In the beginning of my low carb journey, I never even considered eating things like pancakes, waffles and such. They were never anything I was crazy about anyway -- then I met Mr. Dreamy!
Well, I was crazy about HIM -- and he decided to journey with me and adopted the low carb way of eating as his own AND he likes pancakes and waffles and such. So I started making low carb pancakes -- and I liked them.
Then I purchased a waffle iron (had given the old one away to my son) and started making them low carb too and I liked them even better. What I wasn't liking was purchasing sugar-free syrup that had ingredients I wasn't crazy about. When I was raising my children I always made my own pancake syrup and I decided that I could make it sugar-free too.
Well, it was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Most of my favorite granulated sweeteners like to crystallize -- not so good in syrup. But I kept researching and trying and finally came up with the following recipe. What I learned was Xylitol doesn't crystallize as much as other sweeteners and makes a very yummy syrup! Warming it up in the microwave before serving takes care of any slight crystallization AND it is much tastier that store-bought sugar-free syrup -- and Mr. Dreamy likes it :)
Sugar-Free Maple Flavored Syrup
2 c Xylitol
1 c water
3 Tbsp butter
1 tsp black strap molasses
2 tsp maple flavoring
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
pinch of salt
In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add water, Xylitol, molasses, maple flavoring, vanilla and salt. Whisk well. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and sprinkle over xanthan gum, whisking as you do. Allow to cool a few miutes and serve. Store in a closed container at room temperature and use within 2 weeks. If crystallization occurs, heat in microwave and stir well. Makes 8 2-Tbsp servings - each containing 103 calories and >1 carb (0.8g).
