2-on-Tuesday: Coffee Bean Crack!

Sifle, a boy in the Calcutta Blind School,
is pictured on the front of the bag
of our Do Good Blend

Several years ago, I looked for easy recipes that were quick and portable to be served to the evangelists, band, AV teams, Crunk Crew, reps and Tennessee missionaries when every restaurant in the locale was full of youth groups after the evening service of the Tennessee Youth Convention.

One of the easiest recipes is Coffee Bean Crack. To be honest I never knew what to call it until recently when someone at a church function returned to the bowl asking to take another hit!



Coffee Bean Crack
(Candy for Adults)

1 bag each of Hershey's Chocolate Chips (mix or match to your taste Premiere White, Semi-Sweet, Special Dark, Milk Chocolate. My fave is the dark & milk mix!)

1 Tablespoon Crisco Shortening (this keeps the choco shiny & smooth)

Do Good Coffee Whole Beans or ground by Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Co.

**optional: 1-2 tablespoons or sleeve of dry, instant coffee

• Empty 2-3 bags of Hershey's Chocolate Chips into a microwave-safe bowl
• Add Crisco
• Heat chips and shortening until just starting to warm-up. Stir.
• Take your time. Back into microwave for small batches of time until the chips melt even as you stir them. Suggestion: Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. 30 seconds. Stir. 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until just melting. (It's at this time I would stir-in the dry instant coffee.)
• Pour melted chocolate into cookie sheet lined with foil or baking parchment and spread.
• Rap the cookie sheet on the cabinet to work out any bubbles hiding in the melted chocolate.
• Take handfuls of Do Good Coffee Whole Beans (and/or ground) and sprinkle across the top of melted chocolate, rap onto the counter a few more times and let set or pop into the fridge for a quicker set.
• When hardened break the Coffee Bean Crack into small shards and keep in a tin or airtight container.

Tips: 

• The Premier White chips take longer to melt than the other chips. 
• My old microwave was almost 30 years old and took 7 minutes for popcorn. I'm guessing yours will melt much faster, so really watch those chips. It can burn quickly and seize up, ruining the batch. 
• If you're really patient, melt the chips over a double boiler. Just remember that any water droplets accidentally falling into the chocolate will cause the mixture to seize ruining the whole batch.

This is so easy to whip up when all of those holiday parties begin to stack up in the calendar!

Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Co. (whole or ground beans) is the official roaster for Calcutta Mercy Ministries and is available in 3 different roasts - Do Good Blend, Kira Ikawa & Ruli Mountain. Coffee may be purchased from me at $15 per bag or online... Click here. The proceeds from each bag will feed 40 people in Calcutta/Kolkata, India!

~"Sam"