Homemade Maple Cream Soda

For some reason I keep picturing a group of big burly men- wearing red flannel shirts and dark denim jeans held up by suspenders, and all sporting the type of beard that birds try to nest in… returning from a day filled with chopping wood in the dense and misty old-growth forrest, they sit around a crackling fire eating spit-roasted pork and drinking out of stoneware mugs filled with Maple Cream Soda.

I bet you didn’t know that in my spare time I write romance novels for the woodsy-homesteaders and cabin-dwellers out there.

Kidding.

Although I’m sorta considering it now.

This might be one of the best things I’ve made. And it will be the BEST cream soda you’ll ever have!

Every spring for the past five years we’ve tapped a few maple trees and made our own maple syrup. Since we’re more eggs and bacon than pancakes and waffles breakfast-eaters, I’ve been looking for other ways to use our precious supply of homegrown maple syrup. Since we want to savor it and appreciate the flavor, we tend to only use it in things where the flavor doesn’t get lost- and this drink, it’s perfect!

♥♥♥

After a long day of working outside on the homestead, coming in for a cool Maple Cream Soda is the perfect cap to a full day.

Homemade Maple Cream Soda

For 2 to 4 servings:
1/4 cup + 1 Tbs dark maple syrup
2 Tbs water
1/2 vanilla bean (tip: buy them in bulk!)
12-24 ounces sparkling water

Combine the maple syrup and water (not the sparkling water) in a small sauce pan. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife; add them to the pan along with the remaining empty pod.

Heat the pan over medium heat and allow the mixture to just come to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently for a few minutes. Cover the pan, turn off the heat and leave the mixture to steep and then cool completely (this will take a couple hours).

When the maple cream mixture has cooled, remove the vanilla bean pod from the pan.

If not using the maple cream sauce right away, pour into a small jar and store in the refrigerator. This syrup will keep for at least a week, probably longer!

To make a Maple Cream Soda: in a glass, add two to four tablespoons of the maple-vanilla syrup and then top with 6 ounces of unflavored sparkling water. Add ice and serve! Four tablespoons of syrup makes for a very sweet drink that tastes most like traditional cream soda.

You can easily double, triple, or multiply this recipe for however much you need!

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