The Final Thing To Do Before Throwing Out That Crusty Maple Syrup Bottle

You're cleaning out your pantry, and among the old bottles of spices and that long-forgotten jar of canned soup, you find a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's. There's not a whole lot left in the bottle — just enough to get one more squirt of syrup out of it. While reflex tells you to throw out the bottle, you may find it a shame to waste some perfectly good maple syrup like that.

Maple syrup is good for more than just covering your pancakes, waffles, and French toast. The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association tells us that, in a pinch, maple syrup can be used to replace standard white sugar in many baked goods recipes. Maple syrup can be used to make candies, serve as an ingredient for marinades, or top off ice cream. Even the littlest bit of maple syrup, like that tiny amount left in the bottle, can go a long way. For example, you may notice that your morning cup of coffee seems to be lacking in flavor as of late and could use a burst of sweetness. That tiny amount of maple syrup in your bottle can actually serve to liven up any cup of coffee, whether it's a cold brew or a steaming hot mug of plain black. In fact, the steps to make your maple-infused coffee may even give you some morning exercise. 

According to Lifehacker, one very simple thing you can do with that tiny bit of maple syrup is to rinse it out with coffee. Unscrew the cap off the bottle and pour in your favorite type of coffee — Lifehacker suggests beverages like cold brew or espresso, but you're free to add whatever kind of coffee you prefer best. Once you've added the coffee, screw the cap back on the bottle as tight as possible and shake it as if you were a Starbucks barista. You don't have to do it for too long, just until the coffee and maple syrup have blended together to your liking.

You can then pour the resulting maple coffee drink into a mug (rather than straight out of the bottle) and consume. You'll find the rich boldness of the coffee compliments the sticky sweet maple flavor from the syrup. If you're uncomfortable pouring your coffee into an old maple syrup bottle, you can just as easily squeeze those last few drops of syrup into your cup of morning joe.

Mixing those last few drops of maple syrup into your coffee isn't the only thing you can do. If you were planning to make pancakes and bacon for breakfast but find that you don't have enough maple syrup to cover even one stack of flapjacks, you don't need to toss out the whole idea of breakfast. You could use that little amount of maple syrup left to make a delicious glaze for your bacon.

Ina Garten's recipe for maple-roasted bacon calls for only two ingredients: your favorite choice of bacon and one to two tablespoons of maple syrup. Lay strips of bacon on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until the bacon has begun to brown around the edges but is not fully cooked yet. Remove the bacon from the oven, carefully drain off the grease or transfer the bacon to a clean baking sheet, and then brush the bacon down with maple syrup. When the bacon is brushed down, place the bacon back in the oven for three to five minutes or until the bacon finishes cooking. It's best to wait for the bacon to cool off, or else you'll get burned by hot sticky syrup.

Whether or not you add syrup to your coffee, use it in your baked goods, or glaze your breakfast meats with it, there's actually a lot you can do with just a little bit of syrup.