Not everyone is Martha Stewart. We can’t all be domestically flawless! But with just a few things from the pantry and a decorative jar you can prepare an original gift. I don’t know about you, but I love getting gifts that I probably wouldn’t buy for myself. Flavored sugar would be one of them. Make some ahead of time and stash it in the refrigerator until you are ready to package it. Here’s how to make flavored sugar in a variety of flavors.
French Vanilla Sugar
First you’ll need a cup of white granulated sugar. Put the sugar in a quart size storage bag that has a zip lock. Add 1 vanilla bean to the bag and give it a shake. Then squeeze out as much air as you can from the bag. The less air the more fragrance you’ll get in your final product. Let the sugar and vanilla bean hang out together for about 3 or 4 days. Give it a shake about once a day. You could leave it together a little longer, but we found 3 days to be plenty. When you are done letting the sugar and vanilla hang out, remove the vanilla bean. If you need to, you could sift the sugar to be sure none of the vanilla bean is left in the sugar. Use your French vanilla sugar in your coffee or hot tea. Use could also toss some vanilla sugar on top of freshly baked sugar cookies! Yum! Great gift giving idea.
Zesty Citrus Sugars
Nothing makes iced tea better than a spoonful of sugar. Try adding some citrus sugars to your iced tea to give you drink a little dash of summer time. Here’s how. Put a cup of white granulated sugar in a zip lock quart size bag with the zest of a whole fruit. If you’ve chosen lime or lemon then zest them up and add them to the bag. Or you could you use oranges. Add the zest to the bag and give them shake. Let the zest and sugar rest together for 3 or 4 days shaking them every day. You’ll need to sift the zest out of the sugar before packaging it. Delicious flavored sugar!
Flower Blossom Sugars
Making flavored sugars out of flower petals is a magical gift idea. How wonderful it will be when she opens the jar and smells fragrant rose or lavender. Wow! Use a cup of white granulated sugar add a handful of fresh rose petals or lavender. Wash and dry the petals before you stash them in your bag. The flowers sit in the sugar bag for several days, (again we suggest 3 or 4) before removing them. Use flower blossom sugars in hot teas or toss on top of desserts for an unusual sweet flavoring.
Use small Mason jars or decorative gasket jars to package your flavored sugar. You could also add some ribbon. Include a tag that explain what your gift is and how to use it.
