Sanding sugar for cookies, with its slightly larger crystals, adds color and sparkle and a teensy bit of crunch to things you love to bake.
Sanding sugar is essential for gingersnap cookies and for decorating sugar cookies as well as garnishing cocktail glasses and for making these adorable Snow Globe Cookies.
Find out how replacements for sanding sugar if you're out.
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Do You Sprinkle Sanding Sugar on Before or After Baking?
Usually, you'll want to sprinkle sanding sugar on before cookies go into the oven or muffins or whatever it is you're baking.
Or, you'll roll your dough balls, especially in the case of cookies, like these gingersnaps, into sanding sugar before baking. I also roll peanut butter kisses in clear or white sanding sugar for an extra bit of crunch.
This helps the sugar adhere to whatever it is they're adorning.
However, if you're going to ice the cookies, wait until you've iced them, then sprinkle the sanding sugar on top before the icing has dried.
Sanding Sugar As a Secret Cookie Weapon
This sugar is a secret weapon if you're feeling a bit less than about how your cookies turned out. A bit of sparkling sugar on top of a cookie is like the perfect shade of lipstick or the perfect aftershave.
Ideally you put on sanding sugar before you bake cookies, but if you need to tart up your cookies after you've baked them, no worries.
You can always brush an egg white wash over the top of your cookies and then sprinkle sanding sugar over the top.
Sanding versus Granulated
Sanding sugar has slightly larger crystals than granulated sugar or table sugar.
Table sugar goes into cookie dough.
But, sanding sugar crystals aren't as large as coarse sugar crystals, which might go on top of your muffins or scones before you bake them.
What's a Good Substitute for Sanding Sugar?
Granulated sugar could be used instead but it tends to melt and get absorbed into your baked good. So if you're after sparkle and crunch, you'll want to get your hands on sanding.
Turbinado sugar or crystal sugar are the best swaps for sanding sugar. Both turbinado and crystals are larger grains of sugar than sanding but it's better than the dissolving granulated.
You could also use decorator sugar instead of sanding.
How Can I Use This Ingredient?
In addition to making your cookies sparkle and crunch, in Gingersnaps, for example, you can use this ingredient to garnish cocktail glasses as well.
Rim a martini glass with lemon juice and a white or yellow sugar in a Lemon Drop Martini.
I also like to roll Peanut Butter Blossoms in this medium before baking.
Sugar world is vast. There's the crunchy sugar that tops muffins, Turbinado sugar, and then sprinkles, which are similar to sanding sugar but different. You might want to know where to find sprinkles.
Colored Sanding Sugar
You can buy sugar in all manner of hues, from traditional red, green and white for the holidays to orange and black for Halloween.
If you can't find the color you want, making your own is simple. You can add a few drops of gel food coloring and sanding sugar in a resealable bag to customize your own.
There's also green to adorn your Shamrock cookies for St. Patrick's Day.
Can I Use Regular Sugar Instead of Sanding Sugar?
Yes but granulated or regular sugar melts faster in the oven and it won't give your cookies that polished, "extra fancy" appearance.
Where to Buy Sanding Sugar?
- Most craft stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby sell bottles of sanding sugar. You can also of course find it on Amazon.
- The grocery store baking aisle carries sanding sugar.
- Cake Decorating stores are another source.
- Gourmet kitchen shops.
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