

2 (8-ounces each) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract or bakery emulsion

2 cups whipped topping, thawed

2 pounds fresh strawberries

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate and milk. Stir until melted. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Beat in powdered sugar and almond extract. Slowly stir in melted white chocolate. Gently fold in whipped cream.

Slice most of the strawberries into bite-size pieces. You’ll want to save some whole strawberries for garnish on top. 

In a large triffle bowl, layer brownies, cream and strawberries. Repeat layers until all the ingredients are gone. Refrigerate 3 hours before serving. Can be made one day ahead.

If you make this, snap a photo and share it with me on Twitter or Instagram @RandomSweets. They’ll all look so pretty!

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Love ‘em or hate ‘em raspberry truffle brownies

With just one bite you’ll know why these are ”love ‘em or hate ‘em” brownies. I almost didn’t write this post because I can’t decide if I like these or not. I figured out why – the brownies are unexpectedly rich and I cut them into regular “bar size” treats. Well, as with any truffle, one small bite is heavenly bliss, but more than that and you’ll be racing to drink straight out of the milk jug.

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease a 9-inch pan. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the 1-1/4 cups semisweet chips with the butter. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar and eggs. Stir in the vanilla and chocolate mixture.

Dissolve 1 teaspoon coffee granules into 2 Tablespoons of hot water; add to the chocolate mixture.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda; gradually add to chocolate mixture. Spread evenly in pan and bake at 350˚ for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely.

Truffle frosting: Melt 1 cup semisweet chips and 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.

Gently beat in the powdered sugar and raspberry jam until well blended. Beat in the melted chocolate. Spread over cooled brownies.

1-1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (I use one Starbucks Via^® – 1 pack contains the teaspoon for the brownies and the 1/4 tsp for the frosting)

2 Tablespoons water

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the truffle frosting:

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup raspberry jam or preserves, I use seedless

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease a 9-inch pan. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the 1-1/4 cups semisweet chips with the butter. Stir until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar and eggs. Stir in the vanilla and chocolate mixture.

Dissolve 1 teaspoon coffee granules into 2 Tablespoons of hot water; add to the chocolate mixture. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda; gradually add to chocolate mixture. Spread evenly in pan and bake at 350˚ for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely.

Truffle frosting: Melt 1 cup semisweet chips and 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gently beat in the powdered sugar and raspberry jam until well blended. Beat in the melted chocolate. Spread over cooled brownies. Chill for a few hours. Cut into small pieces. The frosting is sticky so if serving to guests, place individual brownies in mini cupcake or truffle papers.

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