Mocha Butterscotch Pudding

This basic recipe is from February's Gourmet and is excellent. Trick is, at the end before it cools, add 1 tsp. or so of instant coffee. The heat from the pudding mixture will melt the little grinds. Then you have a mocha butterscotch! It was quite a hit at my firm's potluck! Enjoy!

• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1- 2 tsp of instant coffee grinds
  

• For topping:
  lightly sweetened whipped cream

• Whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp salt in a heavy medium saucepan, then whisk in milk and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently, then boil, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl, then cover surface with buttered wax paper and chill until cold, at least 1 1/2 hours.

Banana Expresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe courtesy of a great little baking book called Baked, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. See the website for this Brooklyn, NYC at: http://bakednyc.com/

Yield: 12 muffins (somehow, I got more muffins out of this recipe than that)


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup whole milk (I used 2%)
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 tsps baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, sugars, butter, milk, and egg.
• In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Fill each cup about 3/4 full. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 mins., until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
• Move the muffin pan to a cooling rack, and let cool for 15 mins. After 15 mins, remove the muffins from the pan and let them finish cooling on the cooling rack.
• Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days. (They also freeze quite well if you wrap them individually in saran wrap.)
  

Enjoy!