How To Make Colored Sugar
How To Make Colored Sugar. Step by step instructions on how to make your own colored sugar to decorate cupcakes, cakes and cookies.
Decorations are used in some of the 15 Days of Holiday Cookies recipes I am posting next month. An inexpensive, and easy to make, cookie decoration is colored sugar. This is an easy tutorial on how to make colored sugar!
You will need:
● Dishes (bowls work well)
● Food Coloring
● Jelly Roll Pans (or another pan with sides)
● Measuring Cup
● Spoons
● Strainer(s)
● Sugar
● Wax Paper
Put a strainer over a bowl.
Place 1/4 cup of sugar into the strainer.
Add 6-12 drops of food coloring to the sugar. The more you add, the richer and darker your color.
Scrape the food color into the sugar with a spoon. It will accumulate in the bowl beneath strainer.
Set up a second bowl. Place the strainer over the second bowl.
Now take the sugar you just strained in the first bowl, and pour it into the strainer again.
Again scrape the color into the sugar.
You are going to do this over and over until the sugar is completely colored.
Tip: Always work with dry utensils and strainers. Change your strainer out for each color. Do not reuse your blue strainer for yellow coloring without washing it first, otherwise your yellow will have a blue tinge, or possibly green!
The colored sugar is damp. It needs to be dried out.
Spread the colored sugar over a wax paper lined jelly roll pan.
Allow to dry.
You are going to have to give the colored sugar a stir a time or two to turn the sugar allowing it to dry, and squash to any lumps.
You can use the color chart on the back of the food coloring box to make colors other than the basic 4 coloring inside the box.
Allow to dry completely before you use your colored sugar!
● For more Recipes on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.
● If you enjoyed this post, be sure to sign up for the Ann’s Entitled Life weekly newsletter, and never miss another article!
Stephanie B says
I am hosting a cookie exchange in 2 weeks. This will be perfect for the kids to use to decorate sugar cookies!! Thanks 🙂
Ann says
Oh you are gonna love next week, Stephanie!
Ann
Tamona Valentine says
Ann, my daughter is officially banned from your site. She now wants sugar cookies with icing and beautiful colorful sugar! Yeah, she ain’t allowed online anymore.
Ann says
LOL Just give in and accept the inevitable, Tamona – she likes sparkly stuff!
Ann
Marie says
Where was this last year when I saw the prices of colored sugar? My cookies were colored with blue and yellow since those were the only colors I had and I was too stubborn to give in to high prices.
Ann says
I pay for the gourmet decors, Marie. There is this Amish place called Lantz Bulk Foods out in the boonies before you get to Letchworth that sells them in small quantities so that no container is more than $2. But for colored sugar? Make my own. Those 4 colors probably cost 25¢ TOTAL!
Ann
KimH says
I do this too.. but I usually do them in bowls with my fingers and jelled food color.. Guess who gets colored fingers.. lol..
Ann says
LOL Yeah but the jelled food colors makes for some vivid colors, Kim! I’m too cheap to buy them.
Ann
Brianna S says
Another way to work your color in is to mix it in a ziploc bag. My kids have the best time with this. They love squishing the sugar and watching the color change.
corrine says
can this be used for powdered sugar as well?
Ann says
I have never tried it, Corrine. As long as you let it dry, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Try it with a small amount and one drop of food coloring and see what happens!
Ann