Sunday, November 15, 2009

Cinnamon Syrup or as my kids call it Pancake Gravy

This is one of those funny recipes that has become a family tradition. I used to feed 20+ high school kids breakfast once a week, at 6am, when they would come for bible study. One of their favorite breakfasts was pancakes with gravy. This cinnamon syrup looks exactly like the brown gravy you put on mashed potatoes. New kids would come and look at it with hesitation but, as soon as they tasted it they'd be back for more and their moms would call me for the "gravy" recipe. Surprise your family with it for a Saturday morning breakfast and it will become a family tradition for you as well.
Cinnamon Syrup
  • 1 cup white sugar 
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup corn syrup- deal with it, it's just another sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 TBS butter
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 10 oz of evaporated milk- You can use low fat!
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  1. Mix the sugars, corn syrup, cinnamon, butter and water together in a large non stick pan- Large is a key word here. Unless you LOVE cleaning up boiled sticky sugar from your stove, the pan needs to be larger than a sauce pan because it has a tendency to boil over and we all know how much fun that is. 
  2. Bring to a full boil over medium-high heat.  
  3. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes. 
  4. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. I will sometimes boil the sugars the night before, leave it covered on the stove so that in the morning all I have to do is warm it back up until it starts to steam- Don't bring to a boil or you'll have to let it cool off again. If it's too warm it will curdle the milk and you'll have lumpy gravy. It still tastes fine it just doesn't look as good.
  5. Once it's cooled off some, add the condensed milk and the vanilla.If the syrup is too thick, add a bit more of the milk to it if necessary.
  6. Stir until combines and serve warm over pancakes.  
This will keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks so make a double batch and just heat and serve whenever you need it.

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