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Next post in my holidays series…Holiday Gifting: Homemade Simple Syrups.

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Hey, hi! Happy Sunday everyone! Today we’re talking homemade holiday gifts! And as usual these days, I am pretty excited about it. I truly get into the holiday season every single year. But this year feels like I’m embracing it even more than usual. I’m trying to find other ways to connect with the season, as we still have almost no snow here in Colorado. Normally by December we have a thick solid coat of snow on the ground. Everyone in our little mountain town is impatiently waiting for that first big snow fall. Well technically second. The snow from the storm on October 1-2 is long gone…hoping for snow on Monday!

Anyway, back to gifting…in my opinion nothing beats something that you spent time putting together for someone. I mentioned this a bit last week, but I love holiday gifts that are thought out and take a little time to prepare. I think it shows when you put some effort into creating a gift you feel your recipient will love. Plus, I really just love any excuse to get a little crafty and make things look cute. Especially, cute and Christmassy.

I saw this idea of gifting simple syrups in the December issue of Martha Stewart. When I came across the idea I knew I wanted to create some of my own syrups to share with you. It’s such a fun gift idea, and I have so many syrup ideas in my head…choosing just four was really hard.

If you’re new to simple syrups, making them at home is actually so easy to do. And the syrups I’m sharing with you can be mixed into so many different cocktails, the options are really endless.

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

First, Pomegranate Ginger Syrup. You guys know I am head over heals obsessed with pomegranates. So I wanted to create a syrup that was pomegranate flavored. I love the combo of pomegranate and ginger, so naturally this one needed to come to be. I love using this syrup to make a pomegranate paloma (use as the syrup in the recipe).

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Second, Cinnamon Spice Syrup. This is sweet, cinnamony and touched with just a little spice. It’s perfect for a warm cocktail, like yesterday’s naughty and nice toddy (use in place of the honey) or a hot buttered rum.

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Third, Vanilla Chai Syrup. Could not be more in love with this. It’s chai tea in a sweet syrup form and it makes mixing up this chai white Russian an easy thing to do any night of the week. This would also be delicious in just about any bourbon based cocktail like this old fashioned or a warm chai bourbon tea.

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Forth, Cranberry Orange Syrup. This is December in syrup form. It’s sweet, spiced with winter citrus, and hinted with just a little bit of thyme. I LOVE using it in this cranberry orange margarita (use in place of the sugar) or this cranberry thyme spritz (use as the syrup for the recipe).

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

A few notes, I prefer to use honey to sweeten my syrups, but I also gave you the option to use sugar. Honey does add a little flavor, but sugar will sweeten the syrups without adding any flavor. Both work equally well. I used glass jars that I found at Target, but any jar with a lid will do. I also finished each jar off with a gift tag to label the syrups and then decorated them festively.

Obviously.

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Holiday Gifting: Homemade Simple Syrups

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 4 cups of each flavor
Calories Per Serving: 1336 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

pomegranate ginger simple syrup

cinnamon spice simple syrup

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 teaspoons crushed cardamon pods
  • 1 vanilla bean, split
  • pinch of crushed pink or black peppercorns

vanilla chai simple syrup

cranberry orange simple syrup

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar or honey
  • 2 cups fresh cranberries
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 4 orange slices

Instructions

pomegranate ginger simple syrup

  • 1. In a medium pot, bring the pomegranate juice, honey (or sugar), and ginger to a boil over high heat. Once boiling simmer 1-2 minutes and then remove from the heat. Let cool completely. Strain out the ginger. Transfer to glass jar. Store in the fridge for up to 1 month.

cinnamon spice simple syrup

  • 1. In a medium pot, bring the water, honey (or sugar), cinnamon, cardamom, and vanilla bean to a boil over high heat. Once boiling simmer 3-5 minutes and then remove from the heat. Add the peppercorns. Let cool completely and then strain into jars. I like to add the cinnamon sticks and vanilla bean to the jars as well. Store in the fridge for up to 1 month.

vanilla chai simple syrup

  • 1. In a medium pot, bring the water to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the chai tea bags, cover and steep 10-15 minutes. Remove the tea bags and add the honey. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 3-5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Let cool and then pour into jars. Keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.

cranberry orange simple syrup

  • 1. In a medium pot, bring the water, the honey, cranberries, thyme, and orange slices to a boil over high heat. Boil 5 minutes or until the cranberries begin to burst, then remove from the heat. Let cool. Remove the thyme and orange. If desired, strain out the cranberries. Pour into jars. Keep stored in the fridge for up two weeks (even with the cranberries) or up to 1 month (without cranberries).

Notes

Nutritional information is based on the whole recipe of cinnamon spice simple syrup
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Holiday Gifting- Homemade Simple Syrups | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Have a great Sunday!

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Comments

  1. Haha I am doing this as we speak for gifts and I couldn’t think of fun ways to package it and when I googled this came up! Which is funny bc I follow half baked religiously on Pinterest 🤣 What did you put in the chai syrup as a cute… How do I say this… Inside the syrup item to give it visual interest? A star anise seed pod?

  2. Hi Tieghan, wondering if you have suggestions on how to use these syrups in non-alcohol version mocktails. Thanks and happy holidays!

    1. Hey Leann,
      Sure, you can easily follow any of the cocktail recipes listed and use ginger beer or sparkling water in place of the alcohol. Let me know if you have any other questions! xT

      1. So excited about this gift idea.
        In one of the drinks you said to garnish with sparkles. Can you tell me what that is?

        Thanks
        Kathy

    1. Hi Barbara,
      It depends on the size of the jar that you choose to use. The recipes will make 4 cups of each type of syrup and I typically put 2 ounces of syrup in my cocktails. Let me know if you have any other questions! xT

  3. Hi!! I love your recipes and your cookbook is all I asked for for Christmas! Thank you for bringing joy into my home each week!

    For this recipe I couldn’t find split vanilla or cardamom pods…can I use vanilla extract and ground cardamom instead? Or what would you suggest?

    Thank you!

    1. Hey Briana,
      Yes, I think using both of those would work well. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan