Week Five: Coffee and Confections

    This week I will be exploring one of my favorite things on this planet- coffee. My friends often ridicule me for the fact that I am rarely seen without a cup of coffee in my hand. I bring a cup to each of my morning classes and I usually average about two cups a day. In college, coffee is the liquid of life. If there was a holy grail for higher education it would probably be full of some kind of latte or mocha. Coffee is something that college students take very seriously- especially when finals week rolls around. I write this week’s entry in hopes that I may introduce you all to a few new study spots or just a place to grab a great cheap cup of coffee.

    My first coffee hotspot is a new establishment on campus called Stay Wired coffee. I discovered this place when my bible study group met there a few weeks back. Located behind the bookstore, it looks a little dim and sketchy from the outside but the inside is warm and cozy with lots of comfortable chairs that are perfect for studying. They have a menu of house drinks and a few snacks- anything off of the specials menu is a good bet when it comes to choosing a drink. I have to admit that I had a mini celebration upon discovering this place. As I’m sure many of you have noticed, TCU has a dangerous shortage of quaint little coffee shops. Stay Wired is getting our campus off to a great start.

    The second on-campus coffee shop that I want to share with you is Café Brazil. Although it that hasn’t opened yet, I am already bursting with excitement over the addition of this 24 hour coffee shop to the block of restaurants below the Grand Marc. My best friend and I have made several pilgrimages to Dallas just to study in the Café Brazil setting and enjoy a s’mores latte. They serve much more than coffee at Café Brazil, but anywhere that serves something good and is open for 24 hours is an institution worth knowing about!

    So why is this entry titled “Coffee and Confections,” you might ask? Well there isn’t anything that goes much better with coffee than a little something sweet. A perfect example of a coffee shop that offers great drink options and a few blissful treats is Buon Giorno, a coffee shop off of 7^th street. Not only do they have a broad menu with countless tasty hot and cold caffeinated drinks, they also offer great home made desserts.  My personal favorite is what they call a Cake Ball, which is basically mashed up cake mixed with icing, rolled into a ball, and dipped into chocolate. They are actually very simple and fun to make… Definitely worthy of a future eating adventure.  Below is a picture of the coffee and cake balls my friend and I ordered while on a coffee date this past week.

    For today’s entry, I want to leave you with a really simple recipe for a delicious little home made truffle. All you need is one package of Oreos, one 8oz package of cream cheese, and a package of dipping chocolate (which can be found in the baking aisle). Crush the Oreos until they are in small pieces. Combine the entire package of cream cheese with the Oreo crumbs and mix with your hands until it has been evenly distributed. Roll this gooey combination into balls and refrigerate until they become firm. Coat each ball in the melted dipping chocolate and voila- you have one batch of Oreo Balls. These are great to eat with your afternoon coffee or even serve at parties. Keep them stored in the refrigerator and they will last you a couple of weeks as long as one else finds out about them…

    Until next week, stay caffeinated at a few of these great coffee shops and indulge in one or two of these tasty treats.

    Happy eating... And drinking!