Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans 1.21 Love, Daisies, and Troubadours

“Okay, we've got food, drink, reading material, chocolate-covered espresso beans. Have I left anything out?” “I think that about covers it.” “You're such a good provider.” “I try my best.”

Ingredients:

2 cups of dark chocolate chips

1 cup of coffee beans

Directions:

1. Fill a large pot of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Place a heat-proof bowl over the boiling water to create a double boiler.

2. Pour half of the chocolate chips into the double boiler and allow to completely melt. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

3. Turn off the stove and remove the bowl from the boiling water. Carefully add in the coffee beans. I would do a few at a time so that it’s more manageable.

4. Using a fork, completely coat the coffee beans in chocolate then scoop them out and place individually on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. This is a tedious process, so I recommend having an episode of Gilmore Girls on in the background!

5. After all your coffee beans are coated, place the baking sheet in the freezer and chill for 5 minutes.

6. While the beans are chilling, turn the stove back on to boil the water again. Return the heat-proof bowl to create a double boiler.

7. Pour the remaining chocolate chips into the double boiler and allow to completely melt. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

8. Take the baking sheet out of the freezer and repeat the process of dipping the beans into the melted chocolate and coat completely. Only do this a few at a time so that the first layer of chocolate doesn’t melt.

9. Once coated, place the beans on the baking sheet still lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Return to the freezer, this time for 10 minutes.

10. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Making your own chocolate-covered espresso beans is tedious. Alternatively, you can use the cluster method to save on time:

1. Complete steps 1-3 above, but melt all the chocolate during the first round.

2. Instead of separating each bean once coated in chocolate, simply, scoop out coated beans in clusters with a spoon and set on a lined baking sheet or in a mini muffin tray.

3. Place baking sheet or tray in the freezer and allow to chill for 10 minutes.

Is there anything better than melted chocolate?

Chocolate-covered espresso beans are such a great snack. They give you a quick boost of energy because they are packed with caffeine. One of my college roommates bought us a pack of them during finals week, and they were a godsend, helping us survive the hours of studying. These would be great for hiking, endless Zoom meetings, and, of course, listening to Taylor Doose drone on at a Town Hall Meeting. Even though these are quite time-consuming, they are very easy to make. They might not have the sheen or the perfect round shape like the store-bought ones, but putting in the effort to make your own makes them taste even better.

If you're short on time, use the cluster method.

If you are pressed for time and really want to make your own chocolate-covered espresso beans, I included the cluster method in the directions. These essentially taste the same and give you the same effect that eating 4 or 5 of the regular ones would give you. However, if you are sensitive to caffeine, you might want to stick to the more time-consuming method of making individual beans because the clusters are little caffeine bombs. I decided to use a chocolate flavored coffee bean so that it would pair perfectly with the chocolate coating, but you can use any coffee bean flavor. I’d like to experiment with different flavors. While tedious, these were fun to make. My kitchen smelled like a coffee shop. I can’t even remember the last time I went inside a coffee shop. Sometime during my trip to Switzerland right before the world shut down, and even then, I think we drank our cappuccinos outside.

The results of the cluster method.

Alright, let’s dive into the episode! As far as season finales go for Gilmore Girls, this one is pretty low on the list for me. There’s nothing necessarily bad about this episode (I could pass on Rory and Dean getting back together), but it’s not as momentous as other season finales (Here’s looking at you Raincoats and Recipes). But there is still a lot to unpack in this episode. Let’s talk about the Lorelai and Max plot first.

I’ve stated in other posts that I never thought Lorelai and Max would work out. The first time I watched the show all the way through, the proposal in this episode solidified that for me. No one gets engaged in season one and has a relationship that lasts for the rest of the show. For one thing, the way Max proposes is so...strange. He first blurts it out as a solution to end an argument with Lorelai (um hello, red flag!). Then when she tells him a proposal should be romantic, he has the 1,000 yellow daisies delivered to the inn. Which, by the way, has always bothered me. There are way more than a thousand flowers in that scene. Maybe a thousand bouquets of yellow daisies. I finally felt vindicated when they discussed this on Gilmore Guys!

The espresso beans after the first round of coating.

Anyway, what actually bothers me with this proposal is that Max is not there! How hard would it be for him to be waiting for her at the inn amongst all the flowers? It’s not like he’s at school when this happens! I get that the point was to give Lorelai time to think about her answer, but really, if someone needs to think about agreeing to marry you, then they’re not ready to marry you (yeah, I’m talking about you, season 7). Max doesn’t even ask her to marry him when she calls him after finding all the flowers. It’s sort of just implied. I’m sorry, but that’s not a proposal.

The other major thing that happens in this episode is Rory and Dean getting back together. While I'm not exactly thrilled that they get back together because watching their relationship struggle over the next season is painful, I do think the scene of them making up at Chilton is very cute. Rory shouting at Dean, “Because I love you, you idiot,” always puts me in my feels and it’s such an iconic Gilmore Girls quote. I will admit, any scene that Clara is in makes me uncomfortable. It’s as if Amy Sherman Palladino doesn’t know how to write children (as we can clearly see in her current show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel). Clara always acts like she’s way younger than she is, and this only gets worse as the show progresses.

After the second round of coating.

But back to Rory and Dean getting back together, I do like that it happens right in front of Tristan. I sort of wish this was the end of Tristan though. That he doesn’t come back to Chilton for junior year because I think his plot in season 2 is trite. I hate that he is the reason that Paris and Rory aren’t friends and end the season on bad terms. It bothers me that Paris doesn’t believe Rory about P.J. Harvey or any of the drama revolving Tristan. She’s smarter than that, and I’m glad we get a Paris character arc in the coming season. In terms of character arcs on this show, Paris’s is by far my favorite.

The espresso beans after chilling for the second time.

So we’ve discussed the love and we’ve discussed the daisies, but we need to discuss the troubadours. I love this plot because it’s one of those weird Stars Hollow plots that makes this show complete for me. The Town Troubadour is such an iconic character in Stars Hollow and I love that he has one of his big moments here when the Kinko’s guy tries to take over. It’s funny to me that this guy returns in a later season in an almost identical plot (cart kiosk cart kiosk!). I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I love just about any plot that involves the townies. Who is your favorite townie?

Keep a bowl of these near your desk in the morning!

I can’t believe we are here at the end of season one already! When I set out to start Eating Gilmore, I wasn’t sure if I would even make it this far. I’ve never blogged before and I was a little intimidated. But this has been so fun, and I’ve enjoyed connecting with y’all over on Instagram! It’s helped to feel a little less lonely in quarantine. I already have all of my season two dishes planned out, so I’m excited to continue this journey. I have decided to take a small break in between season one and two (but just for a week). You can catch my first dish for season two on February 10th! See you soon, friends.

Happy Cooking!

Enjoy your chocolate-covered espresso beans!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!