These no-bake cookies are made with white chocolate pudding mix and instant espresso, giving it a sweet, subtle mocha-like flavor. Inspired by the Coffee Toffee Cookies.

2 cups sugar 
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 small package instant white chocolate pudding mix
2 tsp instant espresso (or 1 tbsp instant coffee)
2 1/2 cups quick oats

Line cookie sheets with waxed paper.

In a large heavy-duty saucepan, combine sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Remove pan from heat.

Stir in pudding mix, instant espresso, and quick oats. Mix well until all the oats are coated.

Drop mixture by rounded tablespoons onto lined cookies sheets. Allow to cool and become firm, about 30 minutes.

This 8-ingredient rub from Cooking Light magazine combines sweet (brown sugar, orange zest) with spicy (chili powder, coriander) and smokey (paprika, cumin). This rub works best on fatty fish such as salmon or on pork. Add an extra kick by using Hot Hungarian Paprika. This tasty rub in going in as a “Jenn’s Favorites.”

2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper 

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use rub generously on 1 1/2 lbs of meat.

This is a quick and easy dinner option using the Sweet Orange Rub with salmon fillets (from Cooking Light magazine). Instead of the usual lemon wedges, this dish is served with orange.

2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper 
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets, skinned
cooking spray
1 large orange, cut into 4 wedges

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture over both sides of salmon fillets. Place fillets on a broiler pan coated in cooking spray. Broil 8-10 minutes or until salmon flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve each fillet with an orange wedge.

Here is another option for the Sweet Orange Rub using pork chops (from Cooking Light magazine).

2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper 
4 (6 oz) boneless pork chops
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425F

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture over both sides of pork chops. Place pork chops on a baking pan coated in cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes or until done.

I was skeptical of this combination given that the orange-mint tea didn’t turn out as good as I hoped, but I tried the Lime & Mint Iced Tea and it was quite good. Given this, I decided I would give mint another try (you may have already noticed that I favor basil as a garnish for my fruity-tea recipes). The combination worked, though it probably isn’t a recipe I would do again unless I had leftover ingredients to use up, which was actually why I made it in the first place. The recipe did not specify a type of tea to use, so I used Orange Pekoe (also known as Lipton Original, as I’ve recently realized).

10 tea bags
4 cups cold water
4 cans (12 oz size) apricot nectar
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, slightly crushed
1/4 cup sugar
mint sprigs, for garnish

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep 5 minutes. Discard bags. Stir in nectar, mint and sugar. Cover and chill 3-4 hours.

Pour tea through a strainer into a serving pitcher or punch bowl before serving. Add ice and garnish with mint sprigs as desired.

To make a single serving:
2 tea bags
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups apricot nectar (or 1 can)
2 tbsp crushed mint leaves
1 tbsp sugar
mint sprig, for garnish

This is actually what I made instead of the full recipe. Follow the above directions, though you can reduce chill time to about 1 hour. Pour tea into a tall, ice-filled glass instead of a pitcher. Garnish as desired. This makes a large serving (2 1/2 cups), so there would be plenty to share with two!