Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Latte Bars

I must confess....I have no idea what a latte tastes like. I don’t drink coffee. I am a tea drinker. I love my tea, hot or cold. Sometimes I feel like an alien right here on earth because I never partake in a cuppa joe. You should see the looks I get when someone offers me one and I say, “No thanks, I don’t drink coffee”. “You don’t drink coffee??” Like it’s some kind of a sin or something. Geesh. I work in an office full of coffee drinkers. They drink it all day long. I live with one of the biggest coffee drinkers I know, my husband, the java fiend. He cannot function without a pot of in the morning. That’s right I didn't say cup, or cups, I said pot.

Now while I don’t like the taste of coffee, I love the smell, especially those flavored ones. Hazelnut, vanilla, raspberry, they all smell good to me. I also love coffee flavored things….ice cream, syrup (yup that’s big here in RI), and desserts. When I came across this recipe for Latte Bars I knew it would be something that my hubby would go nuts for and that I would probably like too. I was right.

You can really taste the deep espresso flavor in each bite. Like what I would imagine a great cup of coffee would taste like, but with a mocha twist. The frosting also has a coffee kick and the creamy, rich topping covered in crushed chocolate covered coffee beans is totally decedent. I even like the chocolate covered espresso beans, but then again, there’s not much that you can dip in chocolate that I won’t eat. So if you are a coffee lover, you will love these, and even if you’re not a coffee lover, you might like them too!




Latte Bars
Printable recipe
2 to 3 teaspoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons hot water
1-cup sugar
¾ cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1-teaspoon vanilla

Frosting
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons, butter, softened

1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped chocolate covered espresso coffee beans

Heat oven to 350. Combine 2 to 3 teaspoons espresso powder in hot water in a small bowl; stir until dissolved. Set aside.

Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, and salt in medium bowl. Stir in ½ cup melted butter, eggs, vanilla and dissolved espresso mixture. Mix well.

Spread into greased 8 inch square baking pan. Bake for 23 – 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Frosting
Combine ½ teaspoons espresso powder and 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl. Stir until dissolved. Add powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons butter. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, adding enough additional milk for desired consistency. Frost cool bars, sprinkle with chopped espresso beans.

8 comments:

Michele said...

The Latte bars look delicious!

I have my very own bottle of coffee time syrup in the fridge just for pouring over ice cream. I love the stuff....even though I'm not from RI.

I'm a coffee drinker year round until winter hits. Then I kick into tea mode. Of course I will still have my 8 cups of coffee a day, but I also add in about 5 cups of tea. :-)

Southern Rose said...

I'm right there with you. I love the smells of a lot of the coffees (my husband is a coffee fiend as well - a pot at home, then I don't even knows how much more at work). I don't drink tea either. So when I get asked whether I want coffee or tea, I get served a glass of water. Woo hoo. No caffeine (or flavor, for that matter) for me unless I bring along my own Coke or Pepsi...(which would be kind of wierd in most situations).

Thanks for sharing your recipes! I enjoy reading your blogs each day.

Sandra :) said...

I am *SO* making this when I can find some espresso powder and chocolate espresso beans - I haven't noticed them before, so I'm not sure which stores around here might carry them!

I don't drink coffee either - it sure does make other people look twice at you, eh? It's like being a lefty in a righty world! ;)

Dana @ Cooking At Cafe D said...

Printed. Filed. Looks like a Christmas eve night treat for our annual extended family bash / sleepover. (I'm thinking crushed red and green M&M's on top.)

Lisa...you are so inspiring!
D.

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary said...

Michele - Yeah on the coffee syrup. I have mailed so many bottles of the stuff all over the country I have lost track!

Rose - I'm glad someone else's hubby is as bad as mine!

Sandra - I found my espresso in a smaller grocery chain. You can sub instant coffee. If you can't find the chocolate covered beans, you can leave them out. They are just for show, lol.

Dana - Next time I am doubling the recipe, that's how good these are. One 8x8 pan went in a day. Even my little ones loved them.

Proud Italian Cook said...

Hi Lisa, I'm drinking a big cup of coffee right now looking at these srumptious latte bars, which will be on my to bake list!

Lisa said...

I thought I was the only one who loves to smell coffee but not big on drinking it!

I do like coffee flavored things. These bars might be something to try!

Sandra :) said...

Well this recipe certainly worked out well - the brownies tasted as good as they looked! I used Cappuccino Flavored Coffee Mix - an instant creamy coffee mix from the coffee section of the grocery store - it's what I had on hand, so I tried it. The recipe was easy enough to make any night for dessert, but it tasted good enough to serve to company. We quite enjoyed this!