Pancakes with blackberry syrup

PANCAKES WITH BLACKBERRY SYRUP AND BACON

Making a flavored syrup is easier than people think - it's nothing more than adding fruit juice to a syrup and mixing.

I bought some blackberries the other day and decided I wanted a blackberry syrup with pancakes.

I cooked down the blackberries in a mixture of 1/2 cup of water and 1/8 cup of sugar. I then ran the blackberry compote through a strainer and added the juice to some real maple syrup.

Not only did it add a fantastic tartness to the syrup it also gave it a really nice color!

For the pancakes, I used a dry mix and added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and about 1/4 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg then cooked them on a griddle one at a time.

I cooked the bacon on a wire rack inside a sheet pan in the oven - I've become quite a fan of cooking bacon in the oven - less grease and FAR less mess than frying.

See the color of the syrup?