Homemade Snow Cone Syrup can be made in a rainbow of colors and the sky is the limit for flavor options! Use it on snow cones, shave ice, snoballs, or in beverages.
Remember standing in front of the snow cone stand and how hard it was to choose which flavor syrup you wanted on top?!! From blue raspberry to tropical punch, they are all delicious and with this easy recipe, you can make any flavor you want.
What is the best syrup for snow cones?
The best syrup for snow cones is homemade syrup because you get to choose what goes in it, the flavors, and the colors. While you can buy snow cone syrup at your local big-box store or even order it online, but making your own syrups is actually really easy and saves you money!
Plus, you can make fun flavors like cake batter and cotton candy or the super popular flavors like Tiger’s Blood (see below) and POG (passion fruit, orange, and guava). This flavored syrup can also be used to make shave ice and snoballs.
Put granulated sugar and water in a saucepan and stir to combine.
What is snow cone syrup made of?
Snow cone syrup is made of sugar, water, and flavoring. The base for snow corn syrup starts with a simple syrup which is granulated sugar and water. Then, you add your flavoring and food coloring, if desired.
Bring the sugar and water to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 1 minute and remove from heat.
How do you make flavored snow cone syrup?
Once you’ve made the simple syrup, you can stir in a flavor. If you are going for the easiest option, use Kool-Aid or another powdered drink mix. You get the flavoring and coloring all in one little packet. Here are some of the flavors we made:
- tropical punch
- blue raspberry
- lemon lime
- grape
- cherry
If you want to make snow cone syrups beyond what is offered in the drink mix packets, Lorann Oils Flavorings are a great option. You can add food coloring at the same time as you add the flavoring. Keep in mind that the color will lighten as it disperses through the ice or snow in the cup.
- cotton candy + a dab red food coloring
- cake batter
- orange cream + orange food coloring
- pineapple + yellow food coloring
- coconut
- peach + yellow & a tiny bit red food coloring
There are other brands that make flavorings such as McCormick and Hobbyland. McCormick sells extracts with flavors like raspberry and root beer. These flavorings are less concentrated than the Lorann Oils so you’ll need to add a bit more.
Once you’ve flavored your snow cone syrup, allow it to cool to room temperature before adding it to plastic squeeze bottles.
What is tigers blood flavor?
The super popular, very delicious snow cone syrup flavor called tiger’s blood is a combination of strawberry, watermelon, and coconut. Pelican’s SnoBalls only has strawberry and coconut in their tigers blood syrup. The color gets the name from the dark red color of the syrup.
How much snow cone syrup do I need?
There are several factors that go into how much snow cone syrup you will need. Figure out what size your snow cones or shave ice will be and how many servings you plan to make. Here are a few measurements to get you started:
- 4 oz snow cone – 2 tablespoon of syrup
- 6 oz snow cone/shave ice/snoball – 3 tablespoon of syrup
- 8 oz shave ice/snoball – 4 tablespoon of syrup
- 10 oz shave ice/snoball – 6 tablespoon of syrup
We used this label maker to print stick-on labels for each flavor. The reason we chose a label maker is so that we can reuse the squeeze bottles by removing old labels and adding new labels as needed. The tape sticks to the bottle and stays on even in the fridge. It is also water-resistant so you can wipe it off if syrup gets on it.
Can you freeze snow cone syrup?
Yes, freezing snow cone syrup is a great option. Since this recipe is a 1.5:1 ratio of sugar to water, the syrup does not freeze solid. It can be added to drinks in the semi-solid state or easily thawed when you want to use it for snow cones or shave ice.
How do you use this simple syrup?
Once your flavored syrup is chilled, you can use it to make snow cones, shave ice, snoballs, or drinks. Pour your syrup of choice over crushed or shaved ice. Or stir it into sparkling water. Here are several posts with more detailed instructions and flavor combinations:
Want to make more fair food? Try these recipes next:
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Snow Cone Syrup
Ingredients
Simple Syrup
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
Flavoring Options (choose one)
- 13 oz pkg unsweetened Kool-Aid
- 1 teaspoon Lorann Oils Flavoring one dram
- 2 teaspoon McCormick Extract
- Optional: food coloring
Instructions
- Stir together granulated sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat. Stir in your flavoring of choice and food coloring, if needed.
- Cool to room temperature and transfer to labeled plastic squeeze bottles.
- Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks or store in the freezer in an airtight container.
Video
Sharon Manning says
Can you a sugar free drink mix that you just add to water?
Tonia says
Yes you can. It won’t be quite the same but it’s a great option when you are looking for a sugar free syrup.
Jamie says
Ever tried using shaved ice syrup in ice cream recipes? I’d like to make cotton candy flavored ice cream and I have cotton candy shaved ice syrup. I’m wondering if I could just use it in place of my vanilla flavoring in the ice cream recipe. Any thoughts?
Tonia says
I’ve never tried that! It might work but I wonder if the snow cone syrup is concentrated enough to flavor a whole batch of ice cream.
Tara says
Thanks so much for this great post. Excited to try this recipe. The link for the squeeze bottles takes you to 4 oz set.
Is that what size you use for all your different flavors? The recipe says it yields 1.75 ounce of syrup.
Thanks!
Tonia says
Hi Tara,
I used the 8 oz bottles. It looks like they have different sizes available and it must have defaulted to the 4 oz set. I will try to update that.
So, one batch of the recipe makes 1 3/4 cups of syrup which would be 14 ounces. I put about 7 ounces of snow cone syrup into each bottle. They also have 16 ounce bottles available.
When I want to make a large variety of flavors, I will make a large batch of the simple syrup (sugar and water) and then use a ladle to put about 7 ounces into glass heat-proof measuring cups. Then, I only add 1/2 of the flavoring.
Enjoy!
~Tonia
Harley says
do you have to use kool aid and also is there a way where you dont have to put it over the heat
Tonia says
Hi Harley,
You can flavor the simple syrup with whatever you want from kool-aid to extracts. If you don’t want to make it on the stovetop you could make simple syrup in the microwave. Cook in a microwave safe bowl for 4-5 minutes on high, stirring halfway through.
-Tonia