Homemade "Maple" Syrup

I grew up eating and making homemade syrup.  I don't think my mom ever bought prepared syrup from the store. It's fairly easy to make syrup for pancakes--it's basically a mixture of sugar and water with flavoring added. 

It's a two-for-one recipe day.  :)  Here are two recipes for homemade maple flavored pancake syrup.   

Homemade "Maple" Syrup
2 cups sugar (brown or white, or a mix)
1 cup water
½ tsp. maple flavoring
1 tsp. vanilla, optional
Simmer sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.  Add maple flavoring and vanilla.  

Thick Homemade Pancake Syrup
2 Tb. water
¼ cup sugar
1½ cups corn syrup
½ tsp. maple flavoring
Combine ingredients and boil 2 minutes. It will thicken as it cools. Makes 2 cups.

Tiffany's Notes: Store-bought syrup is much thicker than the first recipe.  If you want a sweeter, thicker syrup you can always increase the sugar for a greater concentration.  I like hot syrup so we served this hot after making it.  You can store leftovers in a container in the fridge and reheat as needed. 

A great maple flavoring is Mapleine by Crescent.