1 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups sugar
10 to 12 bay leaves 

Combine water and sugar in small saucepan. Add herb leaves and bruise gently against the side of the pan with a spoon. Place over moderate heat and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat and let stand for at least 30 minutes; best if allowed to cool to room temperature. Remove leaves and squeeze into the syrup to extract their flavor. Can be made ahead and refrigerated for 10 days, or frozen up to 6 months. (this syrup is sweet and concentrated; you can reduce this by using 2 parts water to 1 part sugar.)

Herb syrups are wonderful flavor essences that can be added in place of the liquid in cakes or pie filling and drizzled on all sorts of baked goods. They are good on fruits and fruit salads, used in beverages, and used to make sorbets. Makes about 3 cups

Taken from the Herb Companion, March 2009