Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez
Trade booze or sugary sodas for refreshing homemade soda. This Cinnamon Spice Soda (one of our three healthy sodas) adds a touch of warmth reminiscent of an old-fashioned root beer, with a fraction of the sugar in store-bought soda and mixers. And you won't even need special equipment. Just mix the syrup with seltzer water.
How to Make It
Combine brown sugar, water, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, cloves, and crushed cardamom pod in a saucepan over medium-high; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; steep 1 hour. Strain syrup; discard solids. Cool completely. Stir 1 1/2 Tbsp. syrup into 1 cup (or more, depending on desired flavor) seltzer water. Store syrup chilled up to 2 weeks.