Learn how to make the easiest Vanilla Cinnamon Simple Syrup to use in iced coffee, cocktails and in baking recipes. This simple syrup is made with real vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and sugar. All these pure ingredients make the sweet, spicy flavors just explode!
You HAVE to make this Vanilla Cinnamon Simple Syrup recipe! I made it for my rum punch recipe. But you absolutely don’t have to use this only in cocktails.
I put a little bit in some freshly squeezed grapefruit juice for my son and he totally freaked out. It is great in iced coffee or drizzled onto cakes.
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Adds a Warm Sweetness to Drinks
A classic simple syrup is a great way to sweeten up homemade cocktails. But when you add extra flavorings, you can turn a basic drink into something extraordinary.
Flavored simple syrups, like this one with vanilla and cinnamon, add more layers of flavor and are super easy to make.
You can quickly get concentrated flavor into whatever you’re adding it to. And I love that you can modify it to suit your sweetness preferences. Sometimes I use very little (to no) sugar like in my Lavender Tea.
Other times, I make it with equal parts sugar like in my Basil Simple Syrup recipe. It’s in your hands, which I love.
While I sometimes just make simple syrup for one cocktail, when you make a batch of something flavored, you typically have a bunch leftover. So you can make a bunch of cocktails for a crowd or enjoy one by yourself.
What I love about this simple syrup with vanilla and cinnamon is that it adds this gorgeous warm, spiced flavor to anything you add it to. It pairs really well with spiced rum and is great in tropical-type drinks.
Don’t love cinnamon? Here’s my plain Vanilla Simple Syrup instead.
Ingredients
I picked up some really delicious Mexican vanilla beans. Really, any kind of vanilla beans would work but the flavor profile of these beans really fit what I was looking for to pair with some other flavors I had in my mind for the punch.
Then I picked up some Cassia cinnamon sticks. Store-bought is totally fine but I assure you the flavor from this syrup has a little bit to do with the quality of ingredients. So if you can, spend the time and track down these products!
Otherwise, all you need is plain sugar and water to make this simple recipe.
Directions
First add the cinnamon sticks to a saucepan and smashed them up with a muddler.
I’ve also done this before laying them flat on a cutting board, laying a chef’s knife on top of them and smashing the knife with the heel of my hand. Either way works. You just want to open them up so the flavors can really come out.
Next split 2 vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds into the saucepan. Then put the rest of the vanilla bean in the pan too.
Add the sugar and water to the pan and bring it to a slight boil, stirring occasionally to make sure the sugar dissolved.
I let it simmer for about 5 minutes before removing it from the heat.
Cover the pan and let it sit and infuse for about 5 hours.
Some recipes will tell you to let it sit overnight but I wanted to make sure that the flavors were not so intense that they would overpower the other flavors of the punch.
And believe me, this was SUPER flavorful after 5 hours. I strained it through a sieve into a jar and popped it in the fridge.
It’s a warm, golden color and it’s perfect for all kinds of beverages!
How To Use Homemade Simple Syrup
This is an amazing syrup that you can use in so many ways. Here are some of my favorites.
- In alcoholic cocktails
- In mocktails and homemade sodas
- In homemade lattes (or iced coffee)
- In homemade glazes for cakes and breads
- Drizzled over ice cream and desserts or even waffles!
Frequently Asked Questions
This syrup should last a very long time in an air-tight jar in the fridge. I would use it up to 2 weeks after making it.
Yes! Use this recipe to infuse any whole spices or herbs into a simple syrup – fresh mint, rosemary and thyme work really well, as does whole star anise.
Related Recipes
- Strawberry Simple Syrup for Cocktails
- How To Make Basil Simple Syrup
- Homemade Blackberry Simple Syrup
- Blueberry Simple Syrup Recipe for Cocktails
- How To Make Simple Syrup with Sugar Cubes
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Cinnamon Vanilla Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 Mexican vanilla beans split and seeds scraped out
- 1 oz Cassia cinnamon sticks cracked
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Split vanilla beans and add seed and bean to a saucepan.
- Add cinnamon sticks to a saucepan and muddle them to crack them open.
- Add sugar and water and bring to a slight boil.
- Let boil approximately 5 minutes then remove from heat and cover.
- Let sit for at least 5 hours, up to overnight.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an airtight container.
- Use in cocktail and beverage recipes.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on May 24, 2015, and has now been updated with updated links, and more information and instructions!
Jessica says
Hello! I’ve been following your blog for a while but never left a comment. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It sounds yummy. I wanted to let you know you have some sort of spam in your social media buttons on this post for viagr* and other things, in case you hadn’t seen it yet.
Sharon Garofalow says
Hi Jessica! Thank you so much for reading and letting me know about the spam! I had someone help me with that and it should be gone now but PLEASE let me know if you ever see anything like that again!!! And def make this simple syrup! It’s SO good!