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If you love coffee, then there’s something else you love (even if you don’t know it yet): coffee in food. Yes, I am talking about cooking with coffee.

There are multitudinous ways to cook with coffee. You can use coffee as a marinade for meat. You can make a barbecue sauce. You can blend iced coffee into a funky cocktail. And in fact, there are those who take this yet a step further and just cook all their food with their coffee makers.

But besides coming up with tasty concoctions, what’s the real benefit of cooking with coffee? Perhaps you need something to do with those dredges at the bottom of your French press. Now you no longer have to feel bad because there’s just a bit of lukewarm coffee at the bottom. You have something to do with it. It has purpose.

Now, granted, not all of you Sprudge readers out there are bakers or cooks. Maybe you prefer to consume your coffee-friendly delights at the coffee shop, and you’d rather keep it that way. Totally fine. But for the rest of you, we’re here to ensure that cooking with coffee doesn’t just remain a foreign concept.

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This recipe for hazelnut cookies is fairly straightforward, and because there’s bound to be at least one person in your coffee-consuming circle with some food restrictions, you’ll be happy to know that these are vegan, gluten-free, and delicious.

Flourless Hazelnut and Chocolate Coffee Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup raw hazelnuts, finely ground (or 1 ½ cups hazelnut flour)
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 teaspoon ground coffee (attenuate to your grit preference)

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Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a bowl, combine the ground hazelnuts, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt.

Add in the olive oil and the coffee, and stir until a dough forms.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. On a greased baking sheet, or one with a silicone baking mat, form two long logs with the dough, about 12 inches in length. Gently flatten out with your hands until the logs are about ¼-inch thick. Pro tip: if you feel like they’re getting sticky when you press down, wet your fingers with a little water. Carefully slice the logs into diagonal sections.

Bake at 400°F for 15-17 minutes. Because of the cocoa powder, these cookies are dark, so it can be hard to tell when they’re done. Finished cookies will have dark brown edges.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, break the cookies apart and store in an airtight container.

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Coffee and chocolate go together like, well… coffee and chocolate. For anyone that likes chocolate-covered espresso beans, you’ll like these cookies. And beyond tasting like coffee, more importantly, they pair well with an actual cup of coffee. And weren’t you looking for an excuse to drink more?

Anna Brones (@annabrones) is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in Paris and the founder of Foodie Underground. Her cookbook is due out next year from Ten Speed Press. Read more Anna Brones on Sprudge

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