There are two kinds of holiday drinks: the ones that lightly nod to the season, and the ones that fully commit. This Gingerbread Cookie Syrup is very much the latter.
Built on molasses, warm baking spices, and a touch of vanilla, it delivers that unmistakable gingerbread-cookie flavor: rich, cozy, and nostalgic... but without turning your cocktails into a sugary Starbucks drink.
It’s thick enough to bring body to stirred drinks, balanced enough to work in sours, and dangerously good in coffee without being clowing. If you want one syrup that screams December without trying too hard, this is it.
What You’ll Need:
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2 cups organic cane sugar
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1 cup water
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2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
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1 cinnamon stick
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3–4 whole cloves
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1 teaspoon allspice berries
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1–2 slices fresh ginger or ½ teaspoon dried ginger
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ÂĽ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
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½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste
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Pinch of salt
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Optional: a small strip of orange peel
Instructions:
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Build the syrup base:
Combine the water, sugar, and molasses in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until fully dissolved and glossy. Avoid boiling. -
Add the spices:
Add cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and optional orange peel. Reduce heat and let the syrup gently simmer for about 10 minutes. -
Steep:
Remove from heat, cover, and allow everything to steep for another 10–15 minutes. This is where the syrup develops its true gingerbread character. -
Strain:
Strain through a fine mesh strainer. If you used dried ginger or freshly grated nutmeg, straining twice helps keep things clean. -
Finish:
Stir in vanilla and a pinch of salt after straining. These two ingredients do a lot of heavy lifting here. -
Bottle + store:
Transfer to a clean glass bottle or jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or until the holidays are over.
How to Use It
This syrup shines in both boozy and zero-proof drinks:
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Gingerbread Old Fashioned
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Espresso Martini riffs (okay, always)
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Holiday-esque whiskey or rum sours
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Eggnog upgrades (dear god, this would be insane!)
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Gingerbread lattes or hot chocolate
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Warm apple cider
Final Pour
Gingerbread Cookie Syrup is pure holiday nostalgia: molasses warmth, baking spices, and enough richness to make any drink feel intentional. Make a batch, keep it cold, and you’ll find yourself reaching for it all season long.
If you give it a try, tag @highproofpreacher so I can see what you’re mixing. And if you’re not already subscribed, Simple Syrup Monthly is where all these seasonal recipes live, delivered straight to your inbox each month.
Try this: Ginger Bread Flip
Flips are a super old-school type of cocktail that is made up of sugar, spirit and a whole egg. Yes, yolk and all! I like to think of the Flip as the grandfather of Eggnog, but without the cream and milk and all that. If you're uneasy about the raw egg I don't know what to tell you... I usually use 100-proof bourbon in my Flips, so whatever you're worried about ingesting ain't going to survive that, so toughen up!
Ingredients:
2 oz of an aged spirit (I like bourbon or cognac, but a tequila añejo or rum would be nice too!)
Âľ oz Ginger Bread Cookie Syrup
1 whole egg
Fresh grated nutmeg
Instructions:
Combine ingredients and shake vigorously with a single 1" square ice cube until it is fully dissolved.
Pour into a glass and top with freshly grated nutmeg.
Dunk a cookie in there while you sip and enjoy.
In case you missed it: Roasted Cacao-nib Demerara Syrup
Chocolate in cocktails is tricky. Too often it turns syrupy-sweet or dessert-heavy, drowning out the spirit instead of supporting it. Basically, it's usually not my jam. BUT this syrup goes the other direction...
The Lucky Butter Old Fashioned
The Lucky Butter Old Fashioned checks all three boxes: Irish whiskey fat-washed in brown butter, Guinness Demerara syrup, aromatic bitters, and an orange peel. It’s rich, silky, toasty, and low-key tastes like someone convinced St. Patrick to start a cocktail program...
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