Cookin' Cowgirl: Homemade Vanilla Sugar

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I have a sweet, homemade gift for you to make! But first, do you use sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar or sweetener of any kind? Ok, good. Then this recipe is for YOU!

Actually, it's not a recipe at all.
All you need is the granulated substance of your choice, some vanilla beans, some jars and a sharp knife.

For this "recipe," I used Madagascar vanilla beans, but you can use whatever you like.

I'll get down to the question you are probably asking; "What can I do with vanilla sugar?" Good question.

There are several things you can do with vanilla sugar, vanilla brown sugar, vanilla sweetener, and vanilla powdered sugar. The first, and most obvious thing is to use them in coffee, just like you would regular sugars. The flavor is not going to knock you over with vanilla. It is light and mild and it smells wonderful! Here are some other uses for vanilla sugar. Put it in, on or add it to: snickerdoodle cookies, sugar cookies, vanilla cakes, homemade granola, cut up fruit, oatmeal, homemade kettle corn, pies, custards, frostings, yogurt, simple syrups, hot cocoa, teas, and as I already mentioned, coffees.

Homemade Vanilla Sugar

12 oz mason jar

1 1/2 C sugar, brown sugar, powdered/confectioners sugar or sweetener

2 vanilla beans (I used Madagascar)

There is no right or wrong equation for the vanilla vs. sugar, but I'll show you the method I used.

Get all your jar, sugars, and vanilla beans out so you aren't running back and forth to the cupboard. I wasn't sure how much sugar my jar would hold, so the first thing I did was take my 12 oz mason jar and filled it with sugar, almost to the top.

It was exactly 1 1/2 cups. Next, pour the sugar in a large bowl. Cut 2 vanilla beans length wise with a sharp knife and gently scrape knife across the bean to get the vanilla flecks off.

Add the vanilla to the bowl of sugar and mix.

Put the two vanilla beans in the jar.

Pour the vanilla sugar over the beans, and seal tightly.

Now it's just a waiting game. Let the vanilla sugar sit for two weeks before using to get the maximum flavor.

Repeat with the sweetener, brown sugar and powdered sugar.

After two weeks, you can use your vanilla sugars, or repackage them for gifts.

I found cute little glass jars/pots at Hobby Lobby that have a good seal. They each hold 1/2 a cup of sugar, so each mason jar makes 3 small gifts. Now comes the fun part!

Get your sugars, small jars, ribbons and tags out.

Take 1/2 a cup of either the vanilla brown sugar, powdered sugar, sweetener or regular sugar and pour it into one of the small jars. You can transfer a vanilla bean over to the small jar if you like. I think it makes it look nice. Wrap ribbon or twine around jar and attach gift tag.

You could also attach a small tag with ideas for use.

Repeat with vanilla brown sugar, vanilla powdered sugar and vanilla sweetener.

And that's it! Homemade Madagascar Vanilla Sugar. Aren't DIY gifts the best? They are so heartfelt and sincere.

Oh, by the way, your kitchen will smell amazing after you do this! It's like a homemade air freshener for a day or so. :)

So make someone's day with this sweet gift. Or get a jump on Christmas gifts or homemade stocking stuffers! These would also make really nice party favors. Here are some other fun food gifts!