This Brown Sugar Butter Pancake Syrup is a taste of my childhood, which was a sweet one proverbially and literally. I hope you enjoy this pantry-friendly breakfast table staple that’s much better than any store bought syrup ever dreamed of being.
I polled you wonderful people who are part of the Foodie with Family community on facebook about whether you prefer pancakes or waffles. Waffles took it by a nose, but there was still major representation for the pancake camp. Here in the FwF household, we are also divided.
My husband and one kid are waving the pancake flag, while the rest of the kids and I are part of Team Waffle, but none of us would kick either pancakes or waffles out of bed. One thing is for certain and that is that pretty much everyone loves one of them madly.
We eat one or the other nearly weekly during the cold weather months. When the boys have friends over for the night, pancakes are my go-to breakfast for the zombie teen boys in the morning. It’s an easy way to fill up a crowd of boys who were up far too late playing Minecraft and watching movies.
The last mega sleepover my boys had saw five EXTRA boys added to my usual five. I stumbled down the stairs in the morning and mixed up a double batch of my usual pancake batter. (Be kind when looking at that pancake batter link. It’s from way-back-when while I was in my creative formatting phase as a blogger.)
As I waited for the griddle to heat up, I had a horrible realization; I was out of maple syrup. What to do, what to do?
It hit me like bolt; I remembered there was a syrup my dad used to mix up for campers when the camp kitchen ran out of pancake syrup and also remembered that it tasted good. I sent an SOS text to dad asking him how they made the syrup.
He texted back, “We mixed brown sugar and water together and boiled it.” Was it really that easy?
Yes. It was.
I mixed two parts brown sugar to one part water and stirred it until it came to a boil. I boiled it for 4 minutes, then started dropping little pats of butter into it, stirring until each butter pat melted completely.
The syrup was done before the first batch of pancakes came off of the griddle. I poured the hot syrup into a little pitcher.
The real test of the syrup (and my memory) came when I topped the first kid’s stack of flapjacks. They dipped a finger into the syrup (because what self-respecting kid doesn’t?) and made a happy “mmmmm” sound.
Nine more kids lined up behind the first ready for pancakes and my syrup. I counted, “Nine, eight, seven, six,” as I filled plates and poured syrup, “five, four, three, two, one, another one… Wait. How many of you are there? Oh, you’re back in line already?”
I am NOT telling you this tastes like maple syrup. Only maple syrup is maple syrup. I AM, however, telling you that Brown Sugar Butter Pancake Syrup tastes darned good and is absolutely worthy of being on any pancake or waffle that you might make.
It is buttery, brown sugary, thick, and smooth. It is best served warm which lends a little extra luxury to your plate whether it’s piled high with Buttermilk Pancakes, Pumpkin Pancakes, or waffles.
Cooking Notes:
Make Brown Sugar Butter Pancake Syrup with salted butter or unsalted butter. If you use unsalted butter, you will want to add a bit of salt to the syrup at the end when you add in the butter. You always want a bit of salt in something so sweet.
You can serve this syrup as is in all it’s brown sugar and butter glory, or you can add a little quarter teaspoon of maple extract or vanilla extract. It is great alone, but charming in other ways with the extract.
Since it’s wicked cheap, you don’t need to worry about being generous with the servings.
Bonus: This is better than just good on vanilla ice cream when you want a little something extra or hot biscuits when you’re out of honey!
This will never replace maple syrup in your pantry because maple syrup is wonderful not only for topping things but for cooking, too. It’s not intended to fully replace maple syrup in your life, but it’s darned good for a stand-in when you’re out and using this on pancakes and waffles can stretch a meagre maple syrup supply much further!
Need some more breakfast ideas to go with your pancakes? Try Overnight Taco Breakfast Enchiladas, Turkey Breakfast Sausage, Baked Breakfast Taquitos, Slow Cooker Breakfast Baked Beans, and Western Baked Omelet! And don’t forget the beverages. I sure love this Vietnamese Iced Coffee and Dulce de Leche Chai!
Homemade Pancake Syrup without butter
If you’re out of butter and just can’t get any, you can definitely use extra virgin coconut oil to make your homemade pancake syrup. It won’t be precisely the same, but it will still be velvety and delicious.
Use this to make Brown Sugar Butter Pancake Syrup:
Brown Sugar Butter Pancake Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 stick butter 4 ounces, salted or unsalted, well chilled cut into 8 pats.
- Optional:
- 1/2 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla or maple extract
Instructions
- Stir the water and brown sugar together in a heavy-bottomed 2 to 2 1/2 quart saucepan with high sides. Place the pan over medium high heat and stir until the sugar is melted and the mixture comes to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and allow it to boil for 4 minutes. When the time is up, gently drop one pat of butter into the mixture and stir until the butter is melted completely. Repeat the process with one pat of butter at a time, until all the butter has been melted and incorporated. Remove the pan from the heat. If using the extract, add it and stir it in now. Take care, as it will bubble up enthusiastically.
- Let the syrup stand in the pan for five minutes before pouring into a heat-proof pitcher (for immediate use) or into a clean canning jar (for longer storage.) Serve warm to hot. Store leftover syrup in a tightly closed canning jar in the refrigerator for up to a month.
To Reheat Leftover Syrup:
- Remove the lid from the jar and microwave in 15 second bursts, stirring after each burst, OR place the jar, still lidded, on a folded dishcloth in a saucepan with simmering water, using an oven mitt or canning tongs to lift and swirl the jar from time to time until it flows freely and is warm through.
Nutrition
This post was originally published January 20, 2014 updated March 2020.
Cassie says
I want to take a spoon and eat this like soup. Seriously amazing!!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
That syrup looks so, so, good!!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I think I’ll be making this soon to go on my waffles!
Lisa says
One of our favorite Irish restaurants make this with Jameson Irish Whiskey replacing half of the water (2/3 cup br. sugar, 2 2/3 tbsp. whiskey and water,which equals 1/3 cup, with a dash of cinnamon.) You’re still boiling it but it gives it a nice zing!! For when those kids grow up!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
Oh, this sounds incredible! Can’t wait to try!
just me says
I’d love to know where I can get the Sam I Am plate!
Rebecca says
That plate was a thrift store find on Martha’s Vineyard when I was there for the Martha’s Vineyard Food and Wine Festival. It was a great weekend!
just me says
So cute! Lucky you 🙂
Happy Valley Chow says
Holy cow that looks incredible, I would be tempted to eat that syrup just by itself. Fantastic recipe 🙂
Anna says
I grew up on this syrup. The best with buckeye wheat pancakes. My brother sneaks a little into the pancake batter when he fixes pancakes!
Rebecca says
It’s some good stuff for sure!
Rebecca says
Mmmm! This would be great on buckwheat pancakes!
Tieghan Gerard says
Wow, this looks like the best syrup! Brown sugar and butter? YES!
Rebecca says
We surely love it!
Rebecca says
It’s so good, Tieghan!
Marie says
This is what I grew up on minus the butter. My boys still like it better than other syrup. They are always happy when I make it. Without the butter it is very thin (runny) and soaks right into the pancake/waffle. Of course they like butter or peanut butter spread over the pancake before pouring the syrup on. I’ll have to try it with butter. You’re right about po’ folks food. There were 9 of us children growing up and we didn’t have a lot. It is also healthier in my opinion than the pancake syrup you can buy. (Not real maple syrup which beats them all hollow.)
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
I could seriously drink this stuff! Heavenly and I want it on everything! Pinned
Rebecca says
You are a sweetheart! Thanks for pinning!
Laura says
I take 2 c white sugar, a tsp. maple extract, 1/2 c dark Karo and 1c boiling water. Stir until all sugar is dissolved. Butter would probably be good in this.
Naomi says
Just the recipe I was looking for, thanks for sharing!I don’t have access to any kind of syrup in the country I live, and we are getting a little tired of honey on our pancakes (although it’s definitely the healthier option–if it’s not enjoyable, why bother?). Thanks again!
Cynthia says
I made this today as a gift for my daughter. I sent her a text telling her that she had better come visit soon, or it will be gone! I can’t stop tasting it – Wow, is it good! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us! 🙂
LoveForLavender says
So glad I came across this simple and delicious recipe, was outta syrup and making buckwheat pancakes… Saying OMG isn’t good enough it’s so yummy. I will never buy store bought again especially with the availability of quality ingredients out there this recipe has so many variations! I zested a bit of lemon in to give a zing. So good! Thanks so much!
Rebecca says
Hooray, LoveForLavender. That is so great both that you loved it and took the time to tell me. Thank you!
Deanna says
A mother of five picky kids, I ran out of syrup after making a large batch of pancakes so I tried this recipe. My kids LOVED it! I was told I’m not allowed to buy store syrup again! We used the vanilla, but didn’t add the salt, and I thought it came out perfect. Thank you for the recipe, we all thought it was amazing, and I love that it’s all basic baking ingredients almost anyone would have in their cabinet.
Kayla Morrison says
I have just came across this post and it’s wonderful. My hubby loves pancakes on the weekends and we are constantly buying more syrup, …. x2 because I’m allergic to maple and an seriously to afraid to even try the fake stuff.
Can this syrup be stored? And if so for how long, Freez?
It’s usually just the two of us so I wouldn’t want to make a big heap and have to toss it after!
Thank you
Rebecca says
Hi Kayla- I’ve never tried freezing the syrup, so I’m afraid I don’t know. I’d love to know how it works out for you if you stash it in the freezer. A single batch as made here should be good for two weeks in the refrigerator, though!
Carole says
This syrup is seriously amazing. The butter gives it such a smooth tongue feel. We ran out of maple syrup which we usually use, and I’ve never taken to the store-bought table syrup. This is so delicious! Thank you!
Holli says
Does it need to be refrigerated if you are going to use it up in a couple days?
Rebecca says
I would officially recommend that you refrigerate it from a food safety standpoint. Of course, I’ve accidentally left it out, eaten it anyway, and not died, but officially, the word is to refrigerate it. 😀
Jess says
I will not be buying pancake syrup from the store ever again. Your recipe is super delicious!!
kaala says
This is fantastic! Made it last night with the vanilla, and the official vote of the house is that im not allowed to buy store bought anymore!
Rebecca says
Score one for homemade! 😀
Chef Red says
A pinch of cinnamon, ground ginger, and cayenne pepper (just a pinch) and a splash of heavy cream when you take the syrup off the heat take it to the next level. Don’t skip the salt. And for the record, sugar syrups are safe at room temperature for up to 2 months. The high sugar environment is hostile to the bacteria that might otherwise spoil it!
Angela says
This was really good! It is super easy to make quickly. I added a little cinnamon before mixing in the butter.
Cat says
Made this and everyone absolutely loves it!
My only question is about the thickness. Is it supposed to be like typical maple syrup thickness? Mine was pretty much water consistency. Is there something I can put in it to make it more of a syrup consitency?
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Rebecca says
Hi, Cat! It should be quite a lot thicker than water consistency and slightly thicker even than maple syrup. I’m wondering whether your measurements might have been a touch off? Or whether you reached a full boil with the syrup?
Cat says
Thats probably it. I’m going to try again today and cook it longer. Thanks!
Rebecca says
No problemo! Enjoy! I mean it’s hard NOT to enjoy, right? It’s sweet and tasty 😀
Victoria says
Just made this, along with pancakes from scratch. Man oh man!! This tastes just like toffee!! The butter made it phenomenal! I don’t think I want anymore store bought syrup. Ever!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Rebecca says
I’m so glad you liked it!! 😀
Cynthia says
Grew up with brown sugar syrup as the only syrup in the house, as it was inexpensive. When I first had the opportunity to try real maple syrup, I thought it was thin and weird.
We always had a pitcher of it in the pantry. Don’t know if Mom used butter, but she made it fairly thick. We’d just put the syrup pitcher into a water bath on the stove and heat it up for serving (this was pre-microwave).
Judi says
I bookmarked your awesome website today. Happy New Year!
Rebecca says
Thank you, Judi! I’m so glad to have you here. Happy New Year!
Kathy says
I just made this to go with chicken and “sweet potato” waffles! It was the most perfect syrup I’ve had and complemented the sweet potato waffles to the highest degree of succulence! Thank YOU!
Rebecca says
Well, I just have to say that that sounds AMAZING!!!!! Thanks for sharing!
Carol Rinaudo says
I ran out today and had no time to shop. Then I remembered that my mother (way back in 1950s) made our syrup. Sooo… I found your recipe. Thank you!
Foodie says
This is soooooo awesome, I did put a touch of cinnamon, ginger, splash of heavy cream in and its better then the rest. Thank you for this.
Jules says
I made this as a substitute syrup and I may never buy maple syrup again. I used Orange Extract because I didn’t have maple. It was DELICIOUS!
Rebecca says
I’m so glad to hear that, Jules The orange extract substitution sounds lovely!
Connie says
Yum! This recipe looks amazing and I’m looking forward to trying it with my family. I’m intrigued by the the plate “You do not like them So you say…” It would be perfect for a couple of my grandchildren. Can you share where you found this gem? Thanks much!
Rebecca says
Hi Connie! I got one from a thrift shop on Martha’s Vineyard, but I’ve also found a couple more on eBay!
Theresa says
My Husband is the one that makes the Pancakes for us since we both have Retired. One morning we had a lot of Pancake batter but no syrup and he loves eating Pancakes so I googled Syrup and I went through them but this one is the one I wrote down for him and he made it and oh boy I don’t think I will ever buy Syrup again from the store. Thank You for this easy recipe
Rebecca says
That makes me so very happy, Theresa!! I’m so glad you both loved it.
Shawn says
This turned out very well for me. I used Earth Balance Vegan margarine instead of butter for dietary reasons. I found I did need to add a tad bit more water than recipe called for to achieve my desired thickness. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe!
Rebecca says
Thanks so much for taking the time to rate the recipe and let me know that you loved it, Shawn!
Ralph Bradshaw says
I’m going to try this on my old cinnamon bun recipe, could be a keeper! 😊
Rebecca says
Ooooh, that sounds delicious, Ralph!
Paula says
I loved it
Rebecca says
I’m so glad you loved it! 🙂
Kathy McCarty says
Easy to make. Thanks
Kathy
Rebecca says
I’m glad you like it, Kathy! 🙂
Carmen Lynch says
absolutely wonderful!! Easy to make!! Thank you
Rebecca says
I’m so glad you love it, Carmen!!
Joshua says
This is more the recipe for caramel. Did a surprise to my wife and she asked if I made caramel for the pancakes lol
We normally do the brown sugar syrup like you did with more vanilla extract and no butter.
Rebecca says
Well, I fail to see a problem with caramel on pancakes. HAHAHAHAHAAH.
Andie says
Hi, love the syrup! I accidentally put too much butter in it (not really, I just thought it’ll be yummier lol) and now it starts to crystallize within 5 minutes of heating it up. How do I fix that?
Rebecca says
HAHAHAHAHAHA. I love that you told on yourself so fast. 🙂 You basically made something that’s going to firm up much faster. No worries. Just pop the pitcher or jar into a large bowl of warm water at the table. If it stresses you out, just stick with the original ratios next time you make it. Otherwise, I’d eat that happily! xoxox
Shannon says
This syrup is so very tasty! I think it tastes like a delicious caramel sauce. Mine didn’t thicken much, but enough. Will make again and again.
Rebecca says
I’m so glad you love it, Shannon! Thanks for taking the time to rate the recipe and let me know. If you’d like for it to thicken more, you can simply boil the syrup a little longer. 🙂
prachi says
super recipe
Lyba Khurshid says
I tried this recipe and it tastes really good. Definitely a better alternative to store bought maple syrup.
Rebecca says
I’m so glad you liked it, Lyba!
Dawn Luber says
This recipe saved our breakfast when I discovered that we were low on pancake syrup this morning. I love that I know exactly what’s in it. It’s so good my family doesn’t want store-bought syrup again!
Rebecca says
I’m so glad you loved this, Dawn. Thank you for taking the time to rate the recipe and let me know you love it!
Martha says
I had not thought of making syrup homemade till I woke up, made pancakes and realized just before dropping pancakes on the griddle. NO SYRUP. I rushed to the computer to find a quick fix and came across this recipe. I think I cooked long enough the flavor is VERY VERY GOOD. I would like my syrup a little thicker. I will cook longer next time to caramelize a little more but I WILL NEVER BUY STORE BOUGHT SYRUP AGAIN. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Rebecca says
You’re so welcome, Martha! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you love it!