Mochaccino Brownies

and much mumbling about the holidays

I’m listening to Vivaldi’s “Gloria” as I write this.

I sang in choirs all the way through school and college. At Mount Holyoke I’d sing at the Vespers concerts every December, with two performances in Abbey Chapel for the students, staff and South Hadleyites and one at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. We’d process into the dark church holding lit candles, singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” our voices rising up into the rafters, the only other sound the light shuffling of our feet down the center aisle towards the altar. The rose window provided the only other light and glowed royal blue, as the lights of the city poured through it.

Abbey Chapel, Mount Holyoke College, 2022 Vespers (c/o MHC’s Instagram)

I miss singing with choruses, especially this time of year. I miss a lot of things, actually, but mostly my parents.

Honestly, since my mother died shortly after Christmas a few years ago, I find I teeter my way through the holidays emotionally. My mother’s family were German Jews who came to the U.S. in the 19th century and assimilated as quickly as you can say “Pass the pork roast, please.” She could’ve taught Henry VIII a thing or two about the Church of England and quoted his own Bible to King James I. She would sometimes reply “Anglican” if asked. I think mostly to throw people off. (But she did know a lot of psalms.)

So I make her lebkuchen and my dad’s all-time favorite (he of Vienna) Vanillekipferl. And hang all the ornaments we collected over the years, even tho a Christmas tree was the only thing my father drew the line at for some reason. He was okay with white twigs. We had stockings and presents and a fancy bakery-made Bûche de Noël.

And, of course I carry on all those traditions with my own family, but with a real, live, as-big-as-we-can-afford Christmas tree. (I swear I didn’t marry a Catholic just to have a Christmas tree.)

I’m know I’m not alone this time of year in the occasional inexplicable throat lump, or random salty tear that skitters down the side of my nose. We all have good and bad ghosts of holidays past who rattle their chains around us this time of year. Which is why laws should be passed to make it illegal to play “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” or that most manipulative of song of all “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” anywhere in public, especially not in the supermarket or the CVS.

Bah. Humbug.

So, shut up already, Marissa, I hear you mumble to yourself if you’ve even made it this far. Give us some baked goods! Something new and different to appease and delight the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Today’s offering is a brownie all dressed up and ready for a party. Her deep chocolate flavor is enhanced with cinnamon and very strong coffee—finely ground coffee to be exact. White chocolate chips add a creamy note. Welcome, Mochacchino Brownie!

Mochaccino Brownies Printable Recipe

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Mochaccino Brownies

makes one 8-inch pan of brownies

What You’ll Need:

4 ounces (1 stick) butter

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped for easier melting

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons finely ground coffee (I used a medium roast)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup (5. 3 ounces) white sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (3.3 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces best-quality white chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling over the top

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

What You’ll Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch baking pan (square or round!) with Baker’s Joy (or similar…or butter is fine). Line the pan with a piece of parchment that fits the width of the pan, but hangs over the sides, so it can be used as a sling to lift the baked brownies out. This makes it easier to cut them.

2. Melt the butter and the 4 ounces of chopped chocolate in large, heavy-bottomed pot over low heat. The pot is where you will mix all the ingredients, so make sure it’s big enough. And only one pot to wash!

3. Add the cinnamon, coffee and vanilla and stir until combined.

4. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sugar. Incorporate the eggs one at a time; whisk until the mixture no longer looks oily from the egg whites. Fold in the flour, along with the salt, in two batches. Stir in the 8 ounces of white chocolate chips and the 4 ounces of semisweet chips. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the remaining white chocolate chips on top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the center feels firm.

5. Cool completely.

   Note: These brownies taste best once they’ve aged and mellowed a day or two in the refrigerator. Just be sure to wrap them up well so they don’t take on offensive refrigerator odors!

How are you feeling about the holidays? What is your favorite and least favorite holiday song? Do you have a little more spring in your step because Raphael Warnock won? And the Trump organization got a real-live criminal indictment yesterday?