Coffee Butter Is The Easiest Way To Upgrade Sweet Potatoes

Whether baked or mashed, sweet potatoes are the perfect starchy side for both sumptuous and casual meals. They're also a great blank canvas for a variety of flavors — top them with sweet or savory ingredients like brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, marshmallows, Parmesan cheese, truffle oil, or paprika. In addition to all the unique toppings you should be adding to sweet potatoes, you can upgrade the butter for your tubers by transforming it into a flavorful compound butter — coffee butter. This super tasty spread is the perfect topping to take your sweet potatoes from rustic to refined.

Coffee butter is simple to make and will add exceptional flavor to your sweet potatoes. The sweet, nutty taste of the spuds pairs perfectly with the earthy, rich flavor of the compound butter. Simply dissolve some espresso powder (like Anthony's Organic Espresso Baking Powder) in hot water, then combine it with butter and powdered sugar. Stir or use an electric mixer to blend thoroughly. 

Combining the flavors of sweet potatoes and coffee isn't a completely new invention. During the Civil War, due to a shortage of coffee beans, sweet potatoes were used as a substitute to make sweet potato coffee. The sweet potatoes were dried, ground into small pieces, and roasted with coffee beans to conserve the rations, or took the place of coffee beans altogether when supply was scarce.

There are a few different ways to cook sweet potatoes with coffee butter. Whether you slice or cube them, simmer your sweet potatoes in compound butter to infuse them thoroughly with the coffee flavor. Or, make coffee-flavored candied sweet potatoes by roasting the potatoes in a sauce that includes coffee butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and any warm spices you prefer, like cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger. 

Another simple option is to top your warm baked or mashed sweet potatoes with a pat of coffee butter. For a crispier treat, make sweet potato fries in the oven and toss them in the butter. Dust the fries with a bit of cocoa or espresso powder to serve, then dip them in chocolate sauce for a tasty dessert. 

In case you aren't aware, it's also super easy to bake a sweet potato in the microwave, which you can then slather in coffee butter. To ensure the spuds cook through perfectly, try using a microwave potato pouch like the MyLifeUNIT Microwave Potato Bag.  Also, make sure to avoid mistakes everyone makes when cooking sweet potatoes, like forgetting to poke holes in their skin before baking.