Fresh, hot, crispy fried bread slathered in butter and drizzled with homemade syrup was one of my favorite breakfasts growing up. In Utah we call them scones, but it seems every culture has some version of fried bread whether it’s Navajo Fry Bread, Sopaipillas, or Beaver Tails.
Utah Scones are made from yeast bread dough and are much different from the more biscuit like scones familiar to most outside of Utah. Mom made our scones with frozen Rhodes bread dough. Most Utahns like to eat their scones with honey butter, but mom always served them with butter and hot homemade pancake syrup.
Mom always made our pancake syrup. She would have said “egads” if she knew how much real maple syrup costs now. As a single mom of six kids she often worked two jobs to get by and money was tight.
Although, I don’t know if she made syrup because it was cheaper or because it tastes so much better. Did her mom make scones and homemade syrup for her, or maybe her sweet grandma who lived with her growing up made scones and syrup for the family. I have so many questions that now that she’s gone I wish I would have asked her.
I also make pancake syrup for my family. My kids hate store bought pancake syrup and even though we do have pure maple syrup in the pantry, they would rather have the pancake syrup they’ve grown up eating.
My mom liked her scones with butter, jam and syrup. (I definitely get my sweet tooth from her.) How do you like your scones?
Homemade Pancake Syrup and Utah Scones
Ingredients
Pancake Syrup
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups water
- 2 t. vanilla
- 2 t. maple flavoring
Utah Scones
- Frozen Roll Dough thawed and risen (or use your favorite yeast dough)
- Vegetable or Canola Oil
Instructions
- Pancake Syrup
- Bring sugars and water to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and add vanilla and maple. Syrup will thicken slightly as it cools. Store in glass bottles. (Mom always stored her’s in the plastic pancake syrup bottles from the store, but the syrup often crystallizes in plastic bottles.)
- Utah Scones
- Pour oil 2 to 3-inches deep into a large sauce pan or an electric frying pan and heat on medium high setting or 375°F.
- Roll or stretch dough pieces into a 5-inch circle. Gently drop dough in to hot oil one or two at a time. Fry for about a minute on each side, or until golden brown.
- Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with your favorite jam, honey butter, or syrup.
Bonnie
I like my scones with honey butter…and it might interest you to know that Terrel’s is the only grocery store that we have in Spring City (actually it’s five miles away and one town north). I love it that export their frozen dough.
My mom makes her own syrup as well, but it’s always from fruit. I am going to go call her right now and ask her why she does it.
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc
om my. These look fantastic!
Rocky Mountain Woman
When I first moved to Utah, I lived in Syracuse. There was a diner in Layton called Doug and Emmy’s where I had my first Utah scone. There were a few years where I would call and get them to make a scone for me and pick it up on the way to work. I probably gained five pounds eating those scones and they were worth every pound! I think Doug and Emmy’s is gone now, but Sill’s in Layton still serves those scones. I’m going to have to make a trip up there one of these weekends…
Lovely post!
Kalyn
My mom made Utah scones too, although we didn’t know they were “Utah” scones in those days! We ate them with honey butter and loved them. Yours look just like I remember.
Becky at VintageMixer
I must tell you that the first time I ever order scones in Utah I thought I was getting a English Scone (like the biscuit kind) and I was stunned to find out that they were so different. I’ll have to try making them at home sometime.
Frieda
Yes, I grew up with homemade pancake syrup…it’s not as thick as the store bought ones, but I like homemade so much better, especially when it is hot. Great tribute to your mom!
Cookin' Canuck
How fun that your mum made her own pancake syrup and that you have carried on the tradition. It sounds as though your mum was a hard-working woman and I’m sure she would appreciate this tribute.
Nicole@HeatOvenTo350
I love Utah scones. They have to be my favorite Utah food. I like them with honey butter, but pancake syrup would be so delicious, too.
tiffany ~food finery
sounds delicious! we always eat our “utah scones” with honey butter! your mom was a precious lady!
Nutmeg Nanny
These look great! My dad grew up eating homemade syrup too. In a pinch we always made our own 🙂
Deb
I am enamored of family recipes, they are always divine! And so many times the recipe has not been recorded;but shared verbally. My mom also made homemade pancake syrup. We called it “maple syrup”. Making the syrup at home was less expensive and tasted better than the store bought, name brands. Her recipe has a ratio of 1 part water, to 2 parts sugar. I made the recipe my own by adding vanilla and replaced part of the white sugar with brown. Somehow, over time we switched to real maple syrup. Your post has brought back some wonderful food memories.
BreAna {Sugar and Spice and All Things Iced}
You have me craving scones now!! I have been planning on making them all week, but now I have to do it TODAY!! I’ve never had them with syrup before! What a great idea. We also make our own syrup, but I haven’t tried it with brown sugar and vanilla before. Definitely going to make it this way next time!!
Erin
I’ve been so spoiled by my father. He used to tap the trees in our backyard in upstate New York for their sap and boil it down into real maple syrup. I’ll have to try this out though because my parents retired to East TN and it doesn’t get cold enough to do that anymore!
Blond Duck
I had this one in a Nevada Cafe, but it didn’t look as good as yours!
Barbara
Thanks for the fun comments. I was hoping readers would share their fried bread memories. So far we have Elephant Ears, Fastnachts and donuts. Keep them coming!
Linda
I used to make homemade syrup when my kids were little, but I never tried it with brown sugar. I can’t wait to try your version for my grandkids!
Kitchen Belleicious
I love hearing how different people do recipes and what they call them. These were hands down my favorite breakfast treat my mom would make us. We just called them donuts though! She would take biscuit dough and use the top of a 2 liter bottle and punch a hole in the middle. the middle part would then be the donut hole and the other would be the donut. Sprinkled with powdered sugar and you have yourself my favorite breakfast ever. Thank you for taking me down memory lane and reminding me to pass this amazing breakfast on to my family as well. That maple syrup looks amazing
Becki's Whole Life
Ahh – Like Libby – we ate Fastnachts (Kiekels?) usually right around easter time and then they disappeared. We loved them – it didn’t occur to me that this fried dough was the same thing!
I love your story about your mom and this syrup. I bet that she made it for both reasons. I remember reading or listening to something recently that said that many of the best chefs/cooks came from less wealthy parts of the country because they cooked more thoughtfully and used everything they had and wasted nothing. Plus everything was from scratch because it was cheaper. Makes you think:-)
This syrup – I love it. I also don’t buy the fake syrup and while we do have maple syrup in the fridge, I ration it heavily:-). So I love syrups like this and my girls always love these different sauces. I do a buttermilk sauce, but I am going to whip up a batch of this. This sounds wonderful and great to have on hand. Sounds like it will store nicely in the fridge.
Rosa
A lovely syrup!
Cheers,
Rosa
Libby
Also sometimes referred to as Fastnachts or Elephant Ears. We usually dust them with powdered sugar to have as a flat donut of sorts, butthe breakfast thing sounds great!