Place all of the ingredients except the vanilla extract into a saucepan over medium-high heat.
1 cup water, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 sticks cinnamon
Stir continuously until the mixture starts to boil and the sugar dissolves.
Reduce the heat then allow the syrup to sit at that gentle simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Remove from the heat, mix in the vanilla extract, and allow it to cool down a little before removing the cinnamon stick(if using) and transferring the syrup into a mason jar.