Espresso Bean Coffee Toffee with Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients:

Chocolate-covered espresso beans were a staple of my college years. This dessert is an expression of my love for whole coffee beans. There's just something about that brittle, almost hollow crunch as they break apart and release their heady, pungent flavor. By using whole beans in the mix, the entire toffee is infused with coffee flavor. The beans add texture and a wonderful visual component.

This was an experimental batch. In the future I would probably double or even triple the other ingredients and no more than double the bean volume. I would have preferred a slightly thicker toffee than this batch produced.

For Toffee:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup espresso beans

Step 1:

For Glaze:
- 1/2 cup chocolate pieces
- 2 Tablespoons strong coffee
- 2 Tablespoons sugar

Step 2:

Start by liberally greasing a cookie sheet or other large, flat, clean surface with butter. Be very generous with the lubrication, you'll thank me later.

Step 3:

Combine all ingredients except espresso beans in a medium saucepan. You may want to consider a large one, for reasons that will become clear soon.

Step 4:

Attach your candy thermometer and start heating.

Step 5:

Stir constantly. Be aware the mixture will have a tendency to foam at lower temps.

Step 6:

This tendency will be somewhat reduced once the water has boiled off. continue to heat, stirring very frequently, until you reach the magical candy-making temperature of 285 Fahrenheit (140.5 C). Immediately remove from heat and stir in espresso beans.

Step 7:

Pour onto the greased cookie sheet to cool.

Step 8:

Once the toffee has cooled, it's ready for a glaze. This particular glaze isn't completely solid at room temperature - its texture resembles a dense frosting, but the flavor is outstanding.

Combine sugar and coffee in a saucepan.

Step 9:

Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat and stir in the chocolate.

You can thin this mixture by slowly adding coffee, no more than 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired pouring texture.

Step 10:

Drizzle/glorp over your toffee. Allow to cool or serve immediately.

Step 11:

Close-up of the Espresso Bean Coffee Toffee with Chocolate Glaze.