Keeping with all things Peppermint. My second item for my 12 Days of Homemade Christmas is Peppermint Simple Syrup.
I have a confession to make. I always thought I was a mom who did not like coffee. Trust me I tried it, I tried flavored coffees and what not, even those pumpkin spice lattes, I just did not like it. Then one day while waiting in line at Starbucks, their Peppermint Mocha Frappucino was saying try me, Debbie. So I did and now I am a coffee drinker. It just took me 39 years to like it.
Unfortunately for me, where I live in North Carolina does not have a Starbucks on every corner. If I want Starbucks I have to drive 30 minutes away and then pay $5 for my drink. I needed to figure out how to make my own drinks at home and fast. I needed more coffee.
I looked up how Starbucks made the drink as well as several different recipes on the internet and went to work. I thought I had some peppermint syrup in my pantry that I had picked up to add to hot cocoa but it was long gone. I looked at my local stores and they didn’t sell it. My options were, order it online or figure out how to make it myself. I chose the later.
Most coffee syrups are a form of some sort of simple syrup. Simple syrup is nothing more than sugar and water that has been heated until the sugar crystals dissolve. If you aren’t careful and you cook your sugar water too long you end up with a syrupy mess that turns into hard candy. Trust me, I carelessly over cooked my first batch because I wanted to give it a couple more minutes. Oops! It honestly isn’t that hard to make and after adding a teaspoon of peppermint extract, I had my coffee syrup.
That is when the lightbulb went off in my head. I can’t be the only person who likes peppermint mochas. Peppermint Simple Syrup would make a great Homemade Christmas present. All I needed was a cute bottle and a bow and it would be the perfect!
I can’t wait to make up some more for gifting these year for teachers, my son’s therapists and friends. They are the perfect addition to any coffee gift basket.
What do you put in your morning coffee?
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium; stir 4 to 5 minutes. Add peppermint extract and remove from heat. Cool syrup for 5 minutes; pour into glass jar with tight-fitting lid.
Recipe from Allrecipes.com
2 Comments on Peppermint Simple Syrup
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Just wondering, how do you store the syrup once you’ve made it and how long would it keep for? Thank you!!
I store it in the fridge and it will last a month or so. It is sugar and water so the big danger of bacteria growth comes from the container it was stored in.