by Elizabeth Gilbert

Created on: February 11, 2009

Every Sunday morning we would wake to the smell of bacon and maple syrup. Dad would always get up and go to the 6:00 a.m. church service. Then he came home and made homemade pancakes and syrup.. That was the one time a week my mom got a break. She would go to church with the older children. Dad would take care of the younger kids and make breakfast. Dad would make funny shaped pancakes for the baby in the high chair.

As the middle child of 11 children I remember there seemed to always be someone in the high chair.

When we were old enough to help in the kitchen and willingly to get up early and go to church with him he would share grandma's pancake recipe and let us make the syrup. Of course he supervised us as we measured the ingredients, put them into the sauce pan and used the stove.

Once in a while we would choose to butter our pancake and sprinkle it with sugar and roll it up to eat it. There were times when we would smother them with homemade jam strawberry, plum, apple or raspberry. The most favorite topping was dad's homemade maple syrup.

Maple Syrup

Ingredients 2 cups brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

3 cups of water

1 tablespoon of butter or margarine

1-2 teaspoons of maple flavoring

(It depends on your taste and if you use imitation or real maple flavoring)

Directions: Put the brown sugar, white sugar, and water into a medium size sauce pan.

Place pan over medium heat. Cook until it boils. Turn heat to low add maple flavoring and butter or margarine. Simmer the syrup until ready to serve.

This recipe is a minimum amount. Often Dad would double or triple the recipe especially if we were having company.

It's easy to store just pour the extra into a sealable container. It keeps for several weeks. I like a glass pitcher with a lid. I can easily heat it in the microwave for a quick breakfast or snack with frozen waffles or pancakes.

Uses for maple syrup:

Pour over pancakes or waffles and serve with your favorite breakfast meats such as bacon, sausage and ham.

Drizzle over ham as a glaze while baking it. Drizzle it over ice cream and sprinkle the ice cream with walnuts.

Stir 2-3 tablespoons into vanilla frosting and use it to frost a spice cake.

Pour it over warm, buttered cornbread to accompany a bowl of chili or bean soup.

Don't miss out on this versatile treat for your family. Try it soon and see just how easy and useful it can be. Yum!

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Gilbert.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.