Engagement announcements, marriage announcements, and pregnancy announcements are taking over my facebook newsfeed. Every time I blink, another of my friends gets married. This past Saturday I attended my third bridal shower in the past eight months, which is nothing compared to one of my friends who has gone to two bridal showers and five weddings since January! She says she’s beginning to feel like the main character in 27 Dresses.
For Saturday’s shower, I wanted to make something simple yet elegant, which is how these bite-sized coffee cream brownie cups came into existence:
Alternate filling ideas: chocolate mousse, frosting shots, cashew cream, my ice cream recipe or my banana pudding recipe (or any ice cream or pudding recipe).
Coffee Cream Brownie Bites
Mousse:
- 1 cup raw cashews or macadamia nuts(120g)
- 1.5 cups (360g) over-ripe banana (Banana-Free Version: Omit banana. Add milk of choice until a mousse-like texture is achieved. Add extra sweetener to taste.)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp instant coffee granules (regular or decaf – I used Mt. Hagen)
- pinch pure stevia extract, or 3 tbsp sugar of choice (dry or liquid)
- 1 1/2 tbsp water or milk of choice (omit if using liquid sweetener)
Brownie Cups:
- 1 cup raw almonds (120g)
- 1 cup pitted dates (115g – about 15 small dates)
- 1/3 cup raw walnuts (30g)
- 1/3 cup cocoa or cacao powder (28g)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp water
For the mousse: Put the nuts in a cereal bowl with enough water to cover them. Let soak 4-6 hours. Drain completely and pat dry. Mash the banana (if using), and measure out the 1.5 cups after mashing, then combine all ingredients in a high-quality food processor or Vita-Mix, and blend on high, scraping down the sides occasionally, until a completely-smooth consistency is reached. (It can take up to 10 minutes in a food processor; much less in a Vita.)
Make the brownie cups: Combine the almonds, walnuts, dates, cocoa, and salt in a high-quality food processor. (Using a blender or vita-mix will yield sticky results and will have trouble processing.) Process until mixture turns to small crumbles. Add no more than 2 tbsp water to achieve a slightly-sticky dough, then process again until it sticks together in one big ball. Break off pieces with your hands and mold along the edges of mini muffin cups, pressing down in the middle so that a cup shape is formed. Freeze 20 minutes, then fill with the mousse. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top each mini tart with Vegan Cool Whip if desired. Makes around 20-21 brownie tarts, and you’ll only use about half the filling but it’s best to make a bigger serving for smoother blending. With the extra filling you can either eat it as mousse or make another batch of the brownie tart shells.
Link of the Day:
Coffee and brownies, enough said. Hopefully my food processor can handle it!
As for best time to get married it depends the location, we got married in Arizona in February and it was perfect weather!
I’m getting married in May – mostly to avoid the June rush but have decent (hopefully) weather. I don’t like the extreme hot months or cold months. Timing didn’t work out for a Fall wedding but that would have been my first choice. I LOVE fall colors!! I think I’ll do my engagement pictures then instead. 🙂
Those brownie bites look fabulous and I was even more excited when I saw they don’t have any tofu in them. Hurray!!
Congratulations!!!! I like May the best too, hope your wedding is beautiful.
These sound so yummy! A question for you. I have an almond allergy, what could I sub for the almonds? More walnuts?
I think that would be fine. Or cashews or macadamia nuts :).
Oh my these sound YUM! Can’t wait to try them! The brownie cup is like your German chocolate bites, which is my absolute favorite from your site!
Your instructions say to combine ‘oats’ – you did mean the soaked almonds, right?
I too was a little put off by the word “oats” and was going to ask the same question!
Sorry, that was a typo. No oats.
Hey Katie! These look amazing, especially with the coffee bean garnish. Too cute! On an unrelated note, I recently picked up a jar of Artisana on a trip to the US after seeing your posts about it. It’s life changing – I don’t know what I’m going to do when I run out! Thank you for introducing me to it!!
These look so delish, I to am happy they are tofu free!
Question: ingredients list says almonds, but directions say oats. Which one is right?
Sorry, oats was a typo. Fixed now.
These are so amazing looking!! Coffee and chocolate together….just perfect. Here in NY the best months to get married are July or August…the only 2 warm months we have 😉
I love that these brownie cups are customizable with the filling! I can see them being a lovely addition to any gathering. Thanks!
Hi Katie!
I’d love to have these! But one thing stands in my way.
I’m allergic to cashews and walnuts. Joy.
Is there any replacements I could make?
Thanks!
I feel like a ton of people I went to school with are either getting married, pregnant, or engaged. It’s crazy to me how fast it seems to happen after school!
These look like the perfect little brownie bites. Especially since there’s coffee added. My favorite ingredient;)