The secret ingredient in many professional layer cakes and a kind of magic to the home baker is called simple syrup and it’s precisely that: a syrup made simply of equal parts water and sugar.

Steeping chiles and fresh ginger slices in basic simple syrup infuses it with a kick ideal for the holidays. You can add more of one or the other if you’d like more warm gingery heat or chile spice.

The bar cart’s hardest working bottle, simple syrup might be the most-used ingredient when it comes to making cocktails. It rounds out the sharp acid in citrus-based drinks like a Whiskey Sour, adds ...

Imagine: You can make your own healthy snowball syrups. They add fresh fruit flavor to lots of things besides snowballs, too. (The NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune archive) I hope you've found at least ...

In the world of cocktails, desserts, and beverages, simple syrup is the unsung hero — so familiar that it often fades into the background. But sometimes, the most ordinary-seeming ingredients harbor ...

Yield: 2 to 2 1/2 cups (depending on added ingredients) 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup water Flavoring (see options below) 1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium ...