Joy the Baker

Lavender Vanilla Sugar

by 137 Comments

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I know what you’re thinking.

You:  Seriously, Joy!?  You expect me to come hear and read about how to make sugar!?

Me:  Um… yes?  But it’s not just sugar.  It’s sugar with fancy stuff in it.

You:  Skeptical.  This is still sounding lame.

Me:  But there’s a cute jar and fancy ribbon too!  Plus… bonus!  I busted out the good cutting board and the fancy doily for your viewing pleasure.

You:  Hm…. dazzle me.

Me.  I’m trying!  Geeeez.

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I really love making flavored sugars.

They make me feel fancy.

They make the boring coffee I make for myself every morning feel like a special treat.

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You can rub all kinds of citrus zest into sugar, creating a super fragrant lemon sugar or grapefruit sugar.

But my absolute favorite is sugar heavily scented with vanilla beans and lavender blossoms.

I mean.. just look at that!  Tiny vanilla bean specks and beautiful dried lavender blossoms!  It’s like your sugar went to the spa and got one of those fancy rubdowns.

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Pretty jars and pretty bowls are pretty rad.

Now… obviously this sugar is a super great gift with, say… a half pound of coffee beans.  But… what would happen if you just kept it for yourself and treated yourself to a fancysugar cup of coffee every morning?  Magic.  That’s what would happen.

It’s the little things… with bows.

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My friend Whitney gave me this jar last week.  Um… I know I was supposed to do something else with this jar, Whit.  But now it has sugar in it.  So… Yea…. I’m kinda busted.  You can totally have the jar back.  I hope you like Lavender Vanilla Sugar.  Oh!  Ps.  I’m taking half of this sugar out of the jar before I give it back… it’s really good and I’m shellfish.

Lavender Vanilla Sugar

Print this Recipe!

1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms

1 vanilla bean

small Ball jar

cute ribbon

Pour sugar into a medium size bowl.  Top with lavender blossoms.  Cut one small end of the vanilla bean off.  Split the vanilla bean down the center, revealing tiny, sticky vanilla bean specks.  Scrape vanilla beans out with a small knife and add to the sugar and lavender.  Cut the vanilla bean pod in half and reserve.

With the back of a spoon, work the lavender and vanilla bean into the sugar.  Be sure to press on the lavender blossoms to release their oils and to disperse any vanilla bean clumps that may try to form.  Add the reserved vanilla bean pod and continue to press the sugar and lavender and vanilla together.  It should smell amazing.  Pour into the jar.  Tie a pretty bow.  Maybe you want to make a cute hand written label.  How easy was that!?  Dang.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Holly B

    Was very excited, to make, Turn’s out this was super easy and taste very yummy when I added it to my morning coffee” . Defiantly going to give as a gift to my close friends and family. Thank You “

    Reply

  2. Helen

    My girls and I are literally in the middle of making this sugar! And we have a question… After we scrape out the vanilla beans, do you throw the outer black part away or put it in the jar?

    Great recipe, by the way, and perfect for kids to make. But I can’t keep their little fingers from eating the sugar!!

    Reply

  3. deb

    You can always sift out the lavender petals right before you use the sugar and put them back into the main sugar vessel if you don’t like the bits & petals. I love the recipe & have been sharing it with others!

    Reply

  4. Michele

    If you put this in coffee or tea, don’t you have lavender bits and vanilla bean bits floating around? That seems a wee unpleasant…

    Reply

  5. Geo May

    Hi Joy! I’m really inspired by all of your wonderful recipes. I plan to make a few little tubs of this and give them away for Christmas! I was wondering, can I use any other type of sugar (raw sugar, coffee sugar, brown sugar, etc) in replacement of white sugar for this recipe? I don’t know whether it would effect the smell or anything like that. I’m sure it wouldn’t but I just thought I’d make sure. Please get back to me when you can!

    Many thanks and best wishes,
    Geo May.

    Reply

  6. Ashley

    Joy…you’ve outdone yourself this time. OMG I just made a batch of this (and posted it with a link back to this post over on my blog) and it’s phenomenal! Thanks so much for this gem :)

    Reply

  9. Maureen

    Random question – but how long does this need to “fester” before it is ready to use? Along the same lines, how far in advance can you make this / how long does it last? Thanks so much, Maureen

    Reply

  12. Barbara Louise

    OMG OMG OMG
    I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea, now I know what I’m giving people for Christmas… all sorts of home made jar “things” THIS will be ONE of them.

    Reply

  15. Meredith

    Hey there cool lady,love the blog! I have lavender sugar and vanilla bean sugar and a few weeks ago acquired lemon zest sugar too(after I bought a new zester I had extra zest after testing it)! I have found that oils in the fresh lemon zest made the sugar clump up just a bit,but stir it around a few times and it breaks up just fine! I used the lavender sugar and vanilla sugar in separate batches of orange plum jam,delish! And after reading this pot (taking a break after finishing spiced blueberry jam (alton brown,foodnetwork.com) I was inspired to make cinnamon sugar. I just broke a couple cinnamon stick s and layered it in sugar in a quart mason jar.It smells sooo good! Thanks for the inspiration and a fantastic blog,well done!

    Reply

  16. Aikko

    Hi Joy!

    I love your blog! I love your food pictures! I love your stories! :) I visit your site everyday, it’s like a guilty pleasure! Lavender Vanilla Sugar sounds like a great idea for a Christmas gift! Thanks for the inspiration! You rock!

    Reply

  17. Elizabeth

    I did a trail at a pastry kitchen about a month ago. The chef had me make vanilla sugar and she went on this glorious rant about how every part of the vanilla bean is useful and just how amazing this bean is and how it is worth it’s weight in gold (which is roughly what it costs for a few good pods). Which you have totally reminded me of with this fun lil blog. I’ve come across a few recipes calling for lavender sugar and have made it from time to time but never, ever, did I dare use the fancy stuff in my morning red-eye (i need the extra zing). Well, I guess this will just have to be tried. I daresay you, Joy, are making me into a self-indulgent little girl. The Single Girl Pancake! The Heirloom Tomato for a Bacon Sandwich! What next? I can only imagine (and yearn for)….

    Reply

  18. Jessica @ bake me away!

    Such a cute idea! I had never had lavender in a dessert until last month when I tried a lavender macaron (it was my first time trying a macaron, too!). It was my favorite of the three flavors my friend and I sampled!

    My sister says lavender lemonade is really good. Maybe a spin on that would be to make lemon cookies and roll the dough balls in this lavender sugar? :)

    Reply

  20. Megs

    This is just begging for a pot of Earl Gray tea – wonderful Joy. And as far as I’m concerned there aren’t enough ribbons in grown-up life, so thank you!

    Reply

  22. Sar

    Lavender makes me happy. In fact, my boy and I are using it in place of rice after our wedding. You know, the part where people throw stuff at you? Anyway, I am most definitely making this ASAP. I love the idea of baking cookies with it!

    Reply

  23. sheila @ Elements

    I adore lavender. I’m nuts about lavender honey in my tea. Some lavender-vanilla sugar added to it would be the icing on the cake. I’m definitely making some!! Thanks for the idea!! :) Cheers! sheila

    Reply

  25. Bonnie@WhatAboutPie

    How very special! I can’t imagine…that must have a wonderful taste indeed! Where do you buy your dried lavender blossoms? Do you purchase them off the internet? I have only recently tried lavender. I bought a loose leaf tea called Earl Grey and lavender. It is pretty good.

    Reply

  27. Natasha

    Joy!
    I love your blog SO much :) I read it everyday…multiple times a day. It’s probably not healthy — good thing I’m not a health nut :D This is kinda random, but my boyfriend just broke up with me and I was wondering if you have any ideas on what to bake to get over a boy :( I just baked your buttermilk pie and came pretty close! It’s kinda amazing (I had to share it with all my friends to prevent myself from eating it all myself!) :D But yeah, if you have anything else, please let me know! Thank you :)

    Reply

  28. Ashlae

    I made vanilla sugar a few weeks ago – but adding lavender sounds amazing; you are a genius! I love the idea of gifting them in mason jars and bows – just in time for Christmas.

    Reply

  33. AiRuiJia

    Just make sure that it is culinary lavender that you get at a natural market/health food store where they sell herbs in bulk; NOT from a craft store. And a little bit goes a long way. An option if you don’t like bits in your tea or on your cookies: blitz all the ingredients in a food processor first. It makes for a ‘fine’ sugar as well.

    Reply

  34. Carly

    Where does one get dried lavender blossoms from? I’ve spent a whole day at work coffee-less and now my brain is broken. Clearly I need some fancy sugar to make me whole!
    xoxox
    Carly

    Reply

  38. Victoria

    True story: LaVanilla makes a vanilla lavender perfume. Also a true story: I wear it almost every day. Yet another true story: I think I could eat that sugar straight up. You are the awesomest.

    Reply

  41. newlywed

    This is a great idea! There are not enough recipes using lavendar, if you ask me. In college, I studied in Provence for a semester, and loved to buy lavendar ice cream from the street. It was amazing.

    Reply

    • Laura

      Barefoot in the Kitchen – how long can the pie-in-a-jars sit out once you make them, before eating them (so, how far ahead of giving them could i do the baking?)? do they need to be refridgerated?

      Reply

  43. Pilar

    Hi Joy, you read my mind.
    I was wondering if making vanilla sugar was that easy! and yes, it is! I love it, will make it right away. Last year I made my own vanilla extract, it was amazing!! thanks a lot

    Reply

  45. Cairine

    This would be good if you rolled warm shortbread or dusted sugar cookies with it. I would remove the lavender buds before though. I think I would use fine sugar instead of granulated too for the shortbread.

    Reply

  47. Stephanie

    hurray! i’m working on my holiday gifts now (since i always seem to forget exactly how busy november and december are until they actually arrive). just finished rosemary and sage salt, and now lavender vanilla sugar is definitely next on my list. :)

    Reply

  48. Meredith

    This might be a really dumb question, but do you take out the lavender buds before using it in your coffee? Or do you just chomp down on some lavender mid-guzzle? Regardless, I’m making it as we speak.

    Reply

  51. Stephanie

    Vanilla and lavender sound like they’d be heavenly together! I have a big jar of orange-lavender sugar that I’ve been using for everything lately. It was the result of a failed gift idea that I ended up dumping in the food processor. Can’t wait to try your vanilla-lavender… yum!

    Reply

  52. Joanna

    I need to get a fancy jar to make some for myself. Using regular jar would not be fun at all. And maybe some ribbon. And handwritten labels. Mhm… Thanks for inspiration!

    Reply

  53. e.day

    i love this!! this is so helpful and such a great idea for a fall afternoon of crafting and gifting. your recipes always make it seem so easy!

    Reply

  55. Lucia

    Lavender and vanilla make me think about summer mornings and pillows and hugs. With sugar, they’ll make my mornings sweeter, in November, when it’s dark.

    Reply

  58. Kylie @ A Hungry Spoon

    This is impressive stuff! I have to admit, I’ve never even purchased a vanilla bean before. I know, it’s sad that the price alone has deterred me from trying it. I just haven’t been able to justify spending $14 on the vanilla bean required to make a recipe for Vanilla Bean Shortbread. I’ve pathetically resorted to substituting extract (I know: not the same).

    Anyway, thanks for the delightful pictures and commentary :) I may never have it in me to make this one, but I loved reading about it anyway!

    Reply

  59. Sushi Girl

    Hahahaa!! I’ll bet your friend Whit will forgive you once she tastes her 1/2 jar of Lavender Vanilla Sugar :) Now off to check out that link I spied at the top of your blog on how to make Vanilla Extract!
    *love*

    Reply

  61. Jacqui

    I’ve made lavender sugar before, it really does make you feel a bit fancier. I made doughnut holes once and rolled them in it, that was way classy feeling!

    Reply

  62. Kristan Roland

    Pretty jars and ribbon make the world go round. It’s true.
    With that being said, I do not drink coffee :( But good news–I DO eat sugar by the spoonful. Especially sugar in fancy jars with cool flavors mixed in.
    Weird.

    Reply

  64. Kristen

    I’ve made (and totally enjoyed) a vanilla bean sugar before, but never thought to add lavender. And I have a bag of lavender blossoms sitting on my kitchen counter right now! They are left over from making honey lavender cookies, which were marvelous, but I’ve been wondering what else to use them for. So, your sweet sugar recipe is what it’ll be! Excellent idea. =)

    Also – I just adore your new autumn header. I think it’s my favorite yet!!

    Reply

  67. Katie@Cozydelicious

    Very adorable! This would also make some pretty awesome sugar cookies, I’m thinking. And maybe some seriously good vanilla-lavender toast. I have a whole box of cute jars and a bag of ribbon scraps, so I’m totally getting to work!

    Reply

  73. Darcy

    You and your bows are precious.
    I’ve been dazzled. Mission accomplished. I think the doily might have had something to do with it.
    I know what my extended fam is getting for christmas!

    Reply

  77. Angie

    Very pretty!! I have been very curious about lavender. I have a couple recipes saved that I would love to try, but I haven’t built up enough courage to try them. I love, love, love vanilla sugar, but had no idea I could make it myself. Thank you for sharing….and my Christmas gifts will be crafty this year.

    Reply

  85. Meg H.

    If that yummy, special sugar is what you make for an Elite Ball jar, what would you make for one of the Weck canning jars? I’m dying to know!

    Reply

  89. Daniele Cote

    I was JUST telling a friend about lavender vanilla sugar yesterday! I love love love the gentle hint of lavender that intrigues the tongue! So great on toast or in a cinnamon-apple topping for my yoghurt!

    I don’t make my own (I buy from The Spice House in Chicago), but I am so glad that someone else appreciates the beauty of this subtle sugar blend…

    Reply

  96. thetreadmilldiaries

    I’m excited to make the sugar for the house (and my coffee – yum!) plus it’s such a thoughtful, creative gift. And, as it so happens, I have acquired not one but TWO jars recently. I’m ready to get started I guess.

    Reply

  98. Shauna

    I’ve had eight of these little jars hanging out in my pantry for a few weeks while I wait for my homemade vanilla extract to finish getting happy (LOVE the recipe, btw – can’t wait to give the little jars of extract as gifts this year!). I might just have to abscond with one or two of those jars to take this sugar to work. It might make my coworkers jealous, but I’m willing to take that risk.

    Reply

  100. Deleria

    That does indeed look incredibly cute and I’m thinking Xmas is round the corner and money is a bit short etc etc. Joy, I think you may just have saved Xmas!!

    Reply

  101. Nicole B.

    Joy, I’m interested to hear the answer to Penelope’s question: Does the moisture affect the shelf life of the sugar? Also, you mentioned making citrus sugar – what ratios of zest to sugar do you use there? Does the fact that the zest comes from fresh fruit affect the shelf life of the sugar? I only ask because I think your idea of giving the flavored sugars and coffee as a gift is fantastic and I totally want to copy it and take all the credit for it. :)

    Reply

    • joythebaker

      the moisture from the vanilla bean should not at all affect the shelf life of the sugar. the vanilla bean may harden a bit… but that’s just fine.

      for citrus sugars, i would say 2 teaspoons per 2 cups. just rub the zest in until it’s beautifully fragrant. the zest won’t make the sugar go bad… buuuut, you can sift the zest out with a mesh strainer if you’re worried.

      take all the credit.. totally. aaaallll yours!

      Reply

  102. Jamieanne

    That is so funny because I just made my vanilla sugar myself a few hours ago! I don’t have any lavender though, but that sounds like a lovely addition! :)

    Reply

  104. penelope

    does the little bit of moisture in the vanilla bean / blossom oils affect the shelf life of the sugar at all? i’m guessing it’s not supposed to last long enough to find out. but i tend to save lots of nice ingredients til they go bad :(

    Reply

    • joythebaker

      hey penelope! no, the moisture in the vanilla bean will not affect the shelf life of the sugar. if anything, the bean will start to dry out a little… which is totally fine.
      not to worry. you can try to save this stuff… but it’ll be gone in a jiff!

      Reply

  105. Allie (Live Laugh Eat)

    I got a jar from someone last week and I’m kind of in love with it. Perhaps I’ll put some sugar in it and tie a bow around it.

    There’s something about taking photos with wooden/bamboo cutting boards. It instantly makes the photo beautiful. I love it.

    Reply

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