Homemade BBQ Sauce

Everyone loves a good bbq sauce!  My Grammie always made one from scratch for her Barbeque Baked Beans.  Mmmm...the sauce would thicken and sweeten the beans as it slowly cooked, filling the house with it's sweet, tangy aroma!

My recipe is a bit different from my Grammie's original (sorry, Grammie!!).  But it still holds true to the original recipe in flavor and sweetness.  The recipe originally called for corn syrup and dried mustard, but I thought I could update it a bit and sweeten it naturally with molasses and honey.

This recipe still calls for ketchup.  There are plenty of all-natural barbeque sauce recipes out there that don't call for ketchup, but I haven't found one I like.  So, I kept the ketchup in and used a natural ketchup or one that doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup. 

This recipe is Part #1 in a 3-part series...stay tuned for more and check back in for:
Part #2 & Part #3!!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup (I prefer Simply Heinz)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup unsulfured molasses
1/8 cup honey
1 tsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. dried onions (optional)
dash of hot sauce

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan.  Cover and bring to a low simmer.  Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until thickened.  Serve immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate for 1 week.