DIY Series: Homemade Pancake Syrup

This pancake syrup was made because I just had to! For some reason, the price of good pancake syrup TRIPLED in a matter of weeks. I am not really the kind of person who pinches pennies, but I couldn't imagine paying that much for a bottle of syrup!

We use syrup at least once a week around here. When I decided to look up the recipe for syrup, I just couldn't believe my eyes. It was SO SIMPLE! I looked at the ingredients listed at the back of the syrup bottle and there were around 15 ingredients listed - most of which had chemically names. This homemade syrup has 6 ingredients, including 2 optional ingredient and water. And I guarantee you won't taste the difference.

The first time I made this syrup was late one night, I think it was around 10:30 PM, when I realized that I had everything ready for my overnight waffles but I had run out of syrup. I was telling my husband that I was probably going to make some caramel sauce or coulis for breakfast because we were out of syrup. During the night, I found this recipe, made it in under 10 minutes and let it cool overnight. The next morning, my husband was halfway through his waffles when he suddenly asked, "Where did you get the syrup? I thought we were out. You couldn't have gone out that late at night! Did you find an unopened bottle in your pantry?" When I told him it was homemade, he was really impressed! He couldn't even tell that it was different from the store bought brand we use.

I've made the both versions - with and without the maple extract - and while the maple flavor is yummy, the vanilla one is just as good, and no one complained about the missing maple flavor. 

Pancake Syrup
Slightly adapted from Taste of Home
Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
1 cup white sugar
A large pinch of salt, (optional but recommended)
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp maple extract, optional

Method
1. Combine the brown sugar, white sugar, salt and water in a heavy bottom saucepan.
2. Cooking on medium heat, bring the syrup to a boil while stirring frequently.
3. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and the maple extract, if you're using it.
5. Allow to cool and transfer to a bottle for use.

If you like your syrup pancake thick, reduce the water in the recipe to 3/4 cup. We like our syrup a little runny and so these proportions work well for us. I sometimes add a few extra tablespoons of water. Just remember that the syrup thickens as it cools. So don't let it cook down too much. You could even experiment with other flavors of extracts!

There are a few popular brands like Aunt Jemima, Log Cabin and American garden that make this kind of syrup. It is no substitute for maple syrup, really. But when real maple syrup is very expensive here, and while we are so blessed that we receive a few bottles a year from abroad, it is definitely not enough to last us through the year.

This recipe is just amazing! If you use pancake syrup at home, this is sometime you MUST try. You won't regret it!