Infused sugar is an easy and fun way to add flavor to sugar that can be used for snacks, baked goods or an edible gift! It only takes a few ingredients and a couple of steps to create delicious flavors
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I have never really thought of having infused sugar in my kitchen until recently. I have heard of infused sugar and the idea of infusion in food is pretty cool to me, but I never thought of all the ways infused sugar could be used.
This may be because I am a baker. Baker’s are notorious for sticking to a recipe no matter what. I am super guilty of this. Even when testing recipes, I still write it out in recipe form first and make edits as I go. But the adventurous side of me says…let go and throw a few ingredients together and see what you get.
That is where infused sugar comes in. As I said, it never occurred to me to have infused sugar sitting on my kitchen countertop. My aha moment came while enjoying a piece of cinnamon sugar toast.
Side note, anyone out there snack on cinnamon sugar toast too? It kind of seems like a snack for a child, but I don’t care! I love it! Anyways, I looked at my snack and realized it’s much toast with infused sugar and that’s all my mind needed to start swirling with ideas.
Infused sugar can be added to so many recipes or simply sprinkled on top of fresh berries. And the list doesn’t end there. On the rim of a drink, in coffee or tea, used to top a pie or even in your oatmeal.
So not only is infused sugar delicious, fun to try new flavors but it is actually a time saver. Kind of surprising, I know. This is one of the main reasons I never made infused sugar. It seemed like more time to combine flavors that I most likely would just combine in a recipe.
Oh, how wrong I was. Having it on your kitchen countertop makes it easy to add to your morning oatmeal or that weekend batch of cookies you will, of course, be making. Now that I know how amazing infused sugar is, I have the vanilla chai flavor on the kitchen counter for my morning coffee. It. is. amazing.
There are two ways to infuse sugar. The most popular way is to use a food processor. This is the quickest and easiest way. The second way is to add whole ingredients into a jar with the sugar and over a few weeks, the flavors will infuse into the sugar. A little more time consuming and the flavors do not come through as strong.
Quick Tips
- You can use any sugar, coconut, cane or beet sugar.
- Pulse the food processor so you do not over blend your sugar. It won’t ruin your sugar but it will create a powdered sugar.
- Sugars with wet ingredients must be dried by spreading the sugar on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for about an hour. You can also dry in a jar or a bowl without a lid. Stirring every 20 minutes until dry, breaking up any lumps.
- If you are using the jar method to infuse, shake the jar every few days to break up lumps and to distribute the flavors evenly.
- These make great gifts! Package in a nice jar with a tightly fitting lid and give to family and friends!
Try these infused sugars with a few recipes like Lemon Raspberry Crumb Muffins, Ginger Cranberry Gin Fizz, or Mini Cherry Almond Galettes.
Vanilla Chai Infused Sugar
Best Used For: Coffee, tea, french toast, cookies, whipped cream, sprinkled over apple pie, mixed into cider or oatmeal.
Vanilla Chai Infused Sugar
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar - cane, coconut or beet
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves - or 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 star anise
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the star anise and whole cloves in a spice or coffee grinder and grind until fine.
- Pour into a food processor or a blender with a food processor setting. Add the sugar, cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract.
- Pulse until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a airtight container and keep at room tempurature for up to 6 months.
Hazelnut Burbon Infused Sugar
Best Used For: Coffee, tea, buttered toast, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, french toast, sprinkled on chocolate cake.
Hazelnut Bourbon Infused Sugar
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup hazelnuts - walnuts and almonds can be used
- 1 teaspoon bourbon or whiskey
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a food processor or blender with food processor setting.
- Pulse until hazelnuts are finely chopped and all ingredients are well combined.
- Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and allow to dry for 1 hour.
- Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the refridgerator for up to two months
Lemon Ginger Infused Sugar
Best Used For: Tea, lemonade, with cocktails, smoothies, sprinkled over berries, fruit pies or muffins.
Lemon Ginger Infused Sugar
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a food processor or a blender with a food processor setting. Pulse until all ingredients are well combined.
- Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and allow to dry for 1 hour.
- Transfer into an airtight container and store in the refridgerator for up to one month.