DIY Sprinkles

Here's a quick tip for those of you who do a lot of holiday cookie baking or candy making. Perhaps you occasionally buy these?

They usually cost $3-4, which means that if you want a full set of the basic colors, you're spending at least $25.  And when you run out of orange/black during a Halloween baking session or green/red while the Christmas cookies are iced and ready, you're stuck running to the store.  Not if you make your own!  All you need is regular sugar, ziplock bags, a toothpick and food color.   

I've had these Wilton Icing Colors for years.  The package of 8 costs about $10 (or about $6 with a 40% off coupon).  There is enough color to last for many years.  Not only do they color frosting, but they are great for making your own colored sugars.

 

It's so easy.  Put some sugar in a ziplock bag.  Poke a toothpick into the color and rub a teeny bit of color onto the inside of the ziplock bag.  Close the bag and massage the sugar until the color is evenly distributed.  You can always add more color if it's too light or more sugar if it's too dark.

 

Here's what my orange sugar looked like halfway through the mixing step.  

Here's my finished orange sugar.

I will never buy colored sugar again when making my own is cheaper and so easy!