If you love easy like I love easy, this orange sugar is going to be your new favorite thing. With just two ingredients, you can pull it together in just five minutes.
Once you’ve zested the oranges, use the juice to make some of this delicious orange liqueur!
This is one of those no-waste recipes that allows us to enjoy a part of the orange that might otherwise be tossed in the compost. Orange sugar also makes a sweet little gift!
Making orange sugar
Have I mentioned how easy this is? You’ll need two ingredients, a small mixing bowl, and an airtight container in which to store the finished product.
Ingredients
Sugar — Use granulated sugar for this recipe. Regular table sugar works, but if you’ll be using this for sprinkling on baked goods, a slightly coarser sugar with larger crystals will give a bit more crunch. I prefer to use an organic sugar.
Orange zest — This is the colored part of the orange peel. You’ll want to use just the zest, not the white part inside the skin, which can be bitter.
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As you can see, I used a microplaner to accomplish this, but there are a number of methods you can use. I go into detail on how to zest an orange here.
Mix it up!
Combine sugar and zest in a small mixing bowl. Use a fork to thoroughly combine the ingredients, then store orange sugar in an airtight container.
Using orange sugar
- Use it to top your favorite muffin recipe (like these orange muffins!)
- Stir it into tea
- Sprinkle it on buttered toast
- Press some into sugar cookies before you bake them
- Sprinkle it on ice cream
- Use it as part (or all) of the sugar in your favorite baked goods
Giving gifts
As gifts go, this is one of the nicest, easiest, least expensive gifts you can make in your kitchen. Choose a decorative jar, fill it with sugar, and tie on a tag! Super simple. If you wanted to, you could package it with a loaf of fresh bread and instructions to make orange sugar toast!
Decorate the package with some dried orange slices to carry the theme through!
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Easy and Flavorful Orange Sugar
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange zest from 1 orange
Instructions
- Measure sugar into a small bowl.1 cup granulated sugar
- Zest orange using a microplane or the smallest side of a box grater.2 tablespoons orange zest
- Stir together until well combined.
- Store in an airtight container. Use within a month or so, as the flavor of the orange zest will dissipate over time.
Notes
- Allow for extra time required for gift packaging, if that's what you plan to do with it!
It’s been so long I can’t remember where I got them, but they hold about a quarter of a cup.
Can powdered organic stevia be a substitute for the sugar granules? TIA!
This sugar is so good! I had a ton of orange zest that I had made and wondered what in the world I would do with it. I added a tsp of the orange sugar to a cup of Constant Comment, one of my mom’s favorite teas and a treat. It was delicious and also gave me a wonderful reminiscence of my mom!
You may try leaving the lid off and stir occasionally to dry the sugar.
The taste is all capture and you loose the risk or hardening or mold.
Works well for vanilla
Some also put in oven at 170 to dry
Can I ferment whole oranges in sugar in a jar? If yes, what is recipe.
I do not have a recipe for whole oranges – fermented would mean in a brine, not just sugar.
Does the sugar combine into a big clump?
It does get a little crispy and smaller pieces stick together, but I haven’t found it to solidify into a big clump.
Does this work with lemon and lime as well?
Yes!
Do you have to refrigerate?
It’s not necessary but wouldn’t hurt!
I freeze mine use for cakes
Good idea!
How long does this keep?
Around a month, after that, the orange flavor will diminish.