Homemade Pancake Syrup
A buttery vanilla breakfast syrup made with pantry sugars, cooked until amber and glossy for pouring over pancakes, waffles or French toast.
Prep 5 min · Cook 15 min · Total 45 min · Makes about 1 1/4 cups
Ingredients
- 5 ounces water
- 9 ounces granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 ounce light brown sugar or 1/2 ounce dark brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or use the same weight
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Scant 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ounces water
- 1/4 ounce unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- In a 1-quart stainless steel pot, add the water, sugar, brown sugar, salt and cream of tartar. Set the pot over medium heat and use a fork to stir until the mixture is boiling strongly at the edges, about 5 minutes. Run a damp pastry brush around the inside walls of the pot so any clinging sugar crystals dissolve back into the syrup. Attach a digital thermometer to the pot and let the syrup cook to an amber color, until it reaches 234 degrees F, about 8 minutes.
- Right away, mix in the baking soda with a heat-resistant spatula, knowing the syrup will foam up energetically. Stir in the remaining portion of water, then keep cooking until the syrup comes back to 234 degrees F, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer the syrup to a Pyrex measuring cup to stop the cooking, then stir in the butter and vanilla. Let it cool until it is safe to eat, about 100 degrees F, and serve. Cover any leftovers as soon as you can so a skin does not form, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 months.