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    Home » Spice Mixes » How to Make Vanilla Sugar {Vanillin Zucker}

    How to Make Vanilla Sugar {Vanillin Zucker}

    Posted on February 18, 2021 By Beth Neels

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    Vanilla sugar is a versatile ingredient that is popular in Europe. It adds amazing flavor to baked goods and is incredibly easy to make.

    Vanilla sugar in storage jars.

    Although you can buy vanilla sugar in specialty stores, you will be glad that you made your own. The flavor is so much better than the bought stuff. This recipe will walk you through how to make vanilla sugar at home.

    What is vanilla sugar?

    Vanilla sugar is just regular granulated sugar that has been infused with vanilla. As previously stated, it is popular in certain regions of Europe, in Germany it is vanillin zucker, for making cookies, cakes, desserts and all forms of baked goods.

    Opened jar of vanilla sugar.

    We always bought vanilla sugar. You can find it in gourmet shops and high end grocery stores. Dr. Oetker’s is a very popular brand but it gets increasing difficult to find and is quite expensive. So a few years ago I set out on a mission to make my own. If I had known how easy it is, I never would have bought it.

    How can you use vanilla sugar?

    Vanilla sugar is perfect in baked goods. In fact, the original recipe for Hildabrötchen contains it and we always used to substitute vanilla extract because vanilla sugar was hard to find. It’s also great to use in your coffee, tea, iced tea or coffee. Use it for pound cakes, angel food cake, vanilla cakes or cupcakes, sugar cookies, shortbreads and the like.

    Substitute vanilla sugar in a 1:1 ratio for regular sugar in your favorite recipes. There is no need to reduce the amount of vanilla extract in your recipe. The product will just have more vanilla flavor.

    This infused sugar makes a great holiday or hostess gift. Grab some pretty bottles or jars, place a sticker on them and gift them!

    What you need

    • sugar
    • vanilla bean pod
    Ingredients for vanillin zucker - vanilla, sugar.

    How to make it

    1. Slice vanilla bean lengthwise. Open.
    2. With the back of a knife, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod.
    3. Add vanilla seeds to sugar in a bowl large enough to stir.
    4. Blend the seeds around into the sugar to incorporate. You can use your clean hands, or use gloves. (you can also pulse a few times in a food processor or stir it with a spoon.)
    5. Place the beans into sugar. Store in an airtight container or jar that is air tight. We like to shake the jar for the first few weeks to distribute the moisture in the beans in the sugar so that it doesn’t clump together.
    Process photo collage. See details in recipe below.

    Sugar can be used immediately but is far superior if left for a month or so to the develop more flavor.

    How to store vanilla sugar

    Store sugar in a covered container or jar indefinitely. The sugar will last forever, in theory but it will never last too long.

    Vanilla sugar in storage jars.

    What exactly is a vanilla bean and why is it so expensive?

    The vanilla “bean” is actually not a bean. It is the fruit from a specific orchid from the genus Vanilla.

    The expense comes from two main factors. This genus of orchid only grows in a few areas of the world, so with the demand so high and supply so limited, the cost is driven up.

    The other reason is that the production of this product is very labor intensive. All aspects of the process are done by hand. This drives the price up even further. Here is an interesting article from Bon Appetit.

    How to Make Vanilla Sugar {Vanillin Zucker}

    What type of vanilla bean to use

    There are three main types of vanilla beans. They all have slightly different notes of flavor.

    • Madagascar vanilla beans (otherwise known and bourbon vanilla)- rich and creamy (Madagascar produces 80% of the vanilla in the world.)
    • Tahitian vanilla beans – has a slightly floral aroma and sweet fruity flavor
    • Mexican vanilla beans -bolder, smoky flavor

    Any of the above vanilla varieties will work. Because the flavors are different, one may work for different applications than another. Opinions are mixed on which is best to use. I have used both Madagascar and Tahitian and found both delightful.

    The one thing that I will note is that there are different grades of vanilla as well, grade A and grade B. Grade A is much more costly and is moister than grade B.

    It is much easier to incorporate grade B vanilla beans into the sugar. So buy grade B. You save some money and it works even better.

    Gold spoon scooping out sugar from jar.

    Can you use vanilla paste or extract?

    The short answer is yes.

    The long answer is that it is way more work to make this vanilla sugar with either. They are both quite moist, so they will make the sugar clump up.

    The sugar needs to be spread out on baking sheets and thoroughly dried so that you can store it. Once it dries you can break up any clumps with your hands or with a few pulses of your food processor.

    In my environment in upstate NY, the humidity is usually quite high so drying out the sugar is really not practical, although it can be done.

    My best advice is to use the whole beans.

    Decorative jars for gifting

    • Decorative Yellow, Green and Blue Jars with Cork Stopper Lids
    • Glass Canisters with Wire Bail Lids
    • Clear Glass Storage Canister Holder Ball Wood Cork Top
    • Star Shaped Glass Favor Jars with Cork Lids
    • Vintage Design Embossed Clear Glass Bottles
    • Spherical Glass Bottles with Cork Bottle Stopper

    What to make with this sugar

    • Hildabrötchen
    • Gugelhupf
    • Jam Filled Cookies
    • Cut out cookies
    • Pecan Sandies
    • Peach Tea
    • sprinkle on waffles, oatmeal,
    • use it in coffee, tea or hot chocolate
    • great for bumping up the flavor of vanilla ice cream
    Jars of infused sugar with pink dish towel.

    Make your own homemade vanilla sugar. You’ll save yourself a ton of money and the taste is so much better than commercially produce.

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    If you have any questions or comments, please ask in comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

    I hope you enjoyed the recipe today!

    Enjoy. And have fun cooking!

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    Vanilla sugar in canning jar with lid.

    How to make Vanilla Sugar {Vanillin Zucker}

    Vanilla sugar is a versatile ingredient that is popular in Europe. It adds amazing flavor to baked goods and is incredibly easy to make.
    See Step by Step Photos Above!Most of our recipes have step by step photos and videos! Also helpful tips so that you can make it perfectly the first time and every time! Scroll up to see them!
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: how to, pantry item
    Cuisine: European
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 0 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 2 cups
    Calories: 8kcal
    Author: Beth Neels
    Cost: $3

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups sugar
    • 2 vanilla beans

    Instructions

    • Slice vanilla bean lengthwise.
      2 vanilla beans
    • Open with the back of a knife, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod.
    • Add seeds to sugar in a container large enough to stir.
      2 cups sugar
    • Work the seeds around into the sugar to incorporate. You can use your clean hands, or use gloves. (you can also pulse a few times in a food processor.)
    • Place the beans shells into sugar.
    • Store in a container or jar that is air tight.
    canning jars- Pint
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    Notes

    Sugar can be used immediately but it is best to let the flavors infuse into the sugar for at least month. I’ve found it is best after 2 months.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1teaspoon | Calories: 8kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 2mg | Sugar: 2g | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ashley Elizabeth

      March 02, 2021 at 4:23 pm

      5 stars
      Oh yes!! So good—I love using it in my morning cup of earl grey tea!

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        March 03, 2021 at 1:04 pm

        I know. I love it in tea too! Thanks Ashley!

        Reply
    2. Michelle | Sift & Simmer

      March 02, 2021 at 3:44 pm

      5 stars
      Love the scent of vanilla — such an awesome way to flavour sugar!

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        March 03, 2021 at 1:04 pm

        It’s such a great combination. Thanks Michelle!

        Reply
    3. Liz

      March 02, 2021 at 3:40 pm

      5 stars
      So simple but so perfect! Thank you for this vanilla sugar recipe!

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        March 03, 2021 at 1:05 pm

        Thanks for checking out the recipe Liz!

        Reply
    4. Julie

      March 02, 2021 at 3:37 pm

      5 stars
      This is so easy and it makes for some very flavorful sugar.

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        March 03, 2021 at 1:06 pm

        Thanks for checking out the recipe Julie!

        Reply
    5. Carrie Robinson

      March 02, 2021 at 3:32 pm

      5 stars
      I am loving everything about this! I bet this is amazing to bake with. 🙂

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        March 03, 2021 at 1:05 pm

        It’s really delicious for baking! Thanks Carrie!

        Reply

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