My kids love to bake and they love to make confections which require icing or frosting. Everyone knows that to make these dessert toppers, one must have confectioners sugar on hand. This is easily accomplished for most people, but for us, living in a tiny farm town in Mexico does not always allow for this kind of convenience. Sometimes we simply run out of powdered sugar before we anticipated we would and are left to purchase it at the over-priced convenience store down the street, or, if we decide to have a baking spree late at night, the over-priced convenience store will have already closed at 8:00, thus leaving us in a terrible quandary. Here is how we make our own powdered sugar in the frequent case of emergency...
Step 1: In a blender, pour one cup of refined sugar. Turn blender to high and blend until refined sugar becomes powdered sugar.
The cool thing is that when you remove the lid, a cloud of sugar dust will waft into the air, like this...
(Actually, this is only cool if you have kids helping. If you don't, it's annoying because then you have to dust any nearby small appliances.)
Here's what it looks like when it's finished...
...and here's what we used it for in our case of emergency...
(For this somewhat healthy 100% whole wheat orange-glazed doughnut recipe, click HERE.)
You're welcome. Thanks for listening.
22 comments:
Maybe you should add a years supply of powdered sugar to the list of what the Elders reccomend o;-p
I know that sometime (probably in the near {8-/}) furture, I will be singing your praise as this posting comes to mind to save my day. THANKS!!!
Haha, Cheryl! You are definitely right about needing to have a year's supply of powdered sugar! :)
i LOVE that you posted this. do you think a food processor would work?
noyb, I really don't know if a good processor would work. But, it wouldn't hurt to try! If it doesn't work, just make cookies with the leftover sugar! :)
Great tip! I've gotten stuck without powdered sugar--or enough powdered sugar--to make frosting. I'll definitely remember this. Thanks!
Wow! My blender would never do that. Now I know what to ask for on Christmas! :) That is so neat and love the doughnut recipe!
panamamama, just remember that if you EVER need a new Vita-Mix blender, I just happen to sell them! Just click on the Vita-Mix ad on my blog on the right sidebar. :)
Did you know that most powdered sugar contains CORN STARCH?! For a kid with food allergies that isn't good. We make our own powdered sugar all the time. We have a small grinder that we make powdered sugar in. But I have also done it in a blender as you have here. Thanks for the reminder. I forgot I could do it this way;)
This is awesome! I didn't know it would be that simple. I used a lot of powdered sugar. I notice on the bad, the ingredients say sugar and cornstarch. I guess the cornstarch isn't important? Maybe it just keeps it from caking together or something? Thanks for the tip!
Wow - I really had no idea it was that easy! That's good to know, so thanks for sharing - I tend to run out of Powdered Sugar quite often and it's such a hassle to have to run to my overpriced store to get it!
Somehow, deep down, I think you and I are long lost sisters ;)
wow, that makes total sense, I've always wondered a little how they make powdered sugar! Very cool tip!
my little ole black and decker food processor totally worked for this! i am so excited. i never realized that most powdered sugars have corn starch and i like the idea of it being just plain ole sugar. thanks for sharing your FACINATING tip. i love it!
Wow, noyb! You don't waste any time. Well this is a very valuable tip and I thank you for sharing!
I found your simple instructions on how to make powdered sugar very valuable. As I bake I'm always running out of powdered sugar but I always have plenty of granulated sugar on hand.
I can't believe I didn't know this already!! I have been missing powdered sugar on multiple occasions thanks for the tip!! Hooray for blogging!
Hey Jen, two things (I know your not surprised o;-p) -
1- How to describe this ... does the upper part of the lid to your blender, the part your daughters hand is on, usually made of clear plastic while the base of the lid is colored, is that part also removeable without having to open the lid to do so?
If so - then you could just start to loosen it to do a pressure release, which would take some of the air out and possibly not create a sugar cloud, sort of like burping Tupperware.
p.s. here - you make your own sugar coated clouds ;-p
2- you came to mind yesterday afternoon. I was at GFS (Gordon Food Service) in their baking aisle. I bought a 25 pound bag of flour. Then grabbed a 25 pound box of sugar. Right next to it was a 25 pound box of powdered sugar. You came to mind :-} I wondered how much it would cost to ship a box of it to you. Then I wondered if it would actually get to you. What kind of customs inspections do packages have to go through to get to you in Mexico?
p.s.- yes I am again up at this ridiculus hour due to hormones 8-/ Better than tossing and turning and getting all frustrated. Up for a bit then back to bed.
I've done that before too! If you don't use powdered sugar that often, it's easy to run out before you know it! I do have a supply of it for my storage but I like being able to make it too. It's fun for the kids to watch!
Don't you just love a VitaMix? I make organic powdered sugar all the time and yes the kids love the cloud of sugar!
I'm now off to check out your doughnut recipe...yum! Kim
I.F., Yes! I LOVE my Vita-Mix! I really don't know how I ever lived without it. A regular blender doesn't even begin to compare! I do wonder how this powdered sugar trick would turn out with a regular blender. Has anyone tried it?
Cheryl, we actually get all of our mail delivered to the United States, at the nearest border town. Mexico doesn't really have a reliable mailing system to speak of.
Jam recipes often call for refined sugar but I can't find it so I run regular sugar through the food processor -- similar to making powdered sugar. Then the jam doesn't taste like gritty sugar.
Highly detailed and fairly good tips on how to make powdered sugar.Cheers and congratulations
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