Simple Raspberry Syrup

We had a "pancake night" for dinner the other evening, but with no real maple syrup in the house, I whipped up a raspberry syrup with some leftover raspberries from the freezer. It was so good that I may consider skipping the maple on a (at least semi-) regular basis! Actually, I probably should have doubled the recipe, because David poured almost all of this batch onto his plate thinking I had already taken mine...I barely caught him in time to save some for myself!

I used cranberry-grape juice for the liquid because that's what I had in the fridge, but really almost any kind of juice would probably work here...it would just alter the flavor a bit, but lots of combinations would be delicious...orange juice, lime juice, apple juice, etc.

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. frozen raspberries
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons 100 percent cranberry-grape juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided use

Directions:

Place the raspberries, butter, sugar, juice and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Use the spoon to break up the raspberries a bit as you stir. Continue to simmer and stir, reducing heat if necessary, for about five minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.