Pancake Syrup

Do you ever have one of those nights where you get ready to start fixing dinner and realize that you probably shouldn't have put off going to the grocery store that day after all?  Today was that day for me. 

Here it is, Friday night.  I don't feel like thawing some chicken to cook, so what are my options?  I don't have enough cheese left for quesidillas, and the only thawed meat in I have in the house is some bacon.  However, it just so happens that this is some very excellent bacon given to me by a friend whose husband works for Hormel... okay, it's breakfast for dinner!

But wait!  I have exactly 4 eggs left in the house, so no scrambled eggs - what now?  I guess we're having pancakes.  So I put the bacon in the oven to bake and start the pancakes.  Just then I glance over at my kitchen sink area, which happens to be slightly cluttered.  Okay, okay - I confess!  It's a Disaster Area.  But my recycling is over there, rinsed and waiting to go out to the recycle bin.  And what do I see?  The syrup bottle that we finished earlier in the week.  Oh, great.  What now?  Do I send The Honey to the corner store to buy a bottle of syrup for $4?

Actually, there IS another option.  One nice thing about growing up poor with a mother that was born in the depression is that she made a lot of things that other people's parents bought.  Thousand Island salad dressing (nasty), mayonnaise (only once or twice), and yes!  Pancake Syrup.

My mother always made it with equal parts brown sugar, white sugar, and water.  She didn't use maple flavoring or any of those "fancy" things.  But I decided to experiment a little tonight.  Not with maple flavoring, however.  I already know the Peanut Gallery will not be impressed with that.  But how about a little butter and vanilla?

It's a gamble that paid off, let me tell you...


Pancake Syrup
(Yields 1 c. of syrup, enough for a small family.  If you plan on storing the extra or have a large family, you may want to double this!)

1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. water
1 Tbsp. butter
Splash of vanilla (1/2-1 tsp?)

In a medium or small saucepan, combine sugars.

Add water and stir.  Your mixture will look opaque because the sugar isn't dissolved yet.

Now you need to bring the mixture to a boil.  Turn the heat up on the stove to about medium-high, and be sure to stir constantly so it won't burn.  When you start seeing bubbles around the edge like the picture, you'll know you're starting to get close to the boil - but you are not there yet!

When you start to see it boiling more like this picture (note the bubbles in the middle of the pan), you can go ahead and set your timer for 7 minutes.  Whatever you do, do NOT stop stirring at this point.  This stirring can be a great job for your 9-year old if you're busy doing something else from time to time.

When the syrup starts getting foamy, turn the heat down to medium.  It'll keep boiling, trust me.

Finally, after about 7 minutes, remove the syrup from the heat.  It should look something like this.

Next add your square of butter and splash of vanilla.  Mix until melted and set aside to cool.  As the syrup cools it will thicken slightly.

Serve warm over pancakes or waffles.  Any leftovers can be stored in a sealed container (or old syrup bottle) either in the cabinet or the fridge.