Espresso Recipes to Make your New Year’s Eve Party Pop!

The holidays are upon us, which means there won’t be much time between recycling your wrapping paper and preparing for your New Year’s Eve party. 

Lucky for you, we’ve got a comprehensive guide to hosting for New Year’s featuring everyone’s favorite ingredient—espresso!

Delectable Dining

Before you start handing out espresso martinis—don’t worry, we’ll get to that part—you might want to consider having a little something to feed your guests first so everyone stays in fighting shape until Midnight. 

Here are our recommendations for a few party dishes featuring coffee and espresso that the coffee lovers on your guest list are sure to love. 

Cheyenne’s Darn Good Coffee Chili

We know it might sound ridiculous to put coffee in your chili, but hear us out—it’s delicious. Plus chili is a perfect dish for a New Year’s party—it’s warm, filling, and easy for guests to serve themselves from a slow cooker. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 jars Ragu Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 pack Bear Creek Darn Good Chili Mix
• 2 cans chili beans (do not drain)
• 1 can black beans (drained)
• 1 pack McCormick’s chili powder
• 1 bag green onions (chopped)
• 2 lbs lean ground beef (90%)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon lemon pepper
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup strong-brewed coffee
• Shredded cheddar cheese (to taste)
• Sour cream (to taste)
• Fritos

Directions: 

1. In a large pan, brown the 2lbs of beef, then drain the liquid from the pan. 
2. Combine all ingredients in a large crockpot and cook on low for 5 hours, stirring occasionally. 

NOTE: The original version of this recipe (courtesy of Grandma Griswold) calls for 1 cup of white and 1 cup of brown sugar. We’ve cut it down in the interest of our readers’ health, but Cheyenne does admit that the original is “[dang] delicious.” 

1. Serve! We’d also recommend putting out some Fritos, shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream for guests to top their bowls if they so choose. 

Tiramisu Affogato 

After a bowl of hearty coffee chili, your guests are going to want something sweet. An affogato is a simple yet delicious Italian dessert—espresso poured over vanilla ice cream. This tiramisu version ups the game by boosting the coffee flavor and adding the texture of ladyfingers to the mix. It’s the perfect transition from a bowl of warm chili to the evening's cocktail offerings. 

Ingredients: 

Makes 6 Servings

• ¾ cup heavy cream, chilled
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 pint coffee ice cream
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 9 ladyfingers, crumbled
• 1 doubleshot of espresso (per serving)
• 1 piece of bittersweet chocolate, grated

Instructions: 

1. Combine cream and sugar; beat the mixture until it holds stiff peaks. 
2. Portion ice cream into serving bowls—1 scoop each of vanilla and coffee per bowl.
3. Sprinkle ladyfinger crumbles over the ice cream. 
4. Brew espresso and pour over the ice cream and ladyfingers. 
5. Top with whipped cream and grated chocolate

Pro Tip: 

Need a home espresso machine to get the job done? We recommend the Profitec Go. Despite its compact design, this machine is powerful. The PID temperature control doubles as a shot timer and gives this single boiler espresso machine extremely consistent brewing temperatures in order to ensure you get the perfect brew every time. 

To get your preferred brew, you’ll need a grinder that’s worthy. The Ceado Life grinder is just that—the perfect addition to your coffee corner. Home baristas love the look and the extremely consistent grind size. 

Cozy Cocktails

Once dinner is done, you’ll need a couple cozy cocktails to set the mood for the evening’s celebration. Obviously, we think you should put coffee in everything, but that’s especially true when you want to make sure your guests aren’t going to fall asleep before the ball drops. 

Spiked Eggnog Latte

Lattes are delicious. Eggnog is delicious. Spiced rum is also delicious. It was only a matter of time before some genius made the realization that they should all go together. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 perfectly brewed double shot of espresso
• 6 oz eggnog
• 1 oz spiced rum
• Whipped cream
• Nutmeg (for garnish)

Directions: 

1. Steam your eggnog as you would milk for a latte. Just note that ‘nog is much more viscous than even whole milk, so you might want to practice this once or twice before you make your guests drink it. 
2. Pull your shot of espresso into a large latte cup. 
3. Mix rum with your shot of espresso. 
4. Pour steamed eggnog over espresso/rum mix as you would for any latte. 
5. Top with whipped cream and garnish with nutmeg. 

Creamy Hazelnut Espresso Martini

What New Year’s Eve hosting blog would be complete without an Espresso Martini recipe? This is a delicious, creamy take on the classic that’s sure to keep your guests going. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 perfectly pulled shot of espresso
• 1 shot of vodka
• 1 shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream
• ½ oz Frangelico
• Espresso beans to garnish

Directions: 

1. Pull your perfect shot of espresso (you know how). 
2. Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker full of ice. 
3. Shake!
4. Pour into chilled martini glass and garnish with three coffee beans. 

Be the Host with the Most

If you’re still unsure how to make your New Year’s Eve party really pop off, we’re here to help. We’ve got a vast library of video resources archived on our site, and our espresso experts are always available to help you decide which products will give your party the punch you want it to. Even better, schedule a coffee cast—a 1:1 live product demonstration of the espresso machine or grinder of your choice!