How To Turn Leftover Coffee Into The Perfect Ice Cream Topping

Coffee is a morning ritual for many of us, whether you're making yourself a frothy cappuccino, sipping on a Turkish coffee, or mastering cold brew. But this can often lead to leftover coffee sitting forgotten in your machine or mug. Sure, you can upgrade overnight oats with leftover coffee, but there's another creative way to use it — and it's the perfect topping for your ice cream. Turn it into coffee-flavored syrup.

Making coffee syrup is simple and turns those rich coffee flavors into a decadent, caramelized topping. Using a 1-to-1 ratio of strongly brewed leftover coffee and sugar, bring the two ingredients to a boil and then drop it down to a simmer for a few minutes longer. Once the mixture has fully cooled, you can bottle it up and store it in the fridge. This syrup's bittersweet flavors will contrast the richness of ice cream beautifully, making the creamy dessert taste more complex and balanced. Coffee syrup pairs perfectly with any classic ice cream flavor like vanilla, chocolate, caramel, or cookies and cream.

While coffee syrup and ice cream are a delicious combination, there are plenty of other ways to use this flavorful topping. When making your next morning coffee, swap out sugar for your coffee syrup — this will deepen your coffee flavors even more while adding the perfect amount of sweetness. It's also great in milkshakes or smoothies, where its slight bitterness will cut through any sweet elements like ice cream, vanilla yogurt, or frozen fruits. Or, if you're a fan of coffee-flavored cocktails like an Irish coffee or an espresso martini, drizzle on some syrup to double down on the coffee flavor.

The next time you're making pancakes, waffles, or French toast, top these dishes with some homemade coffee syrup. It will help temper the richness of the butter and give your breakfast a sophisticated flavor twist. You can also swirl this syrup into baked goods like cakes or brownies to deepen the flavor since coffee pairs beautifully with ingredients like cocoa or brown sugar. So the next time you have leftover coffee, turn it into a gourmet syrup that adds rich flavor to everything from ice cream to cocktails.