Infused Sugar

I love making and using infused sugar. The wonderful uses of infused sugar are endless. It adds a depth of flavor to baked goods, whether that be a poundcake, scones, or cookies. A teaspoon in a cup of tea or coffee adds a little hint of flavor to the drink. It can be used to garnish the rim of a cocktail. They are easy to do and make wonderful gifts for your favorite baker.

For years I have kept a canister of vanilla sugar on my counter.  I make homemade vanilla extract.  I dry the used vanilla beans and put in my sugar canister.  Anytime I am making a recipe that calls for vanilla and sugar I almost always go to my canister.  When it starts getting low, I just add more sugar.

There are many kinds of infused sugars to be made; lavender, citrus, herbal (salt can also be infused!)  Recently I was given a lot of lemons and oranges.  Some of them went into lemon and orange infused sugar. Oh, they smell so good! I plan to use some in a few baked goods this weekend.

Below is the basic recipe to create citrus sugars; zest amounts can be adjusted depending on the size of your produce. I always seem to go by "more is better", but adjust to your taste buds.

Orange sugar: 2 cups of sugar + the zest of one orange

Lemon sugar: 2 cups of sugar + the zest of 2 lemons

Lime sugar: 2 cups of sugar + the zest of 3 limes

Use a zester to zest the outer part of the skin, being careful not to get into the white pith area. Toss into a food processor bowl with 1 cup of the sugar, pulse a few times until you have uniform pieces of zest in the sugar. Add the rest of the sugar and pulse until combined.

Lay the sugar mixture out on a baking sheet for a few hours until it has dried out.

Store in a jar (I use my favorite mason jars).

I was knee-deep in oranges the other night, orange infused sugar is drying on the cookie sheet.