Christmas tree sugar (made with edible conifer needles)
A simple base recipe made from the mature needles of spruce, fir, or other edible conifers that can be used to add unique Christmas tree flavor to a wide variety of foods and beverages.
Equipment
- spice grinder (ideal)
- multi-bladed blender (second choice)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Christmas tree needles, ideally fresh or no more than a few days removed from branches 18 grams is measuring by weight
- 1 cup organic raw cane sugar - or pure white sugar for best color (or you can get fancy and use alternatives like maple sugar but the brownish sugar color + needles won't turn out as pretty as a white sugar base)
Instructions
- Add half of needles (1/8 cup) plus a quarter of the sugar (1/4 cup) to spice grinder and pulverize until smooth. You'll want to open the spice grinder and scrape the sides and bottom with a spatula to make sure all needles have been pulverized. Scrape into a bowl/storage container with a spatula. Repeat with the other half of the needles plus another 1/4 cup sugar. Transfer to same bowl. Finally, put remaining sugar in spice grinder and blend briefly to help remove any of the remaining goodies from the previous needle-sugar batches. This will make a more finely ground sugar, halfway between powdered sugar and caster sugar. Add this to the bowl and mix & mush everything together until uniform. Make sure to give your spice grinder one last scrape with the spatula to get any sticky conifer residue out, then wash the grinder with hot soapy water.
- Store your Christmas tree sugar in an airtight covered glass or ceramic dish (or canning jar) in the fridge. It will last for months, but the color will slowly brown due to oxidation over time. We've had 6+ month old Christmas tree sugar that still tastes like new but has turned brownish in color - fine for baked and cooked recipes, but wouldn't make the most beautiful garnish on the rim of a glass.