Pancake Toppings

Many, many years ago when my children were very young and I was just beginning to learn more about doing things from scratch and ways to save money, I began making my own pancake syrups and toppings. 

When I was growing up pancakes were a rare treat and when we did have them they were always eaten totally saturated with a store bought pancake syrup.   After I was married with children of my own, my cousins wife, (Anita @ http://www.busyhandsbusyminds.blogspot.com/) shared with me her recipe for making HER OWN pancake syrup.  For me, at the time, that was totally unheard of and I HAD to give it a try.  Since then there has been no turning back. 

I have come to realize that there are many, many ways to enjoy pancakes and (for me anyway) they DO NOT involve saturating them with store bought syrup.  I thought I would share some of things that I enjoy as a topping for MY pancakes.

Chopped fresh fruit

Nutella with a little whipped cream

Homemade pancake syrup (occasionally)

Homemade Blueberry or Strawberry fruit syrup

Peanut Butter

I'm sure that there are many, many other wonderful pancake toppings, but these are the ones we most often use around here.

Here's the recipes for my homemade syrups.


Pancake Syrup

I'm not sure what happened to the original recipe I got from Anita, but I'm pretty sure this is close to it.  Anyway this is how I make my syrup today.

sugar (amount varies depending on how much you want to make)

water (Use half as much water as you do sugar.  Ex:  3 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups water)

molasses (For three cups sugar I use 3 tablespoons molasses

vanilla (For three cups sugar I use 2 teaspoons vanilla)

maple flavoring (I use half as much maple as I do vanilla.  For three cups sugar 1 teaspoon maple)

Mix together in saucepan on stove and bring to a rolling boil to dissolve sugar.  If you like a runny syrup you can turn it off at that point or you can continue to simmer for a little longer to thicken.  Don't cook it too long though or you may end up with hard candy :)

You can make as much or as little syrup as you like.  I usually make a good bit and store it in empty pancake syrup bottles (from my mother) or empty ketchup bottles in the refrigerator.  You can use any flavoring you like, this is just my preference.

HOMEMADE FRUIT SYRUP

3 cups fresh or frozen fruit (thawed)
1/2 to one cup sweetener (sugar, honey, etc.)
Fruit fresh (optional)

I place all of this in my Vitamix blender and run it on high for a couple of minutes.  I've never tried it, but I'm sure you could use a regular blender just as well.  My favorite fruits for syrup are blueberries and strawberries.  I'm seriously considering making some with a few of the plums that I still have in the freezer :)

In addition to saving money by making our own syrups, I also don't have to worry about whether are not they are gluten free.  For our family that's a big plus.