Coffee & Dessert: Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars Recipe

You are going to love indulging with some of these caramel apple cheesecake bars with your morning coffee and you will not be disappointed. These will send you into food heaven.

This recipe is incredibly easy and well worth it. The ingredients you need are:

Crust:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 sticks of softened butter

Filling:

• 3 packages of cream cheese 
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 3 eggs

Apple mix:

• 3 peeled Granny Smith apples-- diced
• 2 tbsp of white sugar
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of nutmeg

Topping:

• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of Quick Oats
• 1 stick of softened butter
• Caramel sauce

Here are the directions for making the best dessert to pair with your fresh ground coffee:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. LIne your baking pan (9x13") with foil and overhang on the sides a bit
3. Add flour and brown sugar to a medium sized mixing bowl 
4. Mix in butter with two forks, or use a nice pastry blender, until your mix is nice and crumbly
5. Press the mixture into the prep'd plan
6. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes
7. Add in your cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar in a large mixing bowl
8. Mix this until it's smooth
9. Add in the eggs, one at a time
10. Pour the mix into the crust
11. Add in your apples, sugar, and cinnamon to a medium sized mixing bowl
12. Coat the apples in the sugar and cinnamon
13. Place apples over the cream cheese mix
14. Add brown sugar, flour, quick oats and soft butter to a medium sized mixing bowl and stir
15. Sprinkle this over your apple layer
16. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. 
17. Allow to cool overnight in the fridge
18. Drizzle caramel sauce on top
19. Slice
20. Enjoy

Coffee S'Mores Pie Recipe. Need We Say More?

It's summer and that means s'mores! "S'more what?" "You're killing me, Smalls!" Also, coffee. It is the incredible combination of the two best things on earth. Aside from having coffee in the recipe, this pie goes great with a dark roast coffee.

Ingredients: 

The Crust

• 9 graham crackers. Smashed finely. 
• 2 tablespoons of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of Nutella
• 1 ounce of semisweet chocolate, melted
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, melted

The coffee ganache

• 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 & 1/4 cups of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons of fresh coffee grounds

The meringue

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of sugar, white

The graham cracker crust prep

1. Mix the graham cracker crumbs and the other ingredients in a mixing bowl. 
2. Once mixed, spread this mixture into a pie tin. Push until firm. 
3. Chill for about 30 minutes. 

The coffee ganache prep

1. Place chocolate and butter in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Bring the cream, the coffee, and 2 tablespoons of water to a boil in a small saucepan. 
3. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let steep for about five minutes. 
4. Strain the cream mix through fine, mesh sieve into the bowl with the chocolate and butter. 
5. Toss the coffee grounds. 
6. Stir the mix until it is all melted and smooth. 
7. Pour this into the chilled crust. 
8. Let set for an hour. 

The meringue

1. Use an electric mixer on medium speed. 
2. Beat the egg whites in a medium sized bowl until they are light and frothy. 
3. Add in sugar in 4 additions to avoid sugar rebounding everywhere. Beat for one minute with each addition. 
4. Beat egg whites and sugar until stiff and glossy. 
5. Spread the meringue over the coffee ganache. Feel free to make it decorative! 
6. Use a kitchen torch to brown the meringue a bit to give it that campfire roasted marshmallow look. 
7. Keep the pie chilled. It can be made 8 hours ahead of time. 

Coffee Recipe: Chocolate Cherry Jubilee Frappe

It's summer. Summer means happiness. Happiness is brought on by chocolate, coffee, and cold drinks. Oh, and cherries. Now let's combine all four things into one big happy frappe!

This frappe is deliciously chocolatey and has a special sweet spot in our hearts with the plump cherry on top.

You can make this frappe with some partially frozen coffee, about 1.5 cups, partially thawed. 1/2 cup of frozen cherries, 1 tbsp. of unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tbsp. of maraschino cherry juice, 1/4 cup of stevia, and 1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut milk. This recipe will make about four cups.

Directions: 

1. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. This will take approximately two minutes. 

If you are interested in the drink but not a huge coffee fan, feel free to add some milk and cubes and make it more of a milkshake! If you want to make the drink real smooth, blend it for a while. If you want to make it thicker, then add in some xanthan gum (1/8 of a teaspoon). Before we mentioned the recipe making four cups, if you add in the xanthan gum, it will stretch it to six cups.

If you are counting your calories, this drink is about 46.2 calories per serving (2 cups is one serving). Fat is 1.6g, 0 cholesterol, 38.1g of sodium, 9.2 carbs, 5.8g of sugar, and .08g of protein.

Enjoy your chocolate cherry jubilee frappe! Any questions? Contact Coffeevines! 

How To Make Homemade Coffee Creamer (And Ditch the Additives)

Adding some delicious coffee creamer is every coffee drinker's right. What is not right is adding in expensive coffee creamer that is loaded with additives. That leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and it's not from the gas station coffee I got the other day. So how can we make our own coffee creamer? Let's get started. 

The base ingredients: 

• 3 cups of any combo of milk (your choice of milk)
• 4 tbsp of your favorite sugar for sweet cream

Instructions:

• Milk:
• Choose a milk that does not have any hormones, antibiotics, and GMO-fed dairy in it
• You can also use soy milk, rice milk, or almond milk. 
• Sweetener:
• Less processed sugar, the better. You can also use substitutes like Stevia or raw/organic honey. 
• Flavor: Chose any of the flavors listed below. Mix them into the base of 1.5 cups of milk and 1.5 cups of cream. 
• Mocha java: 2 tbsp of cocoa powder, 4 tbsp of brown sugar
• Mexican mocha java: 2 tbsp of cocoa, 4 tbsp of brown sugar, and 1 tsp of cinnamon
• Gingerbread: 2 tsp of molasses, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp ginger, clove, and cinnamon
• Almond toffee: 5 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp of almond extract
• Vanilla latte: 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 4 tbsp of sugar
• Mocha mint: 2 tbsp of cocoa, 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract, 4 tbsp of sugar
• Cinnamon roll: 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 4 tbsp of brown sugar, and a pinch of salt
• Cherry amaretto: 1 tbsp of almond extract, 4 tbsp of sugar, and 1 tsp of cherry extract
• Chocolate raspberry: 4 tbsp of seedless raspberry jelly, 2 tbsp of sugar
• Salted caramel: 6 tbsp brown sugar, pinch of salt
• Bring it all to a slow simmer- mix in the sweetener and the flavoring into your milk and slowly bring the mixture to a simmer and steams slightly (do not let it come to a boil). Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool. Once it is cool, place it in the fridge. 

Enjoy your K-Cup coffee or fresh ground coffee with some homemade, delicious coffee creamer! 

GIF source: http://wherethecontrailsgo.tumblr.com

How Coffee Affects Your Health

Coffee. A lot of people around the world drink it every single day. It is consumed by people of many ages. This black nectar of the gods is consumed at an incredible rate, most of us drink at least a few cups per day.

Since so many people drink so much coffee, one has to wonder, how does it affect our health? A recent medical study from the Harvard School of Public Health, we have news that will make you smile just as much as that black coffee you're drinking did.

• Six cups of coffee will not increase your risk of death from any particular cause. The medical study from the Harvard School of Public Health dispelled rumors saying six cups of coffee per day increased risk of heart diseases, among others. 
• If you have trouble regulating your BP or blood sugar levels, then the study suggests consuming a small amount of coffee or switching to decaf coffee K-Cups. 
• Pregnant women should avoid coffee during the duration of their pregnancy; even decaf coffee should try to be avoided as it does contain a small amount of caffeine. 
• Coffee that is brewed with a paper filter, whether the coffee is fresh bagged coffee or K-Cup coffee, will remove a substance in the coffee that has been linked to increased levels LDL cholesterol. 

The study from the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study with 130,000 people. The study followed 40-50 year olds for 20 years. The study found that people who consumed six cups of coffee per day were at no more of a risk of death from any diseases than non-coffee drinkers. This shows that coffee is not a risk to your health, unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as an allergy to caffeine.  

Can you drink too much coffee? Yes, that amount varies from person to person. If you experience tremors, trouble sleeping, feeling stress or anxiety, agitation, etc. then you have likely had too much coffee. Always exercise moderation. 

gif source: https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/coffee-gif