It's that time of year again, when I start craving sunlight and Starbucks gingerbread lattes - and along with those comes my self loathing for "buying in" to what may not be the latest (I will argue it is, though, the greatest), but is definitely a consumerist "holiday" fad... and that self loathing snowballs into an internal disdain for some how thinking I should be too "hip" to fall for retail seasonal stratagem, and so on and so forth into a cycle of self examination that leads me to a regular coffee at Dunkin Donuts... though with a gingerbread donut, which is really like a draw either way...
But I digress from my original craving, sunlight...
...No, no, that isn't what I meant to talk about here... sorry, it sometimes takes a moment to regroup in these short (not to mention post partum) days. What I keep on craving are those evil, overpriced Starbucks gingerbread lattes. I could (and have) drink them every day. But they JUST rolled back into the stores in the last few weeks and trying to get out to one, with two toddlers and a newborn - when the nearest Starbucks is more than 20 minutes away AND has no drive thru.... well, needless to say, it doesn't look like something that is coming up in my near future.
But today was the day that I rose above all those obstacles and decided they could no longer stand in my way! I did a quick internet search to find out what others have done to try to replicate this seasonal obsession of mine, and found a basic recipe to be shared among many of the top results of my search:
2c water
1.5c white sugar
2t ground ginger
1.5t ground cinnamon
1t vanilla
Mix all, heat to boiling, then lower heat and simmer to reduce to a syrup
Simple enough... but was it too simple? Honestly, I'm not sure - maybe I'll try it that way some day so I can have something to compare it to - but peppered in with the multitude of results that gave back the above recipe (with no indication as to where the original instructions came from) were several more exotic recipes featuring fresh and unusual ingredients. So, taking the generic framework above and inspiration from all over the blogosphere, I came up with the following concoction:
Spicy Gingerbread Syrup
2c water
1.5c white sugar
2t ginger
1t cinnamon
1t blackstrap molasses
1t vanilla
0.5t allspice
0.5t whole peppercorns
4 whole cloves
Mix together. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer stirring occasionally until thickens. Use a slotted spoon or filter through cheesecloth to remove whole pieces.
Store in jar until ready to use.
Results? A spicy, sweet addition to my morning routine that takes enough of the edge off my craving to prevent me from spending where I don't need to. If I had an espresso machine it would be perfect (fourth anniversary coming up... and I thought appliances was a bad category. Consider me proven wrong!)
Truth be told, though, I'm not entirely sold on my concoction. I will update when (not if, I'm hooked enough to be certain of that) I try a new batch, but I think the molasses compounded with the spices made it too peppery. I wanted the extra kick, but it's got more of a candied ginger taste than gingerbread. I think next time I will replace the molasses with honey (because I really do want something with a little depth of sweetness to enhance the plain sugar of the syrup. I'm not 100% that it makes a difference - or the difference I intend it to make - but until I can experiment more I'm going with it) and maybe reduce it to 4-6 peppercorns. I felt the cinnamon was overwhelming in the scent while cooking, but it doesn't jump out at you in the finished product. I'll see what my next variation produces and decide where to go from there!
For now, I'm going to sit back with a nice cup of gingerbread spiced coffee and watch violent tv shows with my newborn, since I have a rare afternoon to my "self." Let me know your favourite diy gingerbread syrup recipe and all the non-latte ways you use it!
