Sipping a cup of Joe with your lunch or dinner is common enough, but how about throwing a cuppa in your lunch or dinner? It might sound like mocha madness, but cooking with coffee is a creative way to add depth and complexity to your dishes. Coffee-infused desserts make sense (tiramisu, anyone?), but have you tried coffee-infused steak? Coffee pops up often as an ingredient in dry rubs, and for good reason – it imparts an earthy flavor to the meat and it doubles as a meat tenderizer. So grab some grounds and get brewin’ – we’ve got five recipes that will stir up newfound love for your favorite drink!
Coffee-Chile Dry Rub
This easy rub from The New York Times is a cinch to whip up. You can lovingly lavish raw meat with this rub before it hits the grill or use it as a condiment. Better yet, try both! This sensational seasoning adds a perfect pop of flavor to beef, pork, or lamb.
Sausage-Herb Dressing
This grand prize-winning dressing from Taste of Home uses a quarter cup of brewed coffee and six different seasonings. You can whip up this stuffing in about 15 minutes; then throw it in a slow cooker and open some wine! It’s the perfect Thanksgiving side that will leave your guests wondering why you don’t have your own cooking show yet.
Coffee-Marinated Flank Fajitas with Pico de Gallo
Who doesn’t love fajitas? Y’all will gain a whole new appreciation for Texas’ favorite food when you try these flank fajitas from Food52. This recipe calls for two whole cups of strong, brewed coffee! Not only does that java level up the intensity of this dish, but it also tenderizes this notoriously tough cut of meat. The result? A mouth-watering flavor fest.
Pecan Grill’s Aftershock Cookies
Two tablespoons of instant coffee is the secret ingredient in these creative cookies from Pecan Grill at the Overton Hotel in Lubbock. It isn’t just the coffee that adds a wow factor. In a modern twist that amps up the flavor to full volume, these cookies include cayenne pepper, chipotle powder, and smoked paprika too. Now you know why they’re called “aftershock” cookies!
Coffee Ice Cream
Whole milk, heavy cream and … 1½ cups of whole coffee beans?! You bet! This heavenly ice cream featured on Simply Recipes comes from David Lebovitz’s book The Perfect Scoop. The secret lies in steeping the milk, cream, and sugar with all those coffee beans, resulting in an intense flavor profile that has coffee-lovers swooning for more. The best part? You can use decaffeinated beans without sacrificing taste for those late night ice cream cravings.
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