Homemade Maple Syrup
This homemade maple syrup is simple and easy to make and costs a heck of a lot less than store-bought pure maple syrup.
Syrup. The great conundrum of my breakfast life. Between this oatmeal pancake mix, simple french toast, and waffles, we eat hot breakfast nearly every morning of the week.
For years I’ve been agonizing over our syrup solution. Which makes me even grumpier in the mornings than I already am.
I can’t bring myself to use the thick, pancake syrup from the store because it is laden with additives and high fructose corn syrup.
That leaves me with pure maple syrup or homemade (or begging our neighbor who taps his own maple trees for some of his precious liquid gold he’s boiled down himself!).
For the last year I’ve been buying pure maple syrup from Sam’s Club, choking down the high cost every time but lately, in an effort to shrink our grocery budget a bit, I’ve had to give it up.
Other homemade syrups I’ve tried are decent but what holds me back from adoration is the film that forms on top of the syrup (with many of the buttermilk recipes) or the fact that they have enough corn syrup in them I might as well be buying the stuff from the store.
I want a maple look-alike without the high cost of pure maple and without the other junk. Is that too much to ask?
Ok, enough with my complaining, on to the solution! This homemade maple syrup is simple and easy to make and it tastes like…maple syrup! Hooray!
Because of the lack of corn syrup, it is on the thinner side, but that’s ok with my family because we have gotten used to the taste and consistency of pure maple syrup, which is quite thin.
This syrup is probably a tad bit thicker than pure maple. I worked out the nutrition facts on this syrup (mainly sugar content) a while ago when I was tweaking it and if I remember right, pure maple syrup has about 50g of sugar for 1/4 cup and this syrup worked out to be right around 48 or 49g of sugar for the same amount.
I haven’t bought pancake syrup from the store in years so I’m not sure how it compares. I’m guessing the “light” or “low-sugar” brands have less sugar – although beware of the processed additives in the mix.
I buy my pure maple extract from here. If you can find a brand locally where you live, even better!
Hopefully this homemade maple syrup will make you as happy as it has me! Has it converted me into a morning person? Ha! Not even close, but it does help me look slightly more forward to rolling myself out of bed to make breakfast for the fam.
Homemade Maple Syrup
Ingredients
- 8 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup honey
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons pure maple extract
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large 5-6 quart pot, combine the sugars, honey and water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to low so the mixture gently simmers.
- Cover the pot and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for 20 minutes before stirring in the maple and vanilla extracts. Let the syrup cool in the pot for another 40 minutes, or so, stirring occasionally, before filling jars/containers. Once the containers are filled, let them cool to room temperature uncovered.
- Store covered in jars or other containers in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 2 months in the refrigerator. Gently reheat before serving, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Is there a way you can can this recipe and put it in your pantry?
I don’t believe so – sorry!
Sorry, I commented, but I guess I was replying to another comment. So I’m commenting again! I know this is an old post, so hopefully you see this. I pinned this a long time ago and finally tried it. I halved the recipe and we enjoyed it a couple times over the course of a week (probably ate less than 25% of what we had). Now the rest in the container is a solid brick of sugar. Any advice? I’d love to give it another try since we hate store bought pancake syrup and pure maple is so expensive. Thanks for any help!
Hi Kate, hmmm, that’s odd! It’s been a while since I’ve made this but I don’t recall that happening before. Have you tried heating it up again over low heat to melt the sugar?
This isn’t maple syrup at all! Even the extract is fake and isn’t maple! You make home made maple syrup by tapping trees, collecting the sap and boiling it to a minimum of 66 brix. This can’t be called maple at all. Support PURE maple syrup and those who produce it by buying AUTHETICLY PURE maple, which is a bit expensive because of how manually intensive it is to produce and the equipment investment cost of the producers. http://www.sugartree.run
Call it anything but maple. Maple extract is fenugreek.
Call it Fenugreek syrup. That’s honest at least.
this is “Pancake syrup”…..not maple syrup
“Pancake syrup”…..not maple syrup
This was wonderful! Way better than store bought pancake syrups. We are trying to cut our grocery bill and I loved how all of the ingredients I had on hand already.
We will still use real maple syrup on occasion but this is a great alternative.
Well, I was going to just go to the store and buy maple syrup. .when my boyfriend said no..no..no..your syrup is better than any store bought, please don’t by the store brands…
So needless to say I was thrilled! Thank-you Mels kitchen for this recipe!
Thank-you,
Sincerely
Sandy
I messed up, I added the maple and vinallia with the sugar and honey. .do I need to add more after it simmers. .please help!
Hey,
Is it possible to make maple syrup using maple extract?
Absolutely not! This not maple syrup and should not be referred to as such.
Thank you, so much for this recipe! I’ve tried several other recipes and this is by far my favorite. .the flavor is spot on…I highly recommend anyone wanting to make Maple Syrup to take full advantage of this wonderful recipe. ..
Thanks, Sandy!
Here is the “syrup solution” I came up with years ago. It has these 4 benefits: (1) contains real maple syrup (2) reduces the cost by a third (3) increases the nutritional benefits and (4) it reduces the carbs:
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
+ 3/4 cup coconut oil (liquified MCT version) + 1/4 cup organic butter + 1/4 tsp. lecithin granules. Pour syrup in glass dispenser bottle and heat in microwave 1-2 minutes (hot but short of “boiling”), then add oil, butter and lecithin. Shake vigorously until blended well and lecithin granules have dissolved. If necessary, reheat 30 seconds and shake again. Voila! Rich, buttery maple syrup full of beneficial fats. Ummm!
You pansy sniffing, granola eating, tree hugging, yuppie get out of the syrup and go eat tofu
Thank you! This is a life saver.
Great recipe for delicious syrup! This has replaced the store bought syrup in our house. Loved by myself, my husband, and our 3 young adult children – highly recommend!
For this recipe you use Cook’s Pure Maple Extract….I only have the KAF Natural Maple Flavor (which you use for other recipes). What is the difference between an “Extract” and “Flavor”? Would I use the same amount?
The King Arthur Flour maple flavor will work just fine – I’d probably use the same amount as the maple extract.
Thank you!
Wow, this poor lady either has never tasted Maple Syrup or her taste buds are dead. It’s not even close.
Thank you for such a good recipe. I moved from Ohio last year (Geauga County – maple syrup country!) and can’t get my beloved maple syrup any longer without paying a large fortune for it. So I found your recipe online and have been making it this way. Only change I made was to cut the white sugar back by 1 cup. First batch was a bit sweet for me. So tasty and you can barely tell the difference. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for a great syrup recipe, just made it for the first time.
Taste so YUMMY. Thanks again for taking the time to share your wonderful recipe.
Linda
Thanks to posts in the comment section, I was able to get rid of crystallized sugars! I’ve had them with every batch I’ve made until I learned not to stir the syrup. Now there’s no crystallization. Thanks!
Mel, have you posted any recipes for flavored syrups like blueberry or strawberry? I did a quick search and I didn’t find any right off, but I just wondered if you’d made them.
I haven’t posted any official recipes, Caitlin – I’ve gotten to where I just throw some frozen berries in a saucepan with a bit of water, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch and let it bubble until syrupy and then blend it up. Sorry I’m not more help!
My kids and husband love this syrup!! I can’t make it fast enough! I’m not a fan of syrup (I know I’m weird) but according to them, it’s the best they’ve ever had. THANK YOU!!!
I know this is an old post, so hopefully you see this. I pinned this a long time ago and finally tried it. I halved the recipe and we enjoyed it a couple times over the course of a week (probably ate less than 25% of what we had). Now the rest in the container is a solid brick of sugar. Any advice? I’d love to give it another try since we hate store bought pancake syrup and pure maple is so expensive. Thanks for any help!
Also, I believe this is perfectly safe for canning because of the high sugar content.
I made this last night & I will admit to being skeptical. After making it, my family tasted it & deemed it worthy. It tastes like the syrup I buy at the store. Thank you for this recipe. It’s a keeper!
I love the taste and it’s so much more healthier than store bought! I feel like we almost tapped a tree for it! 🙂 Thanks, once again!!!! I don’t know how many times I am going to write, ‘Great recipe!’….it’s getting redundant….will need to find synonyms, like, ‘Superlicious!’ Love it Mel! (How lucky am I that I get to live so close to you???!!) I live near a rockstar people!!!! 🙂
Hi! I make syrup with Mapleine most of the time. But why do you have to keep this kind in the refrigerator? I always have, but do you NEED to? Other articles say only real maple syrup needs to be refrigerated…what do you think and why?? Thanks.
Mary Ann – good question. I keep it in the fridge because it seems like the safest option. And probably because I always keep my pure maple syrup in the fridge. No rhyme or reason for me other than I’ve always done it that way and I feel better about keeping it cool.
In this recipe you do not need to use brown sugar. Just add an additional cup of white sugar and 1-2 tablespoons molass. Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added. Any recipe that calls for brown sugar can be exchanged with white sugar and 1-2 tablespoon molasses per cup. Depending on light or dark. This does NOT work well when making crumb toppings, etc.
Halved the recipe this morning and it is VERY sweet but will try it again after it sits in the frig overnight as that might help the flavors marry. The best thing we have found so far for pancakes,is adding 2 T of water to 1/2 C of jam,stir and warm it gently in the microwave. It is delicious on pancakes and waffles and not as sweet as syrup.
SO good FOr the PEople ANd Good For THe Heilth
Bottom dollar has pure maple syrup for only five bucks
You have redeemed yourself after those super disappointing oven-baked baby back ribs! 😉 (I think I’m the only person who didn’t like them.) Made this syrup today, and while I haven’t tried it on waffles, pancakes, etc, just eating it off the spoon, I think it’s a keeper! It is so much sweeter than store-bought, but also SO MUCH more cost-effective! That’s what I love about it the most. Honestly, I don’t care about which is “healthier” because it is syrup-it’s not supposed to be healthy! Thanks for the great recipe 🙂
Our family does what we call ‘a cup a cup a cup’ syrup. It’s one cup white sugar, one cup brown sugar and one cup water. Bring the three ingredients to a boil for a minute while stiring. Take off the heat and add a tablespoon of butter (prevents the crystals from forming). It is a runny syrup but it soaks right into pancakes. My girls prefer this over store bought or even maple syrup.
We add maple flavoring to agave nectar, and it tastes great and is so simple–no extra ingredients needed.
Made this last night following Vivky’s suggestion of not stirring it after combining the ingredients and only small amt when adding the flavoring. and it hasn’t turned to crystals yet! Now I only wish I had made more than a quarter batch of the recipe. Thanks for the recipe!
Vicky – thanks for adding your comment about the crystallization. My last batch turned to all crystals and I had no idea what happened. I love that less stirring is better! I’m going to try that right now! Our family loves breakfast for dinner!
I’ve made this recipe at least 3 times since you posted it (it took me a while to get to it) and I think it’s great. I haven’t bought the real maple extract; I just use maple flavoring, which is fine for who it’s for (as my husband says).
I just wanted to add a little comment about my experience making this. My first batch started out fine but gradually turned to crystals in the fridge. Some time later I was reading a candy-making book which talked about sugar and syrups and such and I learned that if you stir it while it’s cooking (which you don’t specify not to do, but I should have known from another recipe I have used) that it causes the sugar to crystalize. I must have stirred it after it came to a boil that first time, so the next batch I made sure not to stir at all after initially combining the ingredients and it lasted a long time in the fridge with absolutely no crystals forming.
Sorry for the long story, and thanks for sharing another keeper of a recipe!
Vieve – I agree that the flavor of this syrup develops more fully overnight. I’m glad you liked it enough the second day to make it worth it.
This is really good! Better than store-bought pancake syrup, for sure. Strange phenomena though; I made this in the afternoon and we had pancakes for supper. It tasted like thick sugar water. I was SO disappointed, but decided we’d use it anyhow. The next day, I tasted it and it had developed the maple/vanilla flavor! Amazing! Has anyone else experienced this? I will be making this now instead of buying pancake syrup, while still keeping real on hand for recipes and special occasions — Sundays 🙂 Thank you for another great recipe. (And yes, I bought the Cook’s Real extract)
Mel-I am making your slow cooker brown sugar maple ham for Easter. I’ve made it before with store-bought pure maple syrup, however, I just received my pure maple extract in the mail to make this syrup. Could I use this syrup for the ham or would it be better to buy the pure maple syrup from the store? I’m basically wondering if it’s the same thing.
My 4-year old wanted pancakes (your oatmeal mix) for breakfast, but we were out of syrup. I whipped up a half-recipe of this & served pancakes for lunch. My boy ate 8!!! We’re healthy like that. Ha. Anyway, I’d say it was a hit!! I ate 2 so I could check out the syrup & I thought it was excellent!! Thanks!
I made a 1/2 recipe of this over the week and really like it. I did feel that the vanilla flavor was too overpowering but the more I thought about it the more I realized it was probably because my vanilla extract is a higher quality than the mapeline that I used. A few extra drops of the mapeline will solve the problem until I use up what I’ve got on hand and I’ll get the good stuff next time. My daugher has a serious addiction to dutch babies so this will save me bucks. THANKS!
My husband and four kids love this syrup. I was buying pancake syrup before we tried this recipe because real maple syrup is too expensive for how much we go through. My family loves the flavor of this syrup and they say it’s way better than store bought stuff. Thank you for another great recipe.
Vieve- the recipe works just fine halved!
How does it work halved? I don’t think we could eat it all in two months. Looks fabulous so I want to try! Will be calling my specialty store in the a.m. to see if they have the pure maple extract, otherwise thank you for giving a source!
Rhonda – that is strange that the syrup turns to sugar even before the boiling step is over. I’ve never had that happen, so I’m not exactly sure why but you may be on to something with it getting too hot. Can you bring it to a boil then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes? I’d try cooking it at a lower temperature and see how that goes. It isn’t an overly thick syrup so don’t be distressed if it still seems pretty thin – it’s slightly thicker than pure maple syrup but not much.
Hey just a question I have tried and tried to make this and it either turns sugary or is extremely runny. After it comes to a boil I turn it all the way down to simmer the 15 min I do have a gas oven so maybe it gets to hot? The first time I made it it turned to sugar before the 20 min were up so the next time I only brought it to a boil and then turned it off. Then it was really runny. I’ve tried at least 6 times (varying the simmer time) and just can’t get it how you describe it. Any ideas? I really hate what the store bought stuff has in it so I’d love to figure it out. Thanks