Buttermilk Syrup

After sleepovers with my childhood bestie, I remember eating pancakes topped with her mother's delightful, homemade buttermilk syrup. This recipe is not her recipe, but her recipe was the inspiration.

And while this is definitely not the healthiest topping for your breakfast fare, it is certainly one of the most delicious!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1.In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda.
2. Bring to a boil, and cook for 4-7 minutes (see tips below).
3. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla.
4. Serve warm.

A Few Tips

1. When this cools, it gets hard. Think: chewy caramels. Easy fix: just reheat it over medium-low heat.

2. The longer you boil this, the thicker (and later, chewier) it will get. You'll know when it has graduated to the status of "syrup" when the color and overall texture of the mixture changes. Watch it and remove it from the heat when this happens.

3. Don't burn the vanilla!!! Burning the vanilla will give this lovely concoction a bitter after taste. To avoid this, remove the pot from the heat and stir it until it doesn't bubble anymore. Then stir in the vanilla!

4. I recommend using a large-ish pot for this recipe. The syrup mixture will grow 2 times or more in volume as it boils. If it's getting too high, remove from heat, stir, reduce heat a bit, and put it back. Also, don't walk away from it!  It may bubble over and start a fire. And fyi: fire does not go well with pancakes.