Gingerbread Syrup

This Gingerbread Syrup recipe is an easy homemade syrup that will bring the cozy, festive aroma of holiday gingerbread right into your kitchen! It tastes just like a liquid gingerbread cookie. This syrup is perfect for adding that special holiday flavor to your cocktails, and for making delicious homemade gingerbread lattes too.

If you're in the mood for more flavored syrups that are great for the holidays, try out this easy Cinnamon Syrup or Sugar Cookie Syrup. Or, check out my list of flavored syrup recipes. There are so many good syrup flavors that are easy to make at home!

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this spiced gingerbread simple syrup:

• Brown sugar - this gives the syrup a warm flavor to begin with. You can also use turbinado or demerara sugar (like in this Demerara Syrup recipe).
• Water - filtered tap water works great.
• Molasses - this will bring deep caramel notes to the syrup, and will really enhance the gingerbread flavor. Wholesome brand blackstrap molasses works great and is available online.
• Fresh ginger - got to have the ginger! Fresh ginger is so much more potent than dried.
• Mixed mulling spices - this is usually a blend of warm winter spices such as nutmeg, black pepper, cloves and sometimes some dried orange peel.
• Cinnamon sticks - there is usually some cinnamon in the mulling spice mix, but adding a few whole sticks will amp up the cinnamon flavor.
• Whole star anise - dried star anise pods add a little bit of licorice type of flavor as a background note.
• Allspice berries - dried allspice berries are wonderful to add in for some extra flavor and enhance all the other spices.

Substitutions

Here are some ways you can substitute the ingredients:

• Brown sugar - you can use white sugar instead. If you do, add an extra 2 tablespoons of molasses. Or, try using coconut sugar. You could also use maple syrup as a base, and just leave out the water.
• Molasses - if you can't find molasses, try adding some dark colored honey. Definitely use brown sugar if you are leaving out the molasses!
• Fresh ginger - instead of fresh ginger, you can try using candied ginger. Don't use ground ginger, because you won't really be able to strain it out unless you pass the syrup through a coffee filter (which you can obviously do, but it takes a long time!)
• Spices - you can just double the amount of the mixed mulling spices if you don't have the cinnamon sticks, star anise or allspice berries.

Variations

Here are some different varieties of ways to make Gingerbread Syrup:

• Gingerbread Coffee Syrup - take out 1 ounce of the water and add a shot of espresso to make a delightful coffee gingerbread syrup. 
• Thicker Gingerbread Syrup (2:1 ratio) - you can double the amount of sweetener in order to make this syrup thicker. This is great if you want to use it to flavor buttercream, or if you like a thicker consistency of pancake syrup. 
• Gingerbread Pumpkin Spice Syrup - take out 2 ounces of the water and add in 2 ounces of pumpkin puree for the ultimate fall and winter syrup.
• Vanilla Gingerbread Syrup - stir in 1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract to the syrup after you take it off the heat.

Equipment

You'll need a few key pieces of equipment to make this recipe. A medium or small saucepan and a spatula are key! Also, grab either a kitchen scale or a set of measuring cups to measure the sugar, water and spices.

For the fresh ginger, a common teaspoon is the best way to get the peel off. You'll also want to have a knife and cutting board to chop the peeled ginger into pieces.

A clean glass storage bottle is the best way to store the syrup. You'll need a fine mesh strainer as well as a funnel to strain out the liquid and pour it into the storage bottle.

If you need any new bar equipment, I really love the products from A Bar Above! You can get 10% off using my discount code, LKDrinks. Their bar tools are really durable, and also can be thrown in the dishwasher when you're done mixing!

Instructions

Start out by peeling and chopping your fresh ginger. (A regular teaspoon is the easiest way to peel ginger!)

Add the chopped ginger to a saucepan. Then, add in your brown sugar.

Add your water to the saucepan, and then the molasses.

Add in all of the spices, and then place the saucepan on the stove over medium heat.

Stir the mixture occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Then, bring to a boil.

Note: Keep an eye on this mixture since it may boil over the sides of the pot if you walk away!

After the liquid hits a boil, turn down the heat until the liquid is at a simmer. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Take the saucepan off the heat, and allow it to cool to room temperature. The flavors will infuse even more during this time.

You can either let it sit out until cool, or place the bottom of the saucepan in an ice water bath and stir until it is cool.

Then, add the liquid to your storage container. Use a fine mesh strainer and a funnel to get all the liquid in without adding the spices.

Seal up your container. You can use the syrup right away, or store it in the refrigerator for up to a month. (Discard at any sights of cloudiness or mold in the syrup.)

Hint: To thicken your syrup more, you can either double the amount of sugar you use, or keep the liquid at a simmer for longer than five minutes to evaporate more of the water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Top tip

Make sure your storage container is big enough to hold the syrup. You'll need at least a 10-ounce container (around 300 ml). I really like these 12 ounce glass bottles or 12 ounce swing top bottles. This would make a great gift too!