Deluxe Brown Sugar Syrup Recipe

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Rather than dropping $8 on a mediocre coffee from a large chain, make your morning latte extra special with our homemade deluxe brown sugar syrup recipe. With just a bit of effort combined with high-quality ingredients, we've cracked the code on possibly the single most caramelized and buttery syrup you can imagine.

Flavoring coffee shouldn't be difficult, yet a single look at the ingredient list of most commercial flavored syrups brings to mind a high school chemistry lesson rather than a class of culinary arts. Instead of spending a fortune on high-fructose, low-nutritional-value flavorings from store-bought syrups, we truly believe that a few select, high-calibre homemade syrups can make all the difference for your morning cup of java. And this syrup is undoubtedly our favorite.

With a creamy, molasses-like consistency, deep caramelized flavor from aged rum, and a delicate honeyed aroma from vanilla, this brown sugar simple syrup is a step above the rest. And the fact that it takes less than 30 minutes of work, while keeping for 4 weeks? Heaven. 

To make this syrup, you'll need dark brown sugar — muscovado sugar is my favorite, if you can get it. You'll also need filtered water, flaky sea salt, aged rum for depth of flavor, and a real vanilla bean, for that deep, honeyed vanilla flavor.

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.

Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely.

Reduce the heat and maintain a gentle simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat, and add the salt, rum, and vanilla bean.

Cool completely before transferring the syrup to a sterilized glass container.

Refrigerate for up to 4 weeks.

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Of course, the easiest and simplest way to use this brown sugar syrup is to add a couple of teaspoons to your favorite coffee. But the joy of a good syrup doesn't end there! For starters, this syrup would add a welcome caramel-y depth to any cocktail or mixed drink that calls for simple syrup.

Our next favorite thing to do with this syrup is to drizzle it on good-quality vanilla ice cream. You can make the ice cream yourself, as it's surprisingly easy to make ice cream at home with just three ingredients. Of course, there's no shame in picking a special ice cream from the store or your favorite artisanal ice cream shop. For the best contrast, you can even drop a few flakes of sea salt on your brown sugar-ice cream combo. 

Next, this simple syrup is wonderful on homemade waffles or pancakes. If going the waffle route, you could follow Martha Stewart's advice and start with puff pastry, or just take a page from Meghan Markle's book and invest in a fancy waffle maker. The syrup would be great in a sweet combo with fruit or whipped cream, or with fried chicken and bacon on top of your waffles. But if you ask us, this syrup is so good, it'll shine on the most basic buttermilk pancakes, or your favorite French toast recipe.

We really wanted this simple syrup to have a strong, deep flavor, and so we chose the products with the highest quality. But we do have a few substitution ideas if you want this syrup to cost a bit less to make, or if you're avoiding alcohol in all forms, for example.

Our favorite sugar to use here is muscovado sugar, which brings out even more caramel notes in the concoction. But if you can't find it, any dark brown sugar will do. You can even sub it with coconut sugar, though the syrup will have an earthier flavor. In a pinch, you can mix regular white sugar with molasses for a homemade brown sugar.

If you don't want to use rum in this drink, you can use non-alcoholic rum extract. A good quality vanilla extract will do in place of the vanilla bean. You'll want to use about one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in place of the bean. 

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