I'm sure we can all agree that brisk winter morning were made for coffees like Green Mountain Coffee^® Fair Trade Golden French Toast^®. Mellow and buttery, maple and comfort come together to make what amounts to, well, a drinkable hug. You can really taste each flavor you'd normally get in French Toast - a little sugar, a little cinnamon, certainly butter, and just that slight egg-y undertone that makes the whole cup surprising and delicious.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, I knew our February recipe approach would have to result in something you could present to the sweethearts in your life. Golden French Toast Blondies are just the ticket to hugs and kisses this February 14th. Blondies by nature are buttery, and the addition of Golden French Toast coffee is absolutely delightful. I sent this batch of blondies with my firefighter brother-in-law to his fire station. If a station full of happy and overly-sugared firefighters is any indication, these Golden French Toast Blondies will be a hit in your workplace too. Serve Golden French Toast Blondies under vanilla ice cream for an extra special Valentine's Day treat.

Golden French Toast Blondies

Makes one 8 x 8 pan

Ingredients
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup Fair Trade Golden French Toast coffee, room temperature
1/2 cup (toasted) pecans, chopped

Directions
Brew one small cup of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Golden French Toast coffee and allow to cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine flour, kosher salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk together to distribute and aerate the flour. (No need to sift.)

Melt butter in the microwave until in liquid form, but not boiling. It took my room-temperature butter about 45 seconds.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until well combined. Add in egg and mix again. Add flour mixture in stages to the butter mixture, fully incorporating the flour before the next addition. Add toasted chopped pecans (toasting is optional) and cooled coffee to the batter, and mix on low until both are fully incorporated.

Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray, or lightly butter and sprinkle with flour. Pour batter into the pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Tap the pan lightly on the counter to further distribute and smooth the top.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until the blondies are golden brown. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into 2"x2" wedges.

Coffee cake is one of those things I don't make too often. Not for lack of love, but more because I love it TOO much. When I make a coffee cake, I'll spend the next week picking at it every chance I get, until I realize that the whole sum of my calories for the week is about 90% sugar and flour. This is one of those coffee cakes you'll want to pick at, or, if you're like me, share with people you need to show love to. I took this cake to the nurses on the ICU ward at a hospital in San Antonio. They were tirelessly caring for my father post heart surgery. If men and women like that don't deserve a little extra sugar and Green Mountain Coffee® Fair Trade Island Coconut® coffee in their life, I don't know who does.

Speaking of Fair Trade Island Coconut, it is absolutely vibrant in this coffee cake. Adding delectable coconut flavor without altering the perfectly dense cakey texture you expect when you bite into a coffee cake. Now that's what I'm talking about! I can also attest that a steaming mug (with half and half for me, please!) is wonderful along-side this cake for an afternoon treat. Make Fair Trade Island Coconut Coffee Cake for someone you love, as a thank you, or simply to put smiles on your coworkers' faces. You won't regret it.

Fair Trade Island Coconut Coffee® Cake

makes 1 bundt cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar

2 egg yolks, well beaten

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1/3 cup cooled Fair Trade Island Coconut® coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Add brown sugar and egg yolks and mix again, until light, fluffy, and completely combined. In a separate, smaller bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk together to combine and aerate, then set aside.

In a measuring cup, combine evaporated milk, cooled Fair Trade Island Coconut coffee and vanilla extract. Stir together until completely combined.

Add the flour mixture and the coffee mixture in alternating increments to the butter mixture, beating between each addition until fully incorporated. Set aside.

In a small bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. (Peaks should not fall when mixer is pulled out of the egg whites.)

Gently fold stiff egg whites into cake batter until just combined.

Spray a bundt pan generously with cooking spray or grease with butter and sprinkle with flour. Pour batter into the pan as evenly as you can, then use a spatula to distribute as needed.

Tap the pan on the counter to even out the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cake is deeply golden and when poked with a toothpick, it comes away clean.

Allow to cool completely. Glaze if desired.

Notes

To make a glaze, combine 1/4 cup powdered sugar and up to 4 tablespoons of cooled Island Coconut coffee. Beat with a whisk until a smooth, liquidy glaze forms. Pour over cooled cake and allow to soak in before indulging.

Cozy Sunday afternoons by the fire. That's what February means to me. We're hunkered down here in New Jersey, where it was 16°F when I woke up this morning. That's some serious cold, my friends.

When it's that cold, there's just nothing for it - except maybe that cozy fire, a hot cup of Fair Trade Golden French Toast® coffee, and the scent of delicious, buttery shortbread studded with coffee wafting from your oven. 

The recipe is simple - no eggs required. You might want to grab your coffee or spice grinder. While Fair Trade Golden French Toast comes pre-ground, you might want a finer grind for your shortbread. We used as-is from the bag, and the tender shortbread is perfect in my opinion. Just know that it's your call to make a finer grind.

Traditional shortbread also contains oats, did you know? Don't skip them here. They take on buttery notes from the Fair Trade Golden French Toast coffee, and make this shortbread an extra special treat. 

Fair Trade Golden French Toast Shortbread

Makes one 8" x 10" pan

Ingredients

1 cup oats (not quick cooking)

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into smaller chunks

1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/8 to 1/4 cup ground Green Mountain Coffee® Fair Trade Golden French Toast coffee

Directions

1. Pour oats into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3 to 5 times, until oats have been somewhat pulverized. 

2. Add chunked butter, sugar, kosher salt, and all purpose flour to the food processor. 

3. Pulse ingredients 3 to 5 times, then add your desired amount of coffee. Remember to separately grind the coffee finer, if you prefer the grounds to be smoother in your shortbread. 

4. Process all the ingredients together for 1-2 minutes, until a smooth dough forms. You will hear a change in the food processor when everything suddenly comes together in one large piece of dough. 

5. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour, or overnight if you prefer. 

6. When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8" x 10" baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly spray a shortbread mold with cooking spray. 

7. Press the dough into the baking sheet or shortbread mold, taking care to make the dough as even as possible across the pan. Sometimes it can help to use a drinking glass like a rolling pin to push the dough where you need it to be. 

8. If using a baking sheet, score the cookies into rectangles using a knife or bench scraper - press all the way through the dough, making rectangles that are about 4 inches long each. (One division of the dough down the long side of the pan, in the center, and then smaller, 1" wide cuts horizontally is what I did.)

9. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. 

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn the cookies out onto a clean surface and cut through the score marks. It is easier to cut the cookies when they are slightly warm. Allow them to cool on a wire rack after cutting. 

Want to win some Golden French Toast to try in your own shortbead recipe?  Go on over to my blog, Bluebonnets & Brownies, to see how to enter!

Happiness comes from lots of things in life; a smile from a stranger, an email from a friend, or your favorite seasonal Green Mountain Coffee® flavors - like Fair Trade Gingerbread and Fair Trade Spicy Eggnog - coming back into rotation.

I'd never made whoopie pies before, but I had my heart set on creating them using Fair Trade Gingerbread coffee since the moment we decided that would be this month's flavor. Can I tell you a secret? Whoopie Pies are now a full on obsession!

They're way easier than I ever imagined. You'll be able to bake up a dozen saucer-sized whoopie pies with tangy, creamy filling in no time at all. They'll make a fabulous impression beside all the sugar cookies and shortbread that make an appearance this time of year.

Imagine the oohs and ahs you'll garner when you present a tray of these festive Gingerbread Coffee Whoopie pies with Gingerbread Cream Cheese filling decorated with red, white, and green sprinkles!

Fair Trade Gingerbread Coffee Whoopie Pies with Gingerbread Cream Cheese Filling

Makes 12 saucer-sized pies

Ingredients

For the Pies

• 1/4 cup Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Gingerbread Coffee
• 1/4 cup butter flavored shortening
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (also known as graham flour)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup full flavor molasses
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

For the Filling

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons Fair Trade Gingerbread Coffee
• Holiday Sprinkles (optional)

Directions

For the Pies

Brew one 4 oz cup of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Gingerbread Coffee and set aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, add vegetable shortening and softened butter, and mix on medium speed until well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times. Add brown sugar and beat again until well mixed, then do the same with the egg.

In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine whole wheat pastry flour, kosher salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Stir with a whisk for one minute (this aerates the flour so there is no need to sift), then set aside.

Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture in the large mixing bowl and mix on low speed to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl often. When fully incorporated, add molasses to the mixture and mix on low speed again until fully combined.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix on low again. Scrape the sides of the bowl and make sure all the flour is mixed in. When this is done, add the buttermilk and cooled coffee and mix on low speed until these last two ingredients are well mixed-in.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then, using a large cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop, spoon 6 portions of batter onto the sheet, well spaced apart as they will spread.

Remove cream cheese for the filling from the refrigerator at this time and leave it on the counter. It will soften while you bake off the pies. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove immediately.

Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a moment, then carefully peel the parchment paper away from each pie half. Place the cookie on a cooling rack to continue cooling, and continue baking the rest of the pies.

For the Filling

Once all the pies are baked and are cooling, begin to make the filling. In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip cream cheese on high for about a minute.

One cup at a time, sift the powdered sugar and add it to the cream cheese, mixing on low at first, then on high to fully incorporate and whip.

When all the powdered sugar is mixed in, add vanilla extract and Fair Trade Gingerbread Coffee to the mixture. Whip on medium speed until the filling reaches the consistency you'd like.

If you find the filling too thick for your liking, add half and half or whipping cream one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each tablespoon, until you reach your desired consistency.

Spoon filling onto one half of a whoopie pie and spread with the back of the spoon in a circular motion towards the outside of the cookie. Top with a second cookie and press slightly so that the filling is visible from the edges.

If you would like, hold the pie over a baking tray and lightly coat the filling with holiday sprinkles. The tray will catch any sprinkles that don't stick to the filling and make for easy clean up.

Refrigerate the pies until ready to serve, up to two days.

[Psst - if you go over to Bluebonnets & Brownies, there's a Gingerbread coffee giveaway going on, too!  Go on over and check-it out!]

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  And yes, I am singing that line - because right now is Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice time. My favorite of all Green Mountain Coffee® blends, made even better because it is Fair Trade Certified™. I big puffy heart developing recipes around all the Green Mountain Coffees that I do, but anyone who's known me for a while knows that Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice is the end-all, be-all in my coffee world. Developing a recipe with this scrumptious coffee is a highlight for me every Fall.

Let's talk about classic combinations for a second. Peanut butter and jelly. Cookies and milk. Doughnuts and coffee. Just a few simple ingredients: pumpkin doughnuts from your favorite bakery, vanilla pudding with a Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice kick, and fresh, decadent whipped cream. Put them together and what have you got? Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice Coffee & Doughnuts Trifle! Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice coffee provides the perfect flavor profile for a decadent Autumnal dessert fancy enough for Thanksgiving, but also at home on a Tuesday. These trifles are make-ahead, and look adorable in mini trifle cups or Mason jars, which also means they'd be easy to transport to the next football tailgate too. Just a couple of Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice K-Cup® packs and you'll be on your way. Just make sure you get your K-Cup® packs ordered soon. They're known to sell out quickly!

Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice Coffee & Doughnuts Trifle

serves 8

Ingredients

4 Pumpkin doughnuts from your favorite bakery (Cake doughnuts with a sugar glaze work best.)
1 3 oz package Vanilla Cook & Serve Pudding
3 8 fl oz cups Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice coffee, divided
2 pints heavy whipping cream, divided
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons granulated sugar Pumpkin Pie Spice for garnish

Directions

Prepare the vanilla pudding mix. The cook and serve style calls for 2 cups of milk on the package. Instead, use 1 cup of heavy whipping cream (You will have 3 cups of heavy whipping cream left over) and brew one cup of Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice coffee. Add both to a small saucepan, and then add the pudding mix.

Stir constantly over medium heat until just reaching a bubbling boil. Remove from heat, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the pudding in the refrigerator - it will thicken as it cools.

After about an hour, the pudding should be the perfect consistency, and nicely chilled.

Slice each of the doughnuts in half, and then chop each halve into smaller pieces. Fit 1/2 a donut into each vessel, whether it be a mini trifle cup or an 8 oz mason jar.

Brew two 8 oz cups of Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice Coffee. Pour 2 oz (the size of a shot glass) over the pumpkin doughnut pieces in each vessel and set aside.

Spoon about 3-4 tablespoonfuls of pudding over the donuts in each serving glass. Distribute evenly among the glasses until all the pudding is used.

Add the remaining cream to a large bowl, along with the pure vanilla extract and granulated sugar. Whip on high speed in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until the cream has stiff peaks.

Spoon whipped cream over the pudding layer in each trifle, making sure each cup gets an equal amount until the cream is all gone.

Cover each trifle with plastic wrap (or screw on lids if you're using mason jars) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle each trifle lightly with pumpkin pie spice for garnish.

Trifles can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

[Psst - if you go over to Bluebonnets & Brownies, there's a Pumpkin Spice giveaway going on, too!  Go on over and check-it out!]

They're here: the dog days of summer. If you're like me, you're craving fall (and Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice K-Cup® packs) like crazy. But we're not quite there. These last few weeks of summer's warmth and late sunsets are just the time to savor Green Mountain Coffee's Brew Over Ice flavors.

Around our house, we adore all the Brew Over Ice choices, from Nantucket Blend Iced Coffee to Strawberry Pomegranate Vitamin Burst™, but we decided to harness the inherent dessert qualities of Brew Over Ice Hazelnut coffee to make one last summery treat - Brew Over Ice Hazelnut and Cream Ice Pops! Just a few simple ingredients and one press of your Keurig® brewer's button will have you on the way to an indulgent sweet treat that's easy too. We love this novel approach to "iced" coffee. I can see making many more ice pops this way with all the Brew Over Ice flavors! I used my Zoku Pop Maker to create these ice pops, but you can use any ice pop mold you like. It'll just take longer to freeze each layer.

Green Mountain Coffee® Brew Over Ice Hazelnut & Cream Ice Pops

makes 4 ice pops

Ingredients

6 oz Green Mountain Coffee® Brew Over Ice Hazelnut coffee

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 oz Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss Vanilla Creamer

Directions

Brew one 6 oz cup of Green Mountain Coffee® Brew Over Ice Hazelnut coffee in your Keurig® brewer. Pour the cup into a small saucepan and add sugar.

Stir the coffee-sugar mixture frequently over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Pour the coffee back into a ceramic mug and place it in the refrigerator. Allow the coffee to cool completely before you make the ice pops. When the coffee is cool, use a measuring cup or funnel to pour coffee into each pop mold about 1/3 of the way up.

Place in the freezer and allow to freeze completely before starting the next layer.

When the first layer is frozen, repeat this step with Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss creamer, pouring it on top of the first layer, another 1/3 of the way up the pop mold. Place back in the freezer and allow to freeze completely.

Once the second layer is frozen, finish with another coffee layer.

If you'd rather have ice pops in a hurry, and don't care about the striped look, simply mix the coffee and creamer together and freeze all at once.

I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes there's nothing better with a hot cup of coffee than a cookie. A really great cookie, where every bite offers a surprise. A crispy outer texture and a chewy middle are also must-haves. This is what I wanted when I started thinking about today's recipe featuring Green Mountain Coffee^®Fair Trade Island Coconut® Coffee. Island Coconut is one of my favorite Green Mountain Coffee seasonal flavors, second only to Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice (which, from me, love springs eternal). I dare say Island Coconut is my husband's favorite Green Mountain flavor, period. I was inspired to create a cookie that you would love, but also that he would adore, given it's his favorite flavor.

I gathered as many coconutty mix-ins as I could, and even went so far as to separate the Almond Joy Pieces - think M&Ms with toasted coconut and almond inside - by color, only adding the brown and cream colored candies. (There may have been discussion of my OCD behaviors as I separated out the blue candies from the brown and cream.) You coconut lovers are going to really enjoy that Fair Trade Island Coconut Coffee makes an appearance in both the cookies and a yummy glaze for the top. Don't skip the glaze! It's so easy to make, and really adds something special to your afternoon coffee break.

As you read the recipe, you'll notice that I say to refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 20 minutes. This is a recommendation I would make to you for any cookie dough, not just my recipe. Cookie dough bakes and tastes better if it is allowed to get cold again before baking. That's why those store-bought ready-made doughs taste so darn good and look so uniform when baking. Refrigerating your homemade cookie dough will get you the same delicious results. Let's just say if you place a plate of these next to the office Keurig^®brewer, you're going to be everyone's favorite co-worker. I hope you love them as much as we did!

Island Coconut Cookies

makes approximately 32 large cookies

Ingredients

For the Cookies

4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups of butter, melted (3 sticks)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Fair Trade Island Coconut coffee
2 large eggs
1 cup Almond Joy Pieces
1 cup toasted angel flake coconut
1 cup cocoa dusted almonds, chopped

For the Glaze
1/4 cup Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Island Coconut coffee
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

For the Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Brew a cup of Green Mountain Fair Trade Island Coconut Coffee. Use the smallest setting your Keurig allows. I used my 4 oz setting. Allow the coffee to come to room temperature, placing in the refrigerator if necessary to speed up the process.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, kosher salt, baking soda and quick cooking oats. Use a whisk to combine the ingredients evenly and aerate the flour. Set aside.

When the oven is heated, place the angel flake coconut on a parchment lined baking sheet in an even layer and place in the oven. Bake for 7-12 minutes, checking often in the last 5 minutes of cooking. The coconut should toast to a spotty golden brown. Don't expect all of the coconut to change color.

Remove from the oven immediately if you see any pieces start to get dark brown. Turn the oven off again once toasted.

In the bowl of a food processor, place the cup of cocoa dusted almonds. Pulse repeatedly until the almonds are fairly small chunks.

In a medium bowl, combine the cooled coconut, cocoa dusted almond pieces and Almond Joy pieces. Mix by hand until evenly distributed, then set aside.

Melt the sticks of butter in a microwave safe bowl, then allow them to cool slightly. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, both sugars, vanilla, and coffee. Mix on low until combined, then add the two eggs. Mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add flour mixture in increments, mixing on low after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before you add more flour each time. When flour mix is completely incorporated, add the toasted coconut mixture and mix on low or by hand until the mix-ins are well distributed.

Place the entire bowl of dough in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, though half an hour is better.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Using a large cookie scoop, scoop 9 cookies at a time onto a parchment lined baking tray. Place the dough back in the refrigerator after you dish out each set of 9.

Bake for roughly 17 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown. Allow them to cool for a moment on the tray, then remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before glazing.

For the Glaze

In the bowl of a mixer or small mixing bowl, combine coffee, powdered sugar, and cream cheese. Mix on medium high until the cream cheese has completely mixed in and the glaze becomes fairly thick. Add more powdered sugar if you would like the glaze to be thicker.

When the cookies are completely cool, spread them out on paper towel. Place the glaze in a frosting bag or ziptop bag. Seal the bag by twisting to remove all the air, pushing all the glaze into one sealed corner of the bag for piping. Cut a very small tip off the corner of the bag, then pipe glaze onto the cookies in any pattern you like (I did a criss-cross zig-zag). Allow the glaze to set for at least an hour, then place the cookies in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for freshness. Serve alongside strong cups of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Island Coconut coffee!