Sometimes it’s not appropriate to take alcohol as a gift, so I have an alternative to my Spiced Vodka – Gingerbread syrup that can be added to coffee, for a winter warming sweet flavour, or drizzled on vanilla ice cream, it’s absolutely delicious.
I made this last year, and I have been playing around with the recipe, to try and increase the depth of flavour. I prefer it to be spicier, and this seems to have taken on more of a true gingerbread taste.
You will need for approximately 800 ml of syrup, or three small Fentimans bottles:
- 4 cups of water
- 2 cups of granulated sugar
- 2 heaped tablespoons of molasses sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 inches of peeled fresh ginger, chopped into quarter-inch pieces
- Vanilla Pod
- 10 cloves
- 10 whole black peppercorns
Add all of the ingredients to a pan, and bring to the boil. Reduce and simmer for around 20 minutes. Strain, and let it cool for before transferring into bottles. If it does not fill the three bottles, I top up with more cooled boiled water.
I have chosen to decorate with some gingerbread buttons, that I bought from eBay last year. You could buy gingerbread cookie cutters cheaply and add those, or even cook some gingerbread men to give as well.
With the 3 bottles of Spiced Vodka, that’s 6 gifts for less than £25, and a very Merry Christmas indeed!
Thank you for reading
Also check out The Family Budgeting Bumper thrifty Christmas ideas
Sonya cisco says
November 23, 2012 at 12:48 pmLove it, going to give it ago. Gorgeous buttons too! I have a thing for buttons! 🙂
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Amanda Cottingham says
November 24, 2012 at 9:01 pmI also have a thing for button, and I have a little bit of a collection 😉 glad you like x
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mum of all trades says
November 23, 2012 at 9:38 pmOh I love the sound of this! The way you have it presented is just lovely too. I swear every year I am going to make some homemade gifts but in the end its always so rushed I never get around to it. But this seems very do-able
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Amanda Cottingham says
November 24, 2012 at 9:02 pmIt’s so quick and easy, the hardest bit is making the tags! 😉
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Jen Stanbrook says
November 24, 2012 at 10:10 amThis looks delicious! I love the idea of making homemade gifts to give to everyone, but time seems to run away with me and it never happens. This year maybe! 😉
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Amanda Cottingham says
December 1, 2012 at 9:48 amGo for it Jen, you won’t regret it!
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Laura says
November 24, 2012 at 1:13 pmI’m going to have a go at this one. I love gingerbread syrup in coffee in coffee shops, I had no idea you could make it yourself. Going to make some for me and my brother. Does it have vanilla in? It looks like vanilla on the plate but its not in the recipie? Thanks x
Amanda Cottingham says
November 24, 2012 at 8:38 pmOpps! I have amended now, yes a vanilla pod!
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Amanda Cottingham says
November 24, 2012 at 9:04 pmWould love to hear how you get on. You can adjust the ginger to your taste if you need to.
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jenny paulin says
November 24, 2012 at 8:38 pmwow thats amazing i used to always request this at Costa in my latte. you make it seem so easy too x
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Amanda Cottingham says
November 24, 2012 at 9:05 pmSo simple! Me too, I always order it at Christmas. You can be it all yr round now 😀
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Sian says
November 27, 2012 at 9:22 amwhat a great idea : ) I think it will have to go on next years ‘to do’ list now though!
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Amanda Cottingham says
December 1, 2012 at 9:51 amHehe, have you got a huge list of things to make? If you like coffee, I’d recommend it all year round, I’m having one this morning 😉
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Jenny says
December 10, 2012 at 2:41 pmOh my! Just what I was looking for. However, I’m not giving this away–I want it for myself! 🙂
If you come up with a pumpkin one, I’d be sooo happy!
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thebeesleybuzz says
December 12, 2012 at 1:18 amyum! love the cute tags too with the gingerbread men buttons. x
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Sally says
December 15, 2012 at 11:20 pmThis looks amazing, thanks so much for sharing the secret with us!
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Becky says
December 24, 2012 at 9:27 amWas delish!!!! Thank you
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Nikki Gillette says
December 12, 2013 at 3:01 pmThanks so much for sharing! I never would have thought of making flavored coffee syrups. Such a fabulous idea!!!
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Alex says
September 27, 2014 at 7:50 pmThis looks great. How long does it last in the bottle?
Amanda Cottingham says
September 28, 2014 at 6:06 pmAbout 4-6 weeks in the refrigerator Alex.
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Rosie says
April 30, 2015 at 12:12 pmHi!
Just wondering how long this will keep?
Amanda Cottingham says
April 30, 2015 at 12:23 pmThe longest its lasted in our house is one-two months. Usually because we used it really quickly! Its important to remember to sterilise the bottles and caps well, to ensure it lasts as long as possible. hope that helps.
Wendy Foot says
November 15, 2015 at 10:00 pmAwesome!! I’ve been looking for some lovely unusual presents for some dear friends and they’ll love this!! I’ll make some gingerbread men to go with it!! Thank you for sharing!!
Carissa Maynard says
December 5, 2016 at 7:36 pmLove this idea for gifts, I’m definitely going to give it a go x