Gingerbread Syrup (for Lattes, etc!)

I've decided you girls and guys love anything to do with coffee and tea. If you were to look at the stats for posts on this blog, you'd probably laugh at how popular the recipes for coffee creamer, pumpkin spice syrup, peppermint mochas, and chai are compared to other things! I worked on this recipe for gingerbread syrup about a month ago, but I've been waiting to share it. I'd kind of thought I'd make it my Christmas gift to friends, but I went another route. So you get the recipe now! I took my cues for this recipe from a recipe for actual gingerbread. Some gingerbread recipes are as simple as ginger and cinnamon. I wanted more depth of flavor so I added cloves and nutmeg, too. Some gingerbread recipes even call for black pepper, but I decided to leave that out! I used mostly brown sugar to give it that more molasses-y flavor. I'd almost venture to say that I like this more than the pumpkin spice syrup. I also think this one is a little more versatile--if you added it to tea and milk it'd probably make a decent chai-style drink. I think it'd be great over pancakes or waffles, too! Be creative and enjoy!

Gingerbread Syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbs grated ginger root, heaping
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Measure out all your spices into a small bowl or cup and set aside. Pour sugars and water into a small saucepan. Stir together over medium heat and allow sugars to dissolve. Whisk in ginger, vanilla and spices. Once you see liquid starting to bubble slightly around the edges of the pan, turn the heat to low. Allow syrup to simmer about 5 minutes, but don't let it actually boil too much. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm. Pour syrup through a mesh strainer or a cheesecloth. This will get out most of the spices and ginger bits that you may not want in your coffee but still leave you with a flavorful syrup! I keep mine in the fridge but I think you could keep it at room temperature as well for a couple weeks.

For a latte: I add a couple spoonfuls to a double shot of espresso and steamed milk. You could accomplish the same thing with a cup of strongly brewed coffee and warmed milk. 

Tip!! Do you have an bags for making your own tea bags with looseleaf tea? (wait, that may only be my husband!) Or maybe little tea strainers? If the holes are small enough, try putting your spices in it and then putting them in your syrup. You can just remove the strainer or bag of spices once you've simmered it and allowed it to cool.