How to Make Vanilla Sugar
Vanilla sugar is a wonderful ingredient to have on hand. Anywhere you would use sugar as an ingredient you can substitute vanilla sugar.
A few years ago I made homemade Vanilla Extract. It turned out so good and was so easy to make.
I noticed my supply was getting low so I made it again last Christmas for a Homemade Christmas #SundaySupper. Both times I made homemade vanilla extract I had plenty of Vanilla beans left over.
Vanilla beans are very expensive and the more vanilla beans you buy the better the price is and I do like to get the most bang for my buck.
The problem with buying a large quantity of vanilla beans is that they tend to get dry and brittle if not stored properly.
Honestly I still haven't figured out the correct way to store vanilla beans because every time I have bought them no matter how I have stored them they have started to dry out.
They are still usable and will still add the wonderful vanilla essence to recipes but they are harder to work with since it is very difficult to split and scrape a dry vanilla bean.
Since vanilla beans are expensive and I am frugal there was no way I was going to throw out the vanilla beans so I came up with a way to turn those dry and brittle vanilla beans into the best vanilla sugar I have ever tasted.
What is Vanilla Sugar
Vanilla Sugar is simply sugar infused with the essence of a vanilla bean. If you buy it in the store it is very expensive for a very small amount.
But it is very easy to make vanilla sugar at home if you happen to have a bunch of vanilla beans laying around that you thought were past their prime but just couldn't bear the thought of throwing away.
How to make Vanilla Sugar
There are a couple of ways to make vanilla sugar. I've tried adding a few plump and moist vanilla beans to a jar of sugar. It worked great but because of the moisture in the vanilla bean the sugar became damp and clumped. It was hard to use the vanilla sugar because the sugar would clump.
To make vanilla sugar using vanilla beans that have dried out a bit you will need a blender that has some power to it.
I used a Blendtec blender but you can use whatever blender you happen to own.
Take 6 vanilla beans and break them into piece. I only broke each vanilla bean into fourths. If you are using a regular household blender you may want to break the beans into more pieces.
Place all the piece of vanilla beans in the blender and pulse until the beans are totally broken down into very small pieces.
As you can see some of the vanilla bean pieces didn't break up on the first go around. Pulse the vanilla beans again until they look like the next picture.
Once the vanilla beans are ground into very small pieces scrape the sides of the blender down. There will still be some pieces of the bean pod. That is fine. You will be sifting them out later.
After you scrape all of the vanilla bean off the sides of the blender pour 2 to 3 cups of granulated sugar in the blender and put the lid back on.
Hold the lid in place and shake it up good. Most of the vanilla will mix with the sugar.
Put it back on the base of the blender and give it 2 quick pulses. No more than 2 pulses are needed. If you do it anymore you will end up with powdered vanilla sugar.
Which is fine but for this batch I wanted the vanilla sugar to be closer to the texture of granulated sugar.
Pour the vanilla sugar into a mason jar. Cover the jar and leave it for 2 weeks or longer.
Sift the large pieces of the vanilla bean pods out with a fine mesh metal strainer.
Pour the sifted vanilla sugar back into the jar and cover.
You may use the larger shifted pieces of vanilla bean to make another smaller jar of vanilla sugar by mixing the pieces into a cup of sugar and sealing in another container.
Use the vanilla sugar any time you'd like to add a vanilla flavor to a drink or recipe.
How to use Vanilla Sugar
- Use vanilla sugar to flavor your coffee.
- Replace part or all of the sugar called for in any baking recipe.
- Make vanilla iced tea.
- Sprinkle vanilla sugar over a pie crust before baking
More vanilla bean recipes
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Homemade Vanilla Sugar
Ingredients
- 6 large vanilla beans fresh or dry
- 3 cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Break vanilla beans into pieces
- Pulse in a blender until vanilla beans are chopped up into very small pieces.
- Mix vanilla bean powder with sugar.
- Seal in a covered jar for 2 weeks or longer.
- Sift large pieces of vanilla bean pods out of the sugar with a fine mesh metal strainer.
- Pour sifted vanilla sugar back into the jar.
- Cover and use in any recipe calling for sugar.
Notes
- Don't throw away those old and dry vanilla beans. Use them to make vanilla sugar.
- Semi dry or dry vanilla beans have been used with this technique.
- You can try using fresh, plump and moist vanilla beans but I can't say they will work as well.
- Drying out the beans-You could leave some fresh vanilla beans exposed to air to help speed drying them out if you don't have any dry vanilla beans around to use.
Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
"Sprinkle vanilla sugar on a pie crust before baking" <--YES. That. I want to do that for the rest of my life.
Flour On My Face
Stephie
LOL vanilla sugar on pie crust is heavenly!
Sue
I am currently making vanilla extract and looking for a way to use the beans after infusion. Vanilla sugar sounds awesome. Should I let the beans dry out? I am concerned about the clumping of the sugar. Thanks
Flour On My Face
Sue
Yes I would let the beans dry out before making the vanilla sugar. It will clump if the beans have any moisture on them.
Jea
Store the pods in a airtight box in the freezer, then the will stay fresh and soft(:
Paige
I've been making vanilla sugar this way for years but using moist beans and yes, you are right, the sugar clumps. How long do you recommend drying them out and are they still as effective/potent as the beans that are moist? Also, how long does vanilla sugar last? A year or longer (not that it ever does in my house), just more curious. Thank you.
Flour On My Face
Hi Paige
I'm not sure how long it would take to dry the beans out. I had mine for about a month, stored in a jar when I noticed they were getting dry. It may only take a week or two for them to dry out if you leave them exposed to the air. They should be brittle.
The vanilla sugar I made this way is very potent and will last indefinitely if stored in an airtight container.