How to Decorate With Colored Sugar

Large sugar granules look like tiny jewels when food coloring is added.

Colored sugar adds sweetness, texture, color and sparkle to a drink or dish when it is used as a decorative garnish. A few drops of food coloring added to granulated white sugar creates custom colored sugars to match any occasion. Add a touch of flash and sophistication to any celebration by decorating desserts and cocktails with colored sugar. Use discretion when decorating with colored sugar to avoid overpowering the other ingredients with sugary sweetness.

Things You'll Need

• Index card (optional)
• Scissors (optional)
• Plate
• 2 saucers
• Glass

Instructions

Desserts

1. Decorate cookies and other desserts with colored sugar before they go into the oven so that the sugar will stick.

2. Sprinkle colored sugar on your dessert approximately 12 to 18 inches above the dessert item to achieve an even distribution or directly above for precision decorating. You can also make stencils by cutting shapes from the center of index cards and holding the cutout over the dessert item as the colored sugar is applied.

3. Garnish a finished dessert when it is divided into servings by sprinkling about a teaspoon of colored sugar on top of whipped cream or directly onto the plate.

Cocktails

1. Fill a saucer half full of cool water and another saucer half full of colored sugar.

2. Turn a cocktail glass upside down and dip the rim into the water in the saucer.

3. Lift the glass above the water and tilt it to one side so the excess water drains back into the saucer.

4. Shake the colored sugar saucer gently to distribute the sugar evenly on the dish.

5. Press the rim of the inverted glass into the colored sugar until it makes contact with the saucer.

6. Twist and slide the glass as you lift it away from the saucer to coat the inside and outside of the rim with colored sugar.

7. Fill the cocktail glass by carefully pouring the beverage into the center to avoid washing away the colored sugar coating on the rim. Add a few pieces of colored sugar to colorless drinks such as champagne and vodka at the last second for a sparkle and slightly sweeter taste.

Tips & Warnings

• Add more white sugar to lighten a batch of colored sugar that is too dark.

• Store leftover colored sugar in a food safe glass or plastic air-tight container on the shelf of a dark cool pantry or in the refrigerator.

• Put clumping colored sugar into a food processor to quickly blast lumps apart in seconds.

References

• Yum Sugar: Simple Tip: Rim Champagne Flutes With Sugar
• All Recipes: Colored Sugar
• Christmas Cookies: Decorating Sugar Cookies by Mimi Cummins