Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Chocolate-Coffee Pinwheels


Good morning! Have you had your coffee yet? Better go grab a cup…all this coffee talk will have you jonesing for a fix. Ahem…of coffee!

Am I addicted to coffee? I don’t think so. I don’t have to have a cup, but I sure do enjoy it. For me, it’s all a part of the routine. It means a slow-paced morning and a chance to take a breath and get ready for the day. Brew a strong pot of dark roast, sit down, inhale that heavenly aroma, and that first sip? Oh yeah…that first sip is the best. Does that sound like a caffeine addict? Okay…maybe it does. But I almost feel the same about decaf, so I can’t be too far gone, right?


I don’t remember my first taste of coffee, but I do have a vivid memory of my mom singing an old coffee commercial jingle to me. I was about five years old and sitting in front of one of those old wall heaters, cold feet tucked under me, still in my pajamas with bed head and sleep in my eyes. The jingle went, “The best part of wakin’ up, is Folgers in your cup.” But my mom, much to my delight, sang it as, “The best part of wakin’ up, is Folgers in your butt.” It still makes me laugh out loud (because I’m so mature). And now that I’m such an adult, I’m going to eat chocolate for breakfast. Because I can.


When I was chosen to participate in the #MyBaristaMoment campaign for Smart & Final’s Ambiance brand of coffee, I was thrilled to create a treat to go along with your morning cup of joe. My head was spinning with ideas of coffee cake and cinnamon rolls, but then I thought about what I really wanted to eat for breakfast…chocolate!

Coffee and chocolate go together like peanut butter and jelly. Except way better. The hardest part was choosing which coffee to use for this recipe. I wanted the darkest roast they had…something that would really stand up to the flavor of the chocolate, like Italian Roast.

Now if this doesn’t get you going in the morning, I don’t know what will…


Chocolate-Coffee Pinwheels

Makes about 40

1/3 cup Ambiance Italian Roast ground coffee
water
1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons sugar, divided use
2 sheets puff pastry
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Make coffee simple syrup by brewing a very strong pot of coffee by using 1/3 cup ground coffee and filling water to about the 3-cup line on your coffee maker. (You will have leftover coffee.)

In a small saucepan, stir together 1/2 cup brewed coffee and 1/2 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 5 minutes until sugar is dissolved and mixture is slightly syrupy. Let cool.

Meanwhile, chop chocolate chips and pecans very finely. (Use a mini food processor to chop pecans very fine.)

When syrup is cool, lay a sheet of puff pastry on a cutting board. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the entire sheet. With a rolling pin, roll pastry out slightly in all directions, pressing sugar in (and keeping rectangular shape). Flip pastry over.

With a pastry brush, liberally coat pastry with coffee syrup. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar, half the chopped chocolate and half the chopped pecans over the syrup, leaving a 1/2” edge on one side of the pasty. Spread out evenly. Using your hands, press into pastry.

Starting with the end opposite the 1/2” border, roll pastry up tightly into a pinwheel. Seal by pressing the edge into the roll.

Repeat with second sheet of puff pastry.

Refrigerate rolls for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Slice the rolls into 1/2" pieces and lay on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 6 minutes on one side, flip over, and bake for 5-6 more minutes. (Watch carefully in the last minute…they go fast.)

Remove from oven and leave on baking sheet for another minute, them transfer to wire rack. While still hot, brush lightly with coffee syrup on top only. Let cool completely.


I have a confession to make: I think I ate about ten of these in one sitting. 


They are so light and airy that they can’t possibly have calories, right? There is just a hint of chocolate with a hint of coffee and it’s all caramelized to perfection.



This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias #CBias. All opinions are my own.

30 comments:

  1. Wow sounds yummy!! I love italian coffee too, of course ;-)

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  2. Oh man, these look so, so good! I love a light crunch with sweet, flaky pastry and chocolate :) Yummm! Bookmarked.

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  3. What great photos. I admit I am a green tea drinker, but I have to taste this creation; sounds like a recipe even I could make. What a wonderful combination of flavours.
    Rita

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  4. I hate to break it to you, but you eat too many of those absolutely delicious looking pinwheels and it won't be Folgers on your butt. :) Wow, they look good. You sound exactly like me with regard to coffee. I almost feel the same about decaf too. I adore it.

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  5. I am a full-on coffee addict, and I get headaches if I don't drink some. That said, I limit myself to 2 cups a day...most days! These pinwheels look fantastic!

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  6. These look beautiful and have such an awesome mix of flavours - except in cooking, I detest coffee but just for these cookies I would definitely drink with :)
    You have a wonderful blog here with so many unique recipes!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru
    Latest: Two Tone Chocolate Blueberry Cheesecake

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  7. I'm so happy that you have taken after me in the "mature department". These look so yummy. You'll have to bake some for me!

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  8. These look sooo yummy. I'm a total sucker for sugary breakfast treats that involve coffee. Well done :)

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  9. I'm in complete agreement - nothing better than being an adult and choosing to have chocolate for breakfast! Love the recipe, but I have a fear of puff pastry. This looks so good, I may have to take some deep breaths and try my hand at it again.

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  10. The recipe looks easy enough and they I must say look so good. Voted for you!

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  11. This is so creative and simple! My husband would love them. thanks so much for sharing!

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  12. Wow, these look amazing!! Thank you for sharing the recipe :)

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  13. oh my i would love to wake up in a morning as blissful and delightful as yours. i am not into coffee too but i brew it daily for my hubs and yes i know how heavenly the aroma is, and that makes me drink a cup even though i didn't really plan to have one... it would be a good surprise if i brewed coffe for hubs with these pinwheels on the side ... he might think he is in heanve haha!
    malou

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  14. OMG just pulled these out of the oven and i am surprised you could stop at 10. Mine did not turn out as light as yours appear, but that did not stop me a bit - outrageously good! My vote is in! Say Hi to andy for me!

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    Replies
    1. They go from light to dark REALLY fast, but yes, they're still good! I had a batch that went a little too long but they managed to get eaten too.

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  15. These look so amazing!!! What's better then coffee & chocolate for breakfast?! {Nothing}

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  16. these look so amazing and delish! I want to eat one right now!

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  17. Those pinwheels look awesome!! YUM!

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  18. Those look so tasty, I am bookmarking this so I can make them for our Bible Study brunch!

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  19. What a wonderful ideas for pinwheels!!! These sound so good. My husband is a coffee fanatic and would loves these!

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  20. Oh..this looks so yum..wonderful tea time treat!

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  21. 10 of them! I bet I could do double that :) Fabulous pinwheels for those coffee addicts like us

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  22. I really enjoy coffee-flavored pastry. The combination of chocolate and coffee makes chocolate taste so much cholate-ier...and what could be better than that?

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  23. We are in sync! I can not, ever, start my day without my cup of coffee. I don't know but it is never complete, otherwise. Your coffee-choco pinwheels will make my mornings even brighter. Thanks!

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  24. I remember that jingle :) I must have a cup in the morning, in fact I do not speak before I have one, lol. Your pinwheels are scrumptious and I wish I had had one with my morning cup :)

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  25. Ooh...I like that there's coffee actually in these pinwheels. I also like your mom's rendition of the Folgers song. I laughed when I read it...guess I'm immature too.

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  26. I am seriously going to have to make these to stash in the freezer. In fact, they'd be perfect for my playgoup morning tea next week!

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