Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Sure it may not be a resume builder, but it will earn bragging rights that lil ‘ol you turned thousands of readers on to your latest obsession and, really, who doesn’t want that?

Caribou Coffee Chocolate Drinks
Caribou Coffee is the reason why my new year’s resolution has already gone to hell. “Drink less coffee, spend less money and be healthier” were the words I uttered exactly one week ago today…and then those always-happy baristas introduced me to their latest and greatest mochas. Which explains why those guys behind the counter are always smiling.

These things aren’t just mochas, they are friends. Maybe even better than friends, unless your friends are made with REAL chocolate. Yes, ooey, gooey, sweet and delicious milk, white or dark chocolate is the base of this hot cup of happiness, not that powdered crap you get everywhere else. And OMG, can you taste a difference. It’s like drinking a candy bar. Honestly, besides the ring of dark choco my daily indulgence leaves around my mouth (and the red ring my now-tight jeans leave around my belly), Caribou’s mochas are 100% perfection. In moderation. Which I am still trying to learn.

Photo Text Catalog
This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while and I like to think I see lots of cool stuff. First photographers snap photos of places all over the world. Think: your college town, your hometown, where you went abroad, where you were born, where your grandfather lived in Europe. Then the brilliant people behind this little company use those amazing photographs to spell out a word: your name, last name, welcome, peace, wazzuppppp, the options are endless. Suddenly a statue on your campus becomes an “I” and that legendary fountain forms the “O.” What you end up with is a very personal, sentimental and unique piece of art for you or someone you love. I can’t think of a better graduation present. In fact, I think I may just get one for myself so I’ll never have to leave Madison behind.

To celebrate my decision, I’m using this week’s DIY to share an incredible buttercream frosting recipe with all of you. You can use it to frost a cake, cupcakes, cookies . . . or to eat it straight out of the Tupperware with some pretzels when you’re dealing with a breakup. Stop buying this stuff and make it yourself.

Ingredients
(Makes enough buttercream for one standard-size cake with 12-16 servings)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream

Buttercream it up:
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and shortening together until creamy. Add the sugar and keep beating until the whole mess is pretty well blended. Then add the remaining ingredients, blending on low speed until moist. When combined, whip that mixer into high speed until the frosting is fluffy.

Want to know why this frosting rocks? Besides the fact that it tastes great, it’s sooo easy to customize it. You can dye it any color imaginable with food coloring and use it to decorate. Want mocha buttercream? Add instant espresso powder or a few tablespoons of coffee and about 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder or a few ounces of melted chocolate. Want an almond or orange or lemon flavor? Throw in almond extra, orange juice, or lemon zest.

Since the frosting is somewhat stiff, it’s also strong enough to hold up bits of fruit, nuts, or cake toppers. So you can stick a mini cookie on top of each cupcake or use big fresh strawberries to line the border of your cake, too. Could there be anything better?!

Before you dash off and make this, here’s a bonus decorating tip: those frosting tips they sell at the store are really nice, but if you’re pressed for time and don’t care too much about absolute beauty, pile your buttercream into a Ziploc bag and clip off the corner. You can then use the bag to pipe the frosting, just like a fancy Food Network star.

Enjoy!

Ever since I started watching “Friends,” I always wanted a cute little coffee shop I could go to with my girlfriends, have a great cup of coffee and just chat. But Maine’s latest coffee shop gives a whole new meaning to “Central Perk.”

The planning board in Vassalboro, ME recently approved a topless coffee shop. And by topless, I don’t mean you will be sipping your mocha in a roofless establishment. By topless, I mean your helpful baristas and waitresses will indeed be topless. As in, without tops.

Yes, boobs out.

I’m all for doing what you gotta do to make money, but not when it involves nipples near my non-fat, no whip cappuccino. And isn’t there a health code against that? If you have to have your hands washed and hair covered while handling food, I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t have your hoo-ha’s flopping around… and getting dangerously close to extremely hot liquids!

The shop does not allow anyone under 18 inside, and there is no touching or cameras. Also, they only accept cash (although you don’t have to stuff it in their aprons).

I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely questioning what kind of milk they are putting in the lattes.

Starbucks does make a point to open up stores next to already established mom and pop coffee shops and wants to be the exclusive coffee vendor in the area but according to Slate Magazine, Starbucks actually helps these locally-owned or small chain stores.

“Just over the five-year period from 2000 to 2005—long after Starbucks supposedly obliterated indie cafes—the number of mom and pops grew 40 percent, from 9,800 to nearly 14,000 coffeehouses”

Because Starbucks isn’t like a big box store that offers cheap products at cheap prices, it’s not really undermining the often more-affordable local coffee shops. Indeed, Starbucks coffee is notoriously expensive (A recent survey says that 76% of Americans think it’s too expensive), but people choosing to spend more for their caffeine fix at the local ‘Bux is not hurting the cheaper, local shops.

I was listening to NPR the other day and they mentioned something called the “Latte Factor”, which is basically taking all the money that you would spend on coffee and similar “unnecessary” things and spending it more wisely, or investing it. It makes sense; the math they did indicates that if you buy one coffee a day (which is a tad unrealistic) then you spend around $1500 a year supporting your coffee habit. That’s $1500 dollars that I could be putting towards my credit card debt or investing so I can have money to put a down payment on a house. Or so they said.

But there is one thing that this “Latte Factor” doesn’t really factor in: I’m a grad student. If I don’t get coffee, I’m just generally not a fun person to be around. And, as financially prudent as it may be, I have no intention of giving up my four-times-weekly Starbucks fix. I just make sure to budget for it and give up, perhaps, eating out as much, or going shopping. It’s a ridiculous expense, yes, but no more so than paying $4 a gallon for gas, or spending $28 to get a pedicure.

There are other ways to save money at Starbucks. If you need several cups of coffee a day, take advantage of the new “treat receipt” program that Starbucks has recently implemented. It allows you to buy one coffee in the morning and then come back after 2 p.m. to get $2 off of your next coffee purchase. Make friends with the baristas, who are usually very friendly (because most of them get paid leave and health insurance, not to mention free coffee and bonuses). If you are a regular, they are more willing to upgrade size or even give you free coffee. Also, there is a good chance that if you live near a college campus, you are going to have a Starbucks in the general vicinity, which saves money on gas.

It’s understandable where this bad rap came from, but it’s largely undeserved. Given the choice, I will always go to a locally owned store over any chain, but I don’t ever feel bad about getting my Grande Nonfat Iced Mocha from the Starbucks across the street from my house.

[Image from Inthesetimes.com]

Here’s what you need: ¼ c brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of soft unsalted butter, 1 egg yolk, ¼ teaspoon of vanilla, just under ½ c flour, 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder (woo-hoo!), ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder, a sprinkle of salt, 1 tablespoon of milk, and 2-3 tablespoons of chopped chocolate. Chopped chocolate—not chocolate chips, so don’t even think about trying to substitute. The real deal makes all the difference.

This makes six nice-sized cookies, by the way.

First, warm your oven to 350. Then use an electric mixer (or do it by hand if you must, but a mixer is better for this recipe) to combine the sugar and butter until it’s creamy. Beat in the egg yolk and the vanilla, then add the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and sprinkle of salt. The dough will likely be a little thick and floury, so mix in the milk to help smooth it out (adding a little more than 1 tablespoon is okay if it’s really thick). Finally, stir in the chopped pieces of chocolate (they should be approximately chocolate-chip sized, or a little smaller).

Grease a baking sheet, coat it with parchment paper, or spray it with cooking spray, then divide the dough into six parts and place each part on the sheet. Press the top of each cookie down with your fingers just a tiny bit—not enough to completely flatten it. Then bake those puppies for about 12 minutes. Bite into a warm one, and experience mocha heaven!

It’s no secret that Starbucks captures both my heart and my wallet.

There is just something about entering those doors on a daily basis that calms my usually antsy self and makes me squirm with delight while I debate over my drink of choice: double tall nonfat, one-pump, white mocha or double tall, soy, no whip, one-pump, pumpkin-spice latte? (Hey, I’m a girl who knows what I like- but I do admit I hate appearing to be high maintenance every time I order!)While I’ve been able to budget my funds to fit in my Starbucks addiction (I just can’t give it up), I often turn a blind eye to the hidden calories that lurk in my green and white cup of java.

Especially with all the delightful super hot and super yummy speciality drinks this season! (hellllo peppermint mocha!)

But now thanks to starbucks.com, you can customize your drink the way you order it (or close to) and see just how much damage you are doing to your booty. Customize your drink of choice by size, milk, whip, etc and calculate… leaving you no room to ponder how you gained that extra pound when you step on the scale.

And prepare to be surprised. Even the “healthier” drinks have some hidden calories but there are a few tricks of the trade to cut the cals and still enjoy your Bucks:

1) Reduce the number of syrup pumps to one or two. A tall usually has three pumps. And if it’s a combined drink like a Peppermint Mocha- then it’s 6! Adding around an additional whopping 200 extra calories! Sugar free vanilla, caramel and hazelnut are other great calorie saving alternatives.

2) Skip the Whip. This should be a no-brainer but if you must have it, make it a treat once in a while.

3) Enjoy the Soy! Starbucks uses vanilla soy milk, and while there a few more calories than skim milk, Soy packs in more protein which will keep you fuller longer and the vanilla flavor makes the need for high calorie syrups not so necessary.

4) Ask for a Short. It’s not on the menu, but your baristas will happily make it for you. It satisfies the craving but is even smaller (and cheaper! bonus!) than a Tall.

5) Stick with the saftey drinks. Iced and hot, tea, coffee, mistos, cappuccinos and americanos are way lower in fat and calories than the specialty drinks…trying making your favorite Caramel Macchiato a weekly treat instead of a daily one.

6) Don’t be afraid to sound like me! A lot of people order things how they come because they feel bad changing it up. Sure I may have to repeat my very specialized drink order a few times, but as long as you are nice about it, your baristas won’t mind, your waist line will thank you and you can feel guilt free sipping on your double tall, ½ caf, no whip, soy, one pump mocha…

Check out the Starbucks nutrition info for the complete info on all drinks, syrups and food.