Chocolate-Vanilla-Coffee Graham Crackers!

I was wandering around in my local grocery store a few weeks ago, and ended up at this weird shelf in the back full of discounted clearance items. Most of it was woo woo herbal remedies and dinged up soup cans, but on the bottom shelf was a stack of something called CandyQuik, a meltable vanilla candy coating about the consistency of milk chocolate.

"Hmmm..." I thought to myself, "I wonder what this would go with?" My first thought was making those chocolate coated espresso beans, but with vanilla instead. Next I thought, "Maybe graham crackers?" and this instructable was born!

Incidentally, I need a better name for these things. Any ideas? If there's a good one that I decide to use, I'll give the person who suggests it a patch!

Step 1: Supplies

In order to craft yourself some delicious vanilla and chocolate coated coffee flavored graham crackers, you will need:

Vanilla Candyquik (or the store brand equivalent)
Chocolate chips (Milk, Semi-sweet, or Dark, it's up to you)
Graham cracker cookies (either buy Teddy Grahams or the store brand equivalent, they are denser than regular graham crackers)
Espresso beans
Coconut oil (optional)

In addition, you'll also need:
Two small non-stick saucepans
Two forks
Two plastic spoons
Several plates
Wax paper
Plenty of space in a freezer

Step 2: Melt

The instructions on the vanilla candy coating give three options, microwave, oven, or stove top.  I tried microwave and oven first, neither turned out well.  The stove top option worked just fine.

Place a pair of small saucepans on your stove and turn the heat to low.  Some people use a double boiler for melting chocolate, but I've never had a problem just using a single pan on low heat.  I only ever use milk chocolate though, so maybe darker chocolates scorch?  I don't know.

For the chocolate chips, simply pour into the pan and stir repeatedly.  They will begin to liquefy and eventually smooth out.  When this is done, as long as you keep stirring every few minutes the chocolate will remain melted and ready for quite a while.

Break the vanilla into several pieces and place in the pan.  I've discovered that this stuff has a tendency to dry out and also melts unevenly, but this can be remedied simple by dropping 2-3 spoonfuls of coconut oil in the pan with it.  Stir repeatedly, just like with the chocolate until it's mostly smooth, it never quite gets 100%.

Step 3: Dip

Have your plate with wax paper on it ready to go for this step.

Drop a cracker in the chocolate.  Use a fork to fish it out and place it on the wax paper.  Repeat until you've filled a plate, and put that plate in the freezer.  Lather, rinse, repeat!

Step 4: Get Creative!

• Coat a cracker in multiple layers of both chocolate and vanilla
• Using a fork, drizzle some chocolate on vanilla dipped cookies, and vice versa
• Mix up the last of the coatings for a marbled effect

Step 5: Store and Flavorize

Okay, here's the best part.  The first time I made these I also tried to make candied espresso beans.  It didn't work out, but I stored them in the same container and the flavor of the espresso beans soaked into the graham crackers!  It was fantastic!

So, get a couple of tupperware containers and pour in some espresso beans.  Once your cookies have set up in the freezer, break them apart and put them in with the coffee, shaking the container to mix it all up.  Let them sit overnight and the flavor will already have started to permeate the graham crackers.

I store mine in the freezer, just because I happen to like my cookies cold with a cold glass of milk. 

Step 6: Final Thoughts

I pulled these out at a party a couple of weeks ago, and they were a hit! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and comment!  Let me know what you think, and if you can come up with a better name for these.

If you make some of these yourself, post a picture of the finished product in the comments below, and I'll send you a digital patch!

Step 7: Update 2-17-11: Cookies!

Oh, I had a brilliant idea the other night!  I got some more chocolate and vanilla, picked up some mini cookies, and went to town!

This was very successful, I've dipped Mini Oreos in vanilla, and Nutter Butter Bites in chocolate!