Here in Estherville, we have a new coffee house, Central Perk. Although the name has much to be desired, I fell in love with their really good cappuccinos. So much so, I was buying a $5 drink daily. I quickly realized that I couldn't keep this up. So I did a little searching for an upgrade from my old cappuccino machine and bought a new one. Although this new one has a brand name that might be percieved to be crap (Mr. Coffee), I love it! It's easy and makes great cappuccinos. So since I got it about a month and a half ago, I've saved tens of dollars. Seriously, I'm certain I've saved plenty of money from making my own.
One thing that costs big time when you make your own cappuccinos is the syrup. But rather than purchasing these exhorbitantly priced syrups, I make my own. They're great! I make it by making a symple syrup. That's one to one sugar to water. You simply stir it and cook it on the stove until the sugar is melted. Then you let it cool a bit and add vanilla extract. I insist on the real stuff, not imitation vanilla, and I use quite a bit of it. Frankly, you should be able to do this with any kind of extract and a simple syrup. If you are one of those strange people who like hazelnut (yuck!), you can do it. I've thought almond might be nice. The possibilities are pretty limitless as long as you can find the extract. Hmmm? I wonder if there's a pumpkin spice extract.... You do have to refridgerate it. There are no preservatives in simple syrup. I just pour it into an old cruet, and it looks like liquid gold to me.
