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4.91 from 10 votes

Dr Pepper Recipe (homemade soda)

Ingredients

To simmer:

  • 1½ cups water
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon chunks
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 whole star anise pod
  • 1 tablespoon dried ginger root
  • 1 tablespoon peppercorns
  • 1/3 cup dried cherries OR 1 cup fresh/frozen cherries

After simmering:

  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
  • 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

  • Simmer the spices and water in a covered saucepan for about 20 minutes on med-low.
  • Strain the chunks out of the syrup, making sure to get all the syrup out of the cherries. Add the sugar while the syrup is still warm.
  • Stir in the extracts and juices.
  • Store syrup in a jar in the fridge for 2+ weeks.

To make a Dr Pepper soda:

  • Add ¼ cup syrup to roughly 8 oz (or about 1 cup) seltzer water.*

Notes

*You can either use a fancy machine like this one to make homemade soda water for your Dr pepper, or you can purchase cans/bottles of plain seltzer to use instead.