I don’t usually start my morning with coffee. Totally weird, I know. The thing is, I love to savor a cup of coffee. Sip it. Enjoy it. Take my time. And time is one thing I almost never have in the mornings.
I’m a habitual snoozer. In fact, I set my alarm extra early so I can hit the snooze button, and even then, I’m late getting out of bed. And then it’s a full out rush to get myself showered and dressed and out the door…not to mention the little one dressed, and fed and out the door.
So no weekday coffee for me. But on weekends – I sit an enjoy a few cups. This morning I was in the mood for a vanilla latte, but I didn’t have any vanilla syrup. Or any flavored coffee creamer. I contemplated running out to grab some but then I remembered picking up a popular bottle of vanilla syrup in the store and reading the ingredients list. Big mistake. I realized it was full of preservatives and chemicals, despite the “all natural” label. So I decided not to buy any…and here I was, on a lazy Saturday morning craving something vanilla.
Hmmmm….
In my youth, I had spent a decent amount of time bartending, and we often made a simple syrup for our mixed drinks. Simple syrup is just equal parts water and sugar, heated until combined. I figured it couldn’t hurt for me to try to make my own vanilla syrup. I decided I’d try a mix of brown and white sugar to help layer some additional flavor.
I’m so happy with how it turned out! This recipe takes just a few minutes and tastes great! This vanilla syrup is perfect for coffee or lattes, but also makes a great vanilla soda! I just added a bit to soda water and it was awesome. Or you could drizzle it over crepes. Yum!
Homemade Vanilla Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup cane sugar (you can substitute granulated sugar)
1 cup water
Pure Vanilla extract (avoid the artificially flavored varieties)
Instructions
Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Stir until all sugar is dissolved. Continue simmering, stirring occasionally for about 5-6 minutes. Take off heat and add vanilla extract. Start with 2 tsp and taste. Adjust for your personal preferences.
Note:
I pour this into small glass jars and keep in my refrigerator. Due to the high sugar content, it should keep for a few weeks. I think a tablespoon is the perfect amount to flavor a coffee.
Never thought Vanilla Syrup could be so easy to make. Thanks for the recipe.
Oooohhh, this sounds delicious thanks for the tip. I’m a snoozer too!
How can it be used outside of drinks? Could it be added to baked goods?
We’ve used it to drizzle on crepes or pancakes instead of maple syrup. To be honest, I haven’t tried cooking with it in baked goods, but the consistency is similar to maple syrup. I think you should be able to substitute it in any recipe that calls for maple syrup.
For substituting for granulated sugar – I found this online:
“To use maple syrup as a white or brown sugar alternative, use 2/3 cup of maple syrup for every cup of granulated sugar, reduce the quantity of liquid ingredients in the recipe (water, milk, juice) by about 1/4 cup and lower the baking temperature by 25° F.”
Hope that helps!
This looks really nice. I think I will share this with my better half and see if we can make a batch.
Thanks for sharing.
Shahin
This is handy to use , never thought of making this one. Thanks for sharing.