Deliciously decadent mocha cheesecake is a rich cream cheese mixture flavored with coffee and chocolate. It's the perfect filling to pile inside these dark chocolate cookie cups or just to eat by itself. Sure to be a hit for your next party!
I love chocolate! Which is why I was so happy when PinterTest Kitchen decided to run #Choctoberfest again this year. I took part last year, check it out here, and loved seeing all the delicious chocolate desserts that my fellow food bloggers had made. It kept me knee deep in chocolaty goodness all the way through the holidays!
I had to put on my chocolate thinking cap to decide what to make this year using several products from our new sponsor, Caveman Coffee Company. Caveman Coffee Co. not only offers the best single origin, single estate coffee but, being the health-conscious athlete owners they are, they also carry the highest grade Coconut MCT Oil and Organic Cacao Butter.
So what did I decide to make? Mocha Cheesecake Cookie Cups - oh, they are so so rich and so so good - just look at that creamy chocolaty, coffee-flavored filling! I'm drooling just thinking about them.
I'd been dreaming of making cookie cups and filling them with something decadent for a while and it seemed like a good time to make my dreams come true. I decided to make a chocolate cookie cup, because after all it is Choctoberfest, and fill it with my favorite dessert - cheesecake.
Now, not just any cheesecake would do, nope, I went whole hog and decided to make a mocha cheesecake filling using Caveman's Blacklisted coffee and rich dark cocoa powder.
I also received a package of Caveman Coffee Co.'s cacao butter. I'd never used cacao butter before so I had to do a little research to see how to cook with it and what swap outs I could make.
What is cacao butter used for?
I found it is primarily used for making homemade chocolate. OK, yum, that is definitely next on my list for sure but I really wanted to bake something with it. So I decided to use it in the cookie cups instead of butter. It was a little harder to work with, I had to melt it first, and the dough was a little more crumbly, but the chocolate flavor in the cookie cups was awesome!
I finished with a firm, crunchy cookie dish of rich chocolate that was filled with creamy coffee-chocolate cheesecake in its own single serve package. One of my friends commented that they were something you would see served at a 5-star restaurant, Wow! Gee, thanks!
These Mocha Cheesecake Cookie Cups may look like a gourmet dessert but not to worry, they're easy to make.
That makes it sound like some gourmet dessert that was difficult to make but they are really pretty easy. You can even skip the chocolate cookie cup part and just use refrigerated pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough for the cups, then fill with cheesecake. They can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator and are perfect for dinner parties, buffets, a romantic tête-à-tête or Valentine's Day.
Have you ever used cacao butter before? What did you make with it?
MOCHA CHEESECAKE COOKIE CUPS
Ingredients
Cookie Cups
- ¾ cup Imperial sugar
- ½ cup Caveman Coffee Co. Cacao Butter (or 1 stick dairy butter, softened)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dark cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Mocha Cheesecake Filling
- ¼ cup strong brewed Caveman Coffee Co. "Blacklisted" coffee
- ½ envelope unflavored gelatin
- 8 oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅜ cup Imperial sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 oz 85% cacao high quality chocolate, melted
Optional garnishes
- grated dark chocolate, chocolate covered coffee beans
Instructions
Chocolate Cookie Cups
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick spray.
- Beat sugar and softened cacao butter (or room temperature butter) with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 5 minutes.
- Add vanilla extract & egg and continue to mix until well blended.
- Combine all dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients, beating on low speed until incorporated.
- Divide evenly between 12 muffin cups & press into bottom and halfway up sides to form cups.
- Bake for 12 minutes.
- Remove from oven and immediately press down the center of each cookie cup with the back of a medium cookie scoop.
- Set on wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.
- To remove, use a fork & slide down one side of cookie cup and lift carefully. Place on wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie cups.
Mocha Cheesecake Filling
- Brew coffee then measure ¼ cup. Pour into small bowl and sprinkle with gelatin. Stir until dissolved then set aside.
- In a large bowl of electric mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar and beat until smooth.
- Continue beating while adding sour cream, melted chocolate and coffee gelatin mixture until incorporated.
- Tip: To melt chocolate, place broken up bars in a microwave-safe dish & microwave for 1 minute. Stir. If not completely melted, place back in microwave in 15-second increments.
To assemble:
- I like to use my electric cookie press with the hors d'oeuvre attachment. Fill tube then fill in desired pattern. You can also scoop mixture into the cups with a spoon.
- Garnish with shaved chocolate and a few chocolate covered coffee beans.
Notes
Nutrition
I received complimentary samples of Caveman Coffee Co. products as well as Imperial Sugar to produce a recipe for Choctoberfest. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
Marjory says
So decadent! These would be perfect for Valentine's Day!
wilhelmina says
My chocolate loving husband will be in heaven! These look absolutely divine!
Karen Delaney says
I love homemade German chocolate cake, and Black Forest cake, too
Linda Warren says
Ah, another chocoholic! Love those cakes too Karen. Yum!
DJ says
My favorite is chocolate tiramisu. Yum!
Linda Warren says
Ah, now you're talking! Chocolate and tiramisu - yum!
lk529 says
Those cups are so cute and that filling sounds divine.
Linda Warren says
Thanks! You guessed my secret - the filling is my favorite part! 🙂
Kimberly “kaflickinger73” Flickinger says
My favorite is the chocolate peanut butter pie, looks delicious! Truthfully, I love anything chocolate!
Linda Warren says
Me too Kimberly! Gimme chocolate over any other dessert and I'm happy.
farmquilter says
Chocolate...ahhh, chocolate! One of the most important food groups! My favorite is Chocolate lasagne!!!
Lisa Williams says
My favorite chocolate dish is a homemade chocolate cake with homemade milk chocolate frosting,just so yummy!
Linda Warren says
Oh that sounds yummy Lisa! When you make it can I come over? lol
Dana Matthews says
My favorite chocolate dish is my mom's homemade chocolate pie with meringue on top!
Linda Warren says
Will you share? That sounds fantastic Dana!
Amy C. says
My favorite chocolate recipe is the chocolate cake that my mom made for me on my birthday every year growing up!
Linda Warren says
Aren't Moms the best?! My favorite from my Mom was her chocolate/vanilla marble cake.
Candace Galan-Calderon says
My favorite is german chocolate cake!
Linda Warren says
I love German Chocolate Cake too. I think my favorite part is the topping - pecans and coconut. Yum!
spiffycookie says
Unfortunately I'm not a fan of coffee flavors but so many people are that I know these will be a hit!
Linda Warren says
One of my husband's coworkers, who doesn't like coffee either, actually thought they were great. But I think you could fill these with any flavor cheesecake or mousse and they'd be just as yummy.
Melody Shingler says
oooooooooooooh! Mini bites of pleasure. Too bad your recipe only makes 12! (My fellas wouldn't even get a chance to lick the mixing bowl...) 😀
Linda Warren says
haha, that's so funny Melody because I could have actually licked the cheesecake bowl clean and have nothing left to fill the cups. Bad mama!
Jeffrey says
My favorite chocolate dish is Dark Chocolate Stout Cake with layer of Chocolate Ganache and covered in Chocolate Buttercream!
Cynthia says
The last photo that you shared really had me. I could just imagine myself taking a bite of these little bits of yumminess. I really need to try this recipe
Linda Warren says
I hope you get to try the recipe Cynthia. Let me know if you do, I'd love to know what you think.
Julie is Hostess At Heart says
This is one stunning treat. I just love how creamy and pretty it looks. I'd start at the top and wouldn't stop until the last crumb was gone.
Linda Warren says
Thanks Julie! I have to admit I had to give them away so that I didn't eat every last one of them. They were so good!