K-Cup Recipe: Green Mountain Spicy Eggnog Tiramisu

Okay, we want to be honest with you, after this past holiday season, we were left with a ton of extra Green Mountain Spicy Eggnog Keurig K-Cups (that's probably why they are $3.00 off per box at Shoffee.com).

While trying to figure out exactly what to do with our personal leftover stash of Green Mountain Spicy Eggnog Keurig K-Cups, we stumbled across something very interesting on Green Mountain's Blog (GreenMountainCafe.com) - a recipe for Spicy Eggnog Tiramisu (using Green Mountain Spicy Eggnog Keurig K-Cups). Hopefully our friends at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) won't mind us sharing it with you.

Actually, the recipe seems to have originated from Amber at BluebonnetsandBrownies.com (who also has a recipe for Woodchuck Hard Cider Bread that we will be trying this weekend).

Without further adieu, here is Amber's solution for what to do with all of those leftover Green Mountain Spicy Eggnog Keurig K-Cups:

Spicy Eggnog Tiramisu

Serves 6-8

Ladyfingers are a traditional Italian cookie also known as Savoiardi. They are meant to be dunked or dipped, much like biscotti. They are also the traditional building blocks of Tiramisu. You can usually find ladyfingers at your local grocery store – I found mine at Trader Joe’s. You can also buy them at Amazon.com, which I have linked to below.

Ingredients
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/8 cup of granulated sugar, divided
4 oz mascarpone cheese (roughly half the container)
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons eggnog
8 oz Fair Trade Green Mountain Coffee Spicy Eggnog, room temperature
2 tablespoons marsala wine (Kahlua may be substituted)
20 ladyfinger cookies
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
cacao nibs for garnish (optional)

Directions
This is a recipe where a hand mixer, rather than a stand mixer, is an asset. I highly recommend starting out with 3 medium bowls on your countertop, and your hand mixer at the ready. You will need to wash the hand mixer beaters after each step. You should also have your 9″ x 7″ serving dish ready to go.

Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and egg yolks, beating on medium speed until thick and pale, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in mascarpone until combined – do not overmix. 

Set aside.

Wash, rinse, and dry mixer beaters. 

Add egg whites to a second medium bowl, along with a pinch of salt. Beat until the eggs just hold soft peaks. Add the remaining 1/8 cup of sugar a little at a time until it is fully incorporated, then continue to beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.

In a third medium bowl, beat cream and eggnog with cleaned beaters. Beat until the mixture holds soft peaks.

Fold cream into the mascarpone mixture gently and thoroughly, then fold in the whites and make sure they are gently, but fully incorporated as well.

In a shallow bowl (I used a pie plate), mix cooled coffee and marsala wine (or Kahlua). Dip one ladyfinger at a time into the coffee mixture, for about 3 seconds – then flip over onto its other side and do the same. Transfer the ladyfinger directly to the serving dish. Layer 10 ladyfingers on the bottom of the serving dish. You should have approximately 6 from top to bottom of the dish, and 4 along the side to fill in the empty space.

Spread half the creamy mascarpone mixture on top of the ladyfingers, making sure to level the cream out evenly. Repeat a second layer of coffee-dipped ladyfingers, then cover the second layer with the rest of the mascarpone mixture, making sure the topping is smooth and even.

Chill covered lightly with plastic wrap for at least 6 hours, but no more than 24.

Just before serving, sprinkle with cocoa powder and cacao nibs (if you choose to). You may substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips for the cacoa nibs if you like.

Serve to friends and family on fancy china, surrounded by sparkling Christmas lights, Christmas carols, and love.

First Look: Java Cafe Dulce de Leche Coffee Pods

When talking to our customers about what they want, it was clear that those who enjoy single-cup coffee ask for one thing much more than anything else - more flavor choices.

That's why, in putting together the Java Cafe Coffee Pod lineup, we wanted to push the bouderies of flavoring past the regular french vanilla and hazelnut choices (although Java Cafe Vanilla Bean and Java Cafe Pacific Northwest Hazelnut Coffee Pods are part of the lineup too). We've purposely added more flavoring to our coffee pods than anyone else in order to ensure our flavors shine through.

Finally coming to the idea to create Java Cafe Dulce de Leche Coffee Pods was not difficult. Although most caramel flavored coffee pods present the coffee lover with a toasted caramel, or creme brule-like flavor, we wanted ours to be different. We wanted the Java Cafe Dulce de Leche Coffee Pods to have a smoothy, creamy caramel flavor; and (with this coffee pod) we definitely believe that is what we've achieved.

Here is how we describe Java Cafe Dulce de Leche Coffee Pods:

Because the name literally means "Sweet of Milk," we suggest you add your favorite milk (or creamer), a little sweetener and enjoy this caramel delight.


Java Cafe Coffee Pods will be available on Shoffee early this March. Check back daily throughout the month of February as we introduce the entire Java Cafe Coffee Pod lineup.

First Look: Java Cafe Empire Diner Blend Coffee Pods

Starting this March, Shoffee.com will introduce our own Java Cafe brand of Coffee Pods. We created our coffee pod line up with our customers in mind (and even some as part of the committee that put the lineup together).

Java Cafe Coffee Pods are specifically designed to work perfectly with the BUNN My Cafe Pod Brewer.

Starting today, we will be introducing the Java Cafe Coffee Pod lineup, one at a time beginning with our flagship offering Java Cafe Empire Diner Blend Coffee Pods.

Over the past few years, the trend has been to make, what the industry has termed, Donut Shop Coffees. As a matter of fact, since 2007, Coffee People's Donut Shop Keurig K-Cups for the Keurig Brewing System have outsold every other Keurig K-Cup about 8 -to-1.

But when you really think about it, outside of the donut shop with the pink and orange logo, in what other donut shops do you really drink coffee?

As we do for a lot of our marketing meetings, we got together at the Pine Brook (NJ) Diner, right down the road from our office to initially discuss the Java Cafe Pod lineup. As we sipped our coffee, the thought that was echoed over and over was that we need to have a great "donut shop blend" in our lineup.

That's when it clicked. We don't need a "donut shop coffee," we just need a coffee pod choice that which to everyone can relate; and looking around the diner, every person seemed to be relating very well to their diner coffee.

And that's how Java Cafe Empire Diner Blend Coffee Pods were born. Empire Diner Blend is a medium roast coffee, perfect anytime (sort of like breakfast at your favorite diner).

Here's the description we settled on fo Java Cafe Empire Diner Blend Coffee Pods:

Just the way you remember it (and LOVE it). Pull up to the counter and enjoy a cup of your new favorite coffee.

Java Cafe Coffee Pods will be available on Shoffee early this March. Check back daily throughout the month of February as we introduce the entire Java Cafe Coffee Pod lineup.

Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend Keurig K-Cups Back in Stock

Well, today has barely started, and we already can't wait to come into the office tomorrow morning.

Why?

Because our favorite coffee to start our day at the Shoffee offices is finally back in stock.

Earlier this morning, Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend Keurig K-Cups arrived on our loading dock, nearly six months to the day we received our last shipment of them form Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

At this time, we do have a limited quantity of Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend Keurig K-Cups in stock, with more on the day (hopefully arriving in days, not weeks or months like the last time).

So if Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend Keurig K-Cups are one of your favorites, now is the perfect time to stock up at Shoffee.com.

What Will the Caffeinated Future Look Like?

How will we brew our coffee in the future?

A few years ago, we may have pondered this question, and came back with some crazy, outrageous ways that coffee will be made (and most likely served by Rosie the robot), but after reading a recent Forbes.com article and spending some time playing with the linked chart on Trefis.com, we have a totally different idea; coffee in the future will be brewed the same way most coffee is brewed now - with a Keurig.

How did we come to this conclusion?

Forbes says that Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is focused on driving its Keurig single-cup brewer adoption in North American households to generate ongoing demand for K-Cup portion packs, and the linked chart from Trefis.com estimates that in 2018, GMCR will sell 26.7 billion Keurig K-Cups. That's nearly triple what GMCR expects to sell in 2012 (9.19 billion).

With anticipated growth like that, it really doesn't leave room for any other coffee-brewing options. So if every person who tells a friend about Keurig brewing, also tells them about Shoffee.com, the world will be a happy, caffeinated place.

Shopping Shoffee Can Save You More Than $600 a Year

The title of this post caught your attention, didn't it?

Well, it is true (kind of true anyway).

A newly released Workonomix Survey from Accounting Principals discovered half of the American workforce buys coffee regularly at work, spending more than $20 a week on it, an average of more than $1,000 a year.

Now here's where the savings come into play:

You can purchase a brand new Keurig Platinum B70 Brewer from Shoffee.com for only $179.95. Then start ordering Keurig K-Cups from Shoffee, at a price of about $0.58 per cup.

Let's say you replace the money you spend each day for coffee by brewing one (1) Keurig K-Cup at home at a low price of $0.58 each - that would cost you $150.80 for the entire year.

Add the price of the Keurig B70 Brewing System ($179.95) and what you'll spend on Keurig K-Cups in a year ($150.80) and you would have spent $330.75 with Shoffee.com - $669.25 less than the average American worker spends on coffee every year.

Sure those numbers may not apply to everyone, but it really shows that you can save a great deal of money, just by brewing your coffee at home.

We didn't even mention that in year two, you'll save $849.20 - when you already own the Keurig Platinum B70 Brewer...