Spiced Christmas Syrup – The Only Flavored Drink Syrup You Need This Holiday Season

This Christmas season, I’ve got a great workhorse recipe for you. It takes minutes to make, and you’ll find yourself reaching for it over and over again. It’s a spiced, simple syrup, Christmas style.

It’s basically mulling spices but less work. You can use it in just about any beverage – mocktails, lattes, holiday punches, cocktails, mulled cider and wine. All get that holiday flavor boost from a single jar.

My Spiced Christmas syrup conjures up the flavors of the season, making even the most mundane cup of tea a holiday event.

Let’s get started!

I initially came up with this syrup when I was experimenting with my Christmas Old Fashioned recipe. I wanted a syrup that would take a classic cocktail and turn it into something truly festive. (And it does; it’s a great cocktail.)

With a little further tweaking, I came up with a syrup that’s versatile and balanced for all kinds of drinks. But little did I know it would become so popular. (Not to mention, it saves on fridge space, which is nice this time of year.)        

Over Thanksgiving, my family and I kept reaching for the jar of spiced Christmas syrup again and again. We added it to all kinds of drinks.

• Lattes? How about a Christmas spiced latte?
• A cup of afternoon tea? Add a teaspoon of syrup for a more festive cuppa.
• Last minute hot mulled cider or wine? Easy – just heat up some cider or wine and add a little spiced syrup to your mug before heading to the fire pit in the backyard.
• Christmas mule mocktails? Where did we put the jar of spiced Christmas syrup?

It quickly became clear that this simple syrup was our go-to for easy and quick holiday beverages.

Needless to say, I’ll be making a few more jars to have on hand for upcoming parties and get-togethers throughout the holidays.

Spiced Christmas Syrup

One batch makes up about 1 ½ cups. It will keep in your fridge for a month or on your counter at room temperature for a week. (If you have a houseful, it probably won’t last that long.)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of real maple syrup
• ¾ cup of water
• 5 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces; I prefer Ceylon cinnamon for flavor
• 8 whole allspice, cracked
• 12 whole cloves
• 2 star anise pods
• Zest of one orange

Directions

• Add maple syrup and water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
• Break cinnamon sticks and add to the pan, along with the rest of the spices.
• Using a microplane (you can’t beat a classic) or zester, zest the orange and add to the saucepan.
• Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Let simmer uncovered for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over.
• Remove from heat and let sit for another ten minutes.
• Strain using a fine mesh strainer into a clean mason jar. Add lid and store on the counter for a week or in the fridge for a month.

Tips

• When trying the syrup in a new beverage by the cup, start with a teaspoon and adjust to taste—for instance, a cup of coffee or a mug of cider.
• Add ½ cup to a half gallon of hot cider for mulled cider, adjusting to taste.
• Add 1/3 cup of 750ml of red blend wine and ¼ cup of brandy for hot mulled wine, adjusting to taste.
• Make a batch of spiced Christmas syrup and put it in a bottle with a bow for an easy and quick hostess gift this holiday season.

I hope your family enjoys this spiced Christmas syrup as much as ours does this holiday season!