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Next post in my holidays series…Holiday Gifting: Homemade Simple Syrups.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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
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
- 2 cups pomegranate juice
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar or honey
- 2 inches fresh ginger sliced
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
- 2 cups water
- 8 chai tea bags
- 1 1/2 cups honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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
Have a great Sunday!
Hi Tieghan, these look great! What would I put on the recipe card for the pomegrante ginger syrup?
Hey Esha,
For the Pomegranate ginger syrup: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/pomegranate-ginger-paloma/
Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I’ve made the vanilla chai white russians before and that simple syrup is SO GOOD so I wanted to make more for friends for the holidays and found this post! However, after following the recipe on this page, I realized that it’s different than the recipe on the recipe page for the white russian – this one uses wayyyyy more honey, so to me, the honey really overpowered the chai and vanilla flavors. In the white russain recipe, it calls for 4 tea bags to 1/3 cup honey (or 8 tea bags to 2/3 cup honey), whereas the recipe here calls for 8 tea bags to 1.5 cups honey. I’d highly recommend following the recipe on the white russian page instead of this one – the vanilla & chai flavors are way better and it makes SUCH a good drink!
Hey Kelly,
Thanks so much for your feedback. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These look wonderful and I can’t wait to give them as gifts! I am unable to find cardamom pods can I sub ground cardamom instead?
Hey Monique,
Sure, ground cardamom will work. I hope you love the recipe! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi! Super excited to make these syrup recipes to give to friends. I’m letting the cinnamon spice simple syrup cool as we speak. To make the hot toddy with it- what’s the recipe you attach to the jar?
I see the naughty and nice which sounds delicious but I am confused where the simple syrup comes in.
Thanks soooo much for your help/ my kitchen smells yummy!
Hey Nikki,
All of the recipes for the drinks are linked above in the post:) I hope you love the recipe. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Just made the cranberry one for my friends! Next up, the pomegranate ginger, de we peel the ginger or is that unnecessary since we are straining it out anyway!?!
Hey Denise,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! No need to peel the ginger:) xTieghan
Can I substitute the vanilla bean with vanilla extract? If so, what amount?
Hey Tiffany,
Sure, I would do 1 tablespoon. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
What’s the best way to crush the cardamom pods in the cinnamon spice syrup? And does it matter which type/color of cardamom pods? Thanks!
Hi Gabrielle, no need to crush the pods, leave them whole. It doesn’t matter what type! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! And Happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?
So great! Can the cranberry orange simple syrup be used to make your cranberry bourbon sour?
Hey Rachel,
Yes, that would work well! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi Teighan!
Love your recipes — I was just wondering how many 8 oz jars each batch will make? I’m trying to figure out how many jars to purchase for gifting. Your recipe says that it makes 4 cups of each flavor, but there seems to be only 2 cups of liquid in each batch. Thanks!
Hey Meghan! Sorry for the confusion. Each recipe will make about 2 cups, so it fits 2 (8 ounce) jars. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! And Happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?
Hi! Is it possible to get the cocktail recipes you wrote on the tags? It would be perfect to include on these adorable gifts!
Hey Jamie,
Yes, if you scroll up and read through the blog post, I have all of the cocktail recipes linked:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi! Re-upping a question from a while ago because I have the same one. Thanks!
These are fabulous! I know you said they all have a month(ish) shelf life in the fridge, but can they be stored at room temperature at all? Trying to figure out the logistics of giving them as a gift or shipping them to friends in other states.
Hey Tansy,
I think these would be fine to ship as long as you instruct the recipient to place in the fridge once received. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Are these safe to ship in a package without refrigeration for a couple of days? Love this idea!! Mailing out most of my gifts and would love to send something like this.
Hey Erin,
Yes, I think that would be fine to do! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
nothing says love and christmas like the cinnamon spiced syrup (with honey)!
Yes!! Thank you Lara! xTieghan
Could brown sugar be used? What about sugar alternative, such as Stevia?
HI! I think brown sugar will be fine. I don’t recommend using a sugar alternative. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and I hope you had a Merry Christmas! xTieghan
This is a really great ideas. Thanks for the great tips…
I am glad you like this! Thank you Sunita! xTieghan