Like coffee, licorice and chocolate? Read on…

So very healthy

We started to label this, but coffee and Sambuca granita with chocolate crinkle cookies and Amaretto whipped cream was just too long. My wife whipped this up for company recently. She wanted something that wouldn’t be too heavy after lasagna. Keep in mind our definition of heavy is slightly different than others. The cookies were adapted from this recipe on Epicurious, originally from Gourmet magazine.

Coffee and Sambuca Granita

• 4-5 cups strong coffee (we used an espresso blend)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• zest from one orange
• 1 ounce Amaretto
• 1/4 cup Sambuca
• grated nutmeg to taste

Brew coffee and pour while still hot into a 13×9 pan. Stir in sugar to dissolve. Mix in zest and nutmeg. Refrigerate for two hours. Mix in liquors and move to freezer. Once icy, stir around the edges, about 45 minutes, and return to the freezer. Repeat about 45 minutes to an hour later, smoothing the top after each stir. To serve scrape with fork to form crystals.

Chocolate crinkle cookies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces dark chocolate (we used Hershey’s special dark), chopped
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup Sambuca or other anise-flavored liqueur
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• grated nutmeg to taste, or 1/8 tsp dried nutmeg
• 1-2 to 1 cup powdered sugar

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Melt chocolate with butter in a two-quart  saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Mix eggs, nuts, Sambuca, and granulated sugar in another bowl. Stir in flour mixture and chocolate (dough will be thin). Chill, covered, until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift powdered sugar onto a plate. (I started with a heaping spoonful at a time to keep from wasting powdered sugar and keep it dry.) Roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball and roll each ball in confectioners sugar to coat. (I shook off excess.) Arrange balls two inches apart on two lightly buttered baking sheets and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching halfway through baking, until puffed and cracked but centers are still a bit soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on racks.

Amaretto whipped cream

• half pint heavy cream
• tsp powdered sugar
• tbsp Amaretto

Combine ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix with hand mixer until soft peaks form.

To assemble: Fill coffee cup or martini glass half way with granita, put on a generous dollop of whipped cream and finish with a cookie.