Vanilla Sugar Recipe: How to Make Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla sugar is a flavored sweetener made by infusing sugar with vanilla flavor over a long period of time. This simple ingredient can be used in place of standard granulated sugar in a variety of dishes and drinks, from baked goods like cookies, cakes, and pastries. You can also use vanilla sugar to sweeten your morning latte, cappuccino, or iced coffee.

Vanilla sugar is traditionally made by submerging a whole vanilla pod—which is derived from a type of orchid in the genus Vanilla—into granulated sugar and allowing the vanilla to infuse the sugar for a period ranging from weeks to years. The standard ratio for vanilla sugar is one whole vanilla bean pod per cup of sugar.

This flavored ingredient, which can range in intensity depending on how long the vanilla pod is submerged in the sugar, can be used as a one-to-one replacement for regular sugar in a variety of dishes. These are some of the most popular uses of vanilla sugar.

1. 1. Sugar cookies: Vanilla sugar can be used in place of granulated sugar in any sugar cookie recipe, or sprinkled on top of cookies prior to baking for a sweet, crunchy topping.
2. 2. Pie and cobbler crusts: Sprinkle vanilla sugar over a cobbler or pie crust before baking it to add a sweet level of caramelization.
   
3. 3. Icing: When crafting homemade icing, Swap out the standard sugar for vanilla sugar in your next icing recipe to add a layer of depth to your sweet topping.
4. 4. Oatmeal and greek yogurt: Add a sprinkle of vanilla sugar to your morning oatmeal or greek yogurt for a hint of sweetness and spice from the vanilla bean.
5. 5. Fresh and baked fruit: You can use vanilla sugar to add a flavored layer of sweetness to any fresh or baked fruit dish.
6. 6. Simple syrup: Adding vanilla sugar to a standard simple syrup recipe adds a layer of sweet dimension to your staple sweetener for cocktails, coffee, sweet sauces, and more.
7. 7. Vanilla ice cream: You can use this flavored sugar to make homemade vanilla ice cream with an even deeper vanilla flavor.
8. 8. Coffee and espresso drinks: You can use vanilla sugar to sweeten any of your favorite coffee-based beverages, from regular coffee to cappuccinos.
9. 9. Vanilla cupcakes: You can swap granulated sugar for vanilla sugar in your go-to homemade cupcake recipe for a supercharged vanilla cake flavor.
10. 10. Hot chocolate: Vanilla sugar makes an excellent addition to homemade hot chocolate recipes.
11. 11. Creme Brulée: Sprinkle vanilla sugar on top of creme brulée to make your crispy bruléed topping extra flavorful.

Making vanilla sugar isn’t a complicated process, but it takes lots of patience and requires certain ingredients. Follow these tips to ensure that your vanilla sugar turns out just right.

1. 1. Use fresh, whole vanilla pods. Use fresh, whole vanilla bean pods for your vanilla sugar to get the best possible flavor. While the whole pods are typically more costly than vanilla extract, a single pod will provide all of the flavor you need.
2. 2. Adjust to your tastes. You can tweak this recipe depending on how potent you want your vanilla flavor to be. For a milder flavor, pack the sugar up with the whole pod, without the seeds cut out. For a bolder flavor, open up the pod and scrape the vanilla bean seeds out into the sugar before sealing the container. The longer you allow your vanilla sugar to sit on the shelf before you use it, the more potent the final flavor will be.
3. 3. Play around with different vanillas. While your everyday grocery store may only carry one variety of whole vanilla beans, specialty food stores are a great source for different types of vanilla—such as Mexican, Tahitian, and Madagascar vanilla beans—that can bring unique flavors to different batches of vanilla sugar.
4. 4. Make DIY powdered sugar. You can make homemade vanilla powdered sugar with a simple base of regular granulated sugar. Simply infuse your granulated sugar with vanilla, then add it to the blender or food processor and blend until it has reached a powdered consistency.
5. 5. In a pinch, use an extract. If you need vanilla sugar ASAP and don’t have the time to allow your vanilla pod to infuse your sugar, you can use extract. Combine 1 cup of sugar with 2 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract for an easy vanilla sugar that doesn’t require weeks on the shelf.
6. 6. Don’t fear long storage times. Vanilla sugar has a super-long shelf life and will stay stable when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for a minimum of two years, or even longer. The longer vanilla sugar is stored, the more potent the flavor will become.