Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Vanilla Sugar


I have a wish list, but it's probably not what you are thinking. Rather than being full of exotic vacations, yachts, and fancy cars, this list is full of ingredients. Ingredients I want to try or have tried but would like experiment with more. Just to give you an idea about the types of items on my list here are a few...

1. Coconut Oil
2. Princess Bakery Emulsion (and all of the other LorAnn Bakery Emulsions)
3. Orange Flower Water
4. Saffron 
5. Meringue Powder
6. Lavender 
7. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 
8. Vanilla Bean 

I could go on and on. I bought two vanilla beans a few weeks ago and I am excited to use them. First I am going to try a simple vanilla sugar which I plan on adding to my coffee and then using it in baked goods. I also want to try making my own vanilla, but since I just bought a gigantic bottle of vanilla from Costco, I'll probably wait on the homemade vanilla. 

Vanilla Sugar
1 Whole Vanilla Bean 
2 cups Granulated Sugar

Pour the sugar into an airtight container. Slice open vanilla bean and use the back of a knife to remove the seeds then place the seeds in with the sugar. Stir the seeds into the sugar until they are well distributed, then bury the vanilla bean in the sugar. Close the lid of the container tightly and allow sugar to sit for 1-2 weeks. Add the vanilla sugar to your coffee, tea or anywhere you would usually use granulated sugar. 

Recipe from Alton Brown   


5 comments:

  1. I've always wanted to make this, but I have so much vanilla sugar in my pantry that I'm waiting until I use it all. Why buy it when we can easily make it ourselves?

    I also want to experiment with using more saffron. I just bought some a few days ago and can't wait to start using it. :)

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  2. I've been wanting to make vanilla sugar for awhile now. I think it would be a really cute gift idea too!

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  3. I think Vanilla Sugar is definitely one of life's simple pleasures...and I love your list. =)

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  4. I love homemade vanilla sugar!
    Coconut oil...that's something I want to try too.

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