How to Make Your Own Sanding Sugar
Sanding Sugar was once limited to special events at our house. But now that we have mastered making it, there is always a rainbow of color choices. The girls like to sugar rim their juice glasses or smoothies. And of course being able to create a piece of art work on your toast or pancakes never gets old!
Try making our Mock Margarita’s and using your new Sanding Sugar!
Ingredients:
- White Sugar (1/2 cup per color)
- Plastic Ziploc Baggie (1 per color)
- Food Coloring
- Lined Baking Sheet
- Rolling Pin
Directions:
- Measure 1/2 cup sugar and place in your plastic baggie
- Measure 1 cap full food coloring into sugar filled baggie (use less for softer color)
- Seal baggie and squish bag until all sugar if coated with food coloring, pressing down to break clumps
- Dump colored sugar onto lined baking sheet
- Break apart until in a single layer
- Bake at 120 (lowest temp) for 10 minutes
- Remove from heat and break apart again
- Gather edges of paper on baking sheet and pour colored sugar back into the baggie
- Remove as much air as possible by rolling up from bottom before sealing baggie
- Press with rolling pin or other object on baggie until all lumps are broken up
- Store in an airtight container
Sanding Sugar is awesome on French toast, bagels, etc. Anything that you would sprinkle sugar on, try one of the colored batches for a unique visual effect.
Antoinette M says
April 30, 2019 at 10:42 AMLove the colors. Fun to sprinkle on food!
Denise Low says
April 29, 2019 at 10:37 PMThank you for sharing. This sounds like fun.
naomi winkel says
April 26, 2019 at 9:50 PMI have always wanted to do. Thanks for telling us how to color the sugar
Nancy says
April 22, 2019 at 11:30 AMLooks like a lot of fun. Love the vivid colors.
Minta Boggs says
April 19, 2019 at 8:11 PMWow! these are so awesome and look prettier than the ones that they sell at the stores.
Carrie D Conley says
April 15, 2019 at 1:45 PMLove these colors, will need to give this a try
JANET LINDSEY says
April 15, 2019 at 3:41 AMWow didn’t know it was used around the rim of the glass
Susan Christy says
April 14, 2019 at 8:33 PMI will be making various colors for Easter Cookie decorating.
Carrie D Conley says
April 12, 2019 at 4:18 PMThis sugar is new to me, will have to give it a try
Alicia Hewitt says
April 9, 2019 at 7:44 PMMy daughter would love this, and so would I! Thank you for sharing.
donna porter says
April 6, 2019 at 5:22 PMThis looks like lots of fun to make with the kids. Love how pretty this looks!
Lauryn R says
April 4, 2019 at 12:51 PMThis is awesome, I have never thought about making my own sanding sugar before! It is so easy too, thank you so much for sharing!!
Amy D says
April 4, 2019 at 8:17 AMI never thought of making my own before, and this looks so easy. It will certainly be a fun project for me and the kids to do, and then sprinkle them on sugar cookies!
Jayne Townsley says
April 4, 2019 at 7:17 AMThis would make things very festive for holidays!
athena graeme says
April 4, 2019 at 3:57 AMI have never even thought of trying this! Great idea!
Nerlande says
April 3, 2019 at 8:58 PMThis is so cool and a good recipe
Donna L Holder says
April 3, 2019 at 12:09 AMthis is awesome
Denise Low says
December 28, 2018 at 2:32 PMThank you for sharing. This is a great idea.
Nidhi Chauhan says
November 27, 2018 at 11:41 PMSuch a cute and easy idea. I wanna try this for sure.
Just Cupcakes says
September 20, 2018 at 6:28 AMCan you use liquid or gel food coloring?
Debbie says
February 7, 2018 at 10:22 PMLove this idea. I would like to make purple. I used 1 drop blue & 1 drop red. It didn’t come out purple. I trying to color 1/4 cup raw sugar using liquid color. Any suggestions?
Babs bair says
March 31, 2018 at 1:03 PMDid you mix the color before you put in the sugar? I mixed the colors in a tablespoon and then put it in the sugar and was able to get purple. I also dried in my dehydrator on the low setting, rather than the oven. So, if you have one give it a try. Thanks for this idea.
Sheila says
July 5, 2017 at 9:41 AMWould this work with liquid food coloring as well?
Sara says
September 9, 2016 at 2:28 PMI so wanna try this. I have a question though. Won’t the sugar turn into caramel in over ten mins? Haven’t tried it as yet but just wondering.
Kathryn says
November 6, 2016 at 5:00 PMI made some today using raw sugar, 350 degree for 10 min and it turned out perfect. Also used parchment paper but divided in half so easy to pour into zip lock bag.
SimplySherryl says
November 7, 2016 at 6:03 PMI like it with the raw sugar too!
lisa says
June 7, 2016 at 6:06 PMWhenever I see this it reminds me of sugar cookies. I don’t know why it’s called sanding sugar though.
Ree Dee says
June 6, 2016 at 2:25 AMThank you so much! I will save so much money and be able to get the colors that I want!
Cynthia W says
June 1, 2016 at 11:01 PMNow that’s a super cute idea. I think this is even something I could do, LOL. Thanks for the post!
Veronica West Johnson says
May 26, 2016 at 10:32 PMCake decorator here! This is gonna save me soon much money! Thanks!
Valerie says
May 23, 2016 at 12:57 PMSanding sugar is the “GLITTER” of food! The more of it the better!
lisa says
May 21, 2016 at 5:20 PMI think x-mas when I see colored sugars. It reminds me of holiday cookies.
dana vento says
May 16, 2016 at 9:44 PMgreat idea for foodies and for kids to do with their parents
Corey Olomon says
May 15, 2016 at 2:10 AMThis would be fun for my kids’ playdates.
Linda Manns Linneman says
May 3, 2016 at 4:07 PMThis sounds like a fun idea. My grandchildren will love it. It also sounds pretty easy to do. Thank you for sharing
Amee says
May 2, 2016 at 9:08 PMI love this! We can use these for cupcakes, cookies etc!
Sherry Fram says
April 28, 2016 at 8:41 PMGoing to make this and use it this Christmas for sugar cookies! Thanks for sharing it!
belinda bell says
April 28, 2016 at 5:12 PMthis sounds easy to make and the kids would love it
Corey Olomon says
April 28, 2016 at 3:04 PMThis is such a great and easy to follow recipe!
April monty says
April 28, 2016 at 11:38 AMThis is neat and I adore the colors,so easy to do,I’ve got all kinds of ideas now lol
Terry Poage says
April 27, 2016 at 11:53 PMThanks for the recipe. I always wondered how they made it.
Chunauti says
March 6, 2016 at 1:51 AMHi! Thanks a lot for the recipe, i just wanted to know the food coloring you used is Gel or Liquid?
Mona says
December 10, 2017 at 10:28 PMNot gel, liquid only please
Tara L says
May 8, 2015 at 12:31 AMInteresting my son would love me forever if we did this together and made some sanding sugar lol than I’d have to pay for it for the sugar high that he’d be on lol, but it would be fun though.
Tina W says
May 3, 2015 at 10:57 PMThank you so much for posting this. The directions sound super easy and making our own will save money as well.
Melissa W. says
April 16, 2015 at 9:40 AMVery neat! I’ve never thought of making my own. Thanks for sharing!
Kimberly Flickinger (@kaflickinger74) says
April 14, 2015 at 10:13 PMThis is great! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jenny N says
April 14, 2015 at 8:59 PMI will never buy it again. Thanks so much!
Sally says
April 13, 2015 at 12:35 AMThis is so awesome, I am so glad you shared this I will definitely be making it like this instead of paying all that money for the same thing!!
lisa says
April 12, 2015 at 5:24 PMI’ve never heard of it before. Obviously, I’m not a baker. I guess that’s the stuff that goes on holiday cookies. Very pretty.
Clare Tea says
April 12, 2015 at 2:24 AMTHIS IS AMAZING! I’ve always wanted to try using sanding sugar but it’s expensive. Thanks for this tip!
william gossage says
April 10, 2015 at 7:47 PMthis sound like a fun way of using sugar
Lori Mahan says
April 10, 2015 at 11:46 AMThis could be so useful-especially for holidays and birthdays. Thank you for the step by step directions.
Sue M. says
April 10, 2015 at 10:42 AMThis is very nice to learn about and it sounds really easy to make, thanks a lot for sharing!
Sherry Martindale says
April 10, 2015 at 7:30 AMThank you so much for sharing this 🙂 I am so excited to try this with my daughter and possibly incorporate it I to my granddaughter’s next birthday party!
Stacy Renee says
April 10, 2015 at 6:44 AMI can imagine this sugar would work great for decorating sugar cookies!
Sandra Watts says
March 15, 2015 at 6:56 PMThis is great! A nice way to decorate and make it pretty.
rayane says
September 24, 2014 at 11:48 AMthank you , it looks so easy , i will try it soon
Margot C says
September 22, 2014 at 5:37 PMI dunno, that seems like an awful lot of work (not to mention getting food coloring all over my hands – which always happens).
Betty B. says
September 16, 2014 at 12:20 AMSuper easy! I love that they like to rim their smoothie glasses how cute!
Esperanza Gailliard says
September 12, 2014 at 10:56 PMI just love this quick and fun colorful sand~ My son is six and loves to do fun stuff like this too.
Terri S says
September 11, 2014 at 11:25 AMThis is fantastic! Thank you for sharing the recipe. It will be great to have for the holidays.
Arena Thompson says
September 11, 2014 at 9:02 AMThis is ingenious… I’m bookmarking for when we do sugar cookies around the holidays!
Vanessa Plummer says
September 11, 2014 at 5:01 AMAwesome! Can’t wait to do this with my to youngins lol! They will absolutely love it at ages 6 & 4!! Thanks for the great info and ALL that you do!
Kamla L. says
August 24, 2014 at 11:14 PMWOW! I wouldn’t have thought it could so easy to make your own. Their are so many desserts and drinks that can be dressed up with that extra specially effect. With an customizable color palette, I’ll be using this often. Thanks!
Bella T. says
August 13, 2014 at 10:11 AMWow, how fun! This is really neat. My crafty side is burning up. I seriously really want to make this, so thank you for sharing! 🙂
Maari says
August 12, 2014 at 11:15 PMI Love this & will be using it quite often!! Thank You for sharing this!! 🙂
Mhar Mg says
August 11, 2014 at 11:41 PMThis is very easy. My niece and nephews will enjoy making these colorful sanding sugar with me.
Krissy says
July 23, 2014 at 10:37 PMThis is a great recipe for parties! I think they’d look great on sugar cookies, and cocktail drinks as well.
Katrina W says
July 22, 2014 at 8:36 PMThis is a great “recipe” to keep on hand when it comes to decorating baked goods, especially for the holidays! Sometimes you just don’t want to buy a huge (and expensive) specialty color but now with a little time I can make my own in whatever shade I fancy.
Thank you for the how to, I can’t wait to experiment with my own sanding sugar!
Gina Stegner says
July 22, 2014 at 2:33 PMSanding sugar sounds like a great way to beautify a drink at a party!
Stephanie says
July 22, 2014 at 9:53 AMI love this! Knowing how to make my own colored sanding sugar will be really helpful when decorating cookies this holiday season!