I love the taste of chocolate mixed with coffee. In desserts. But not in beverages. That’s right, I don’t care for mocha in beverage form. But I cannot get enough of it in desserts.

Coffee in its various forms (actual coffee/espresso, Kahlua or espresso powder) is probably my favorite flavor to add to chocolate desserts (although peanut butter is hot on coffee’s tail). I’m heavy handed with coffee in any dessert that calls for it and quite frequently I throw a tablespoon of espresso powder into any recipe I make that contains chocolate. In my opinion, the addition of coffee amplifies the chocolate flavor.

So, a couple of weeks ago when we needed a super quick dessert made, this recipe for mocha nut balls was an easy choice. I’d eaten them before at someone else’s house so I knew they were delicious. The cookies themselves are a dark and caffeinated version of the ever popular Mexican wedding cookies. They’re extremely easy to make and as long as you like pecans, coffee and chocolate, you’ll love them. I made the mistake of sharing a few with coworkers and they’ve been asking for more ever since.

The recipe I used is from the Taste of Home website and I think it was originally featured in their print magazine. The only alteration I made was my substitution of 1 1/2 tablespoons espresso powder for the 1 tablespoon of instant coffee granules called for in the recipe. My reason? I prefer espresso over regular coffee.

Mocha Nut Balls

Recipe from Taste of Home

Makes about 50 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules (I used espresso powder.)
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
• Confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla.
3. Combine the flour, cocoa and coffee granules.
4. Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
5. Stir in pecans.
6. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.
7. Bake at 325° for 14-16 minutes or until firm. Cool on pans for 1-2 minutes before removing to wire racks.
8. Roll warm cookies in confectioners’ sugar.

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Blueberries. Wonderful fresh blueberries that I picked myself. Some tart, some sweet. All delicious. These pretty much speak for themselves…so what more could I possibly have to say?

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I’m referring to coconut. Like cilantro, Brussels sprouts or sushi, coconut is one of those foods that people feel strongly about in one direction or the other. Fortunately I’m pro-cilantro, Brussels sprouts and coconut. No, I don’t like sushi. It’s a raw fish and/or seaweed thing. But that’s not the point today.

Today the point is this: If you love coconut, you will love these coconut lime cupcakes. Assuming that you like limes. But I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who was opposed to limes.

I’ve made these cupcakes numerous times in the past and they’re frequently requested by people who have tried them before. I think they’re second only to carrot cupcakes. This most recent batch was made for a cookout on the 4th of July. Joel requested that I make them despite the fact that we didn’t know how the people at the cookout felt about coconut. Fortunately I think most of the people liked coconut and the rest of them just had to go without a delicious cupcake. Their loss. I also shared some with a neighbor and her mom liked them so much that she requested the recipe. And since I needed to post something on my website anyway, here it is!

The recipe for these is from the fantastic Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World cookbook. If you haven’t ever flipped through this cookbook, it’s worth doing just for cupcake ideas.

I did make a number of changes to the original recipe and my version isn’t vegan as I used real dairy products instead of soy ones. I’ve made them the true vegan way as well and really couldn’t tell the difference. The recipe below is my non-vegan adapted version as it’s a lot cheaper to make them this way. Also, the original called for coconut oil and quite frankly, I am not willing to buy coconut oil as it’s grossly expensive and these cupcakes taste plenty coconutty without it.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

Slightly adapted from recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Makes 12 regular or about 40 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup coconut milk (I use the light variety)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract (if you don’t have it, I’ve subbed extra vanilla before and all was well)
• 1 tbsp lightly packed, finely grated lime zest
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup sweetened coconut

Lime Buttercream Frosting:

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp finely grated lime zest (I like lime a lot and I used more like 1 heaping tablespoon. But that’s your call!)

Optional topping:

• 1 cup sweetened coconut, toasted in the oven until browned and crunchy

Directions

Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with liners. If making mini cupcakes, you’ll probably want to bake these in 2 batches.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the vegetable oil and sugar. Add the coconut milk, milk, vanilla, coconut extract, and lime zest. Mix to combine.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth. Add the coconut and mix to incorporate.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes for regular cupcakes and slightly less for mini cupcakes, until the cupcake top springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean.
5. Cool completely on racks before icing.

Frosting:

1. Beat the shortening and margarine together until combined well and fluffy.
2. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.
3. Add the vanilla and lime juice, beat for another 5 to 7 minutes or so until fluffy.
4. Add the zest and mix to distribute.
5. Chill until ready to use.

To Assemble:

1. Heap the frosting onto the cupcakes or pipe onto cupcakes using a pastry bag and decorating tip of your choice.
2. If using toasted coconut on top, sprinkle the cupcakes with the toasted coconut and press lightly so that it adheres to the frosting.
3. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

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