Remember when I made the pickled onions from the book: Made Whole by Cristina Curp, and I mentioned Star Anise? I ordered it from Amazon, because the local stores were out of it. I made the Korean Cinnamon Tea this morning and I’m addicted! This is so good! The recipe called for adding Stevia drops to your taste, but I didn’t need those, so I would add those as (optional) on the recipe.
Delicious!
This is on my stove right now for the rest of the week, because I love the smells this adds to the home. Cranberries and then you toss in whatever fruit and cinnamon sticks you have; add water as it goes down. During Christmas I do this with wine and add wine, as we drink it down. I keep this on warm on the stove or in a crock pot. The greenery comes from my trees; we are surrounded by firs out here in the country. I don’t add the greenery when I’m making this with wine.
Photos of how I do the cloves in orange before slicing and adding to the pot
I freeze leftover fruit and wine (in ice cube trays) throughout the year for this here – add the frozen fruit – a bottle of ocean spray cranberry juice, a couple cinnamon sticks- a bottle of your favorite red wine – heat and serve
This is a great reason to freeze fruit that is on sale
Reasons to make your own syrup: Syrups are becoming harder to find due to availability, and postage is expensive, also, you are watching and hoping your package is not damaged or stolen, and the best reason is this is a much lower cost to you to make your own.
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
Add sugar and water to a pot. Bring these to a boil and then add 2 cinnamon sticks. Boil for 2-4 minutes; reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. Set the pot on the back of the stove and let it cool down. When cool enough; pour the syrup into a container. Include the sticks in the container, if you want to intensify the cinnamon flavor.
Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
If you like to do canning; you can add this to a canning jar, seal, and keep for 2 to 3 months.
I will be making a chestnut praline syrup this fall when our Chestnut tree is producing. I’ll share that recipe after I try two ideas. The recipe will include pecans and chestnuts, and I’ll be playing with a couple of syrup ideas as well as sugars, to decide my favorite.
Plus, I’ll need to figure out storage ideas, and time frames. We do not go through this that often, but it is so inexpensive to make, I don’t worry about what I will have to pour out after a month.
You can cut this in half also.
You can make this with vanilla beans, cranberries, orange peels, almonds, etc. This would be good on waffles, pancakes, muffins, ice cream, yogurt, oatmeal, cold drinks, sparkling water, hot drinks, fruit salad, grapefruit wedge, hot and cold tea, etc.
For the Cinnamon Latte coffee:
1 tsp of cinnamon syrup (your choice how much of this you prefer)
1 cup of coffee or espresso
Top with almond milk foam (or cream of your choice)
I have a foamer I like to use for hot drinks.
Stir together
Sprinkle cinnamon on top
Papas Cutting Board 