DIY Powdered Sugar (Genius Baking Tip)
Have you ever wanted to bake something that required powdered sugar and then noticed you were all out of this pantry staple? Instead of making a trip to the store, you can easily make your own powdered sugar at home using just two ingredients and a blender or food processor! This is one of those genius baking tips/secrets that I did not discover until recently so I am excited to share it with you!
DIY Powdered Sugar
Easily make your own powdered sugar at home using just two ingredients and a blender or food processor!
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch* (optional but recommended)
Directions
1
Place granulated sugar and cornstarch in a food processor.
2
Blend at a high speed for several minutes and watch it turn into a fine powder!
3
Let it settle for a few seconds before you open lid to avoid a mess.
That’s it! EASY PEASY!
Note: I did try this without the cornstarch – it did turn out OK but adding a little cornstarch keeps it from sticking and gives it that super fine powdery texture. Although I have not personally tried it, rumor has it that you can use this same method with other types of granulated sugar and sweeteners such as coconut sugar.
Wish I had known this a few years ago. I once made peanut butter frosting with granulated sugar because I didn’t have powdered sugar. It was crunchy/gritty.
You didn’t cream it long enough. I make a granular sugar frosting and everyone loves it. It helps to have a stand mixer
I have tried this in the past and I didnt think it ended up as fine as store bought powered sugar. It would work if you are in a pinch though.
I agree – the food processor I own at least (a KA) does not get it fine enough. It ends up sort of in between granulated and powdered. I haven’t tried it in the Vitamix dry container yet though – that might work. The other thing that happened was that trying to make powdered sugar in the food processor permanently scratched the plastic so that it looks cloudy now. I don’t care one bit about that, but some people might.
I totally agree. We have done this many times but it just doesn’t turn out quite as fine as store bought. But if you want to save on buying a kitchen staple you can easily make brown sugar with 1cup granulated sugar and 1TBSP of molasses. Super easy and works just as good as store bought. 🙂
Great tip! Thanks
I had the same experience
Yep! Great tip! I do this frequently as I have family members allergic to corn, so I can just powder it myself and leave to cornstarch out. Works great!
I have done this many times in my Vitamix and it comes out good but the food processor doesn’t do as good of a job.
Also, I make my own brown sugar so its always fresh and not clumpy or hard. Its just molasses and sugar.
Two thumbs up for homemade brown sugar!!! The store-bought stuff doesn’t taste nearly as good to me. Homemade vanilla extract is another great thing to try.
Thank you Lina and Collin! Y’all are the best!
I do this all the time. You can also make brown sugar by adding molasses to regular granulated sugar. I also make bread flower by adding 1T of vital wheat gluten for every cup of flour and self rising flour by adding .5tsp. of salt and 1.5 tsp. of baking powder. This way I only keep 1 type of sugar and 1 type of flour in the house… well I buy AP white, wheat, and whole-wheat white so 3 types. I have a bunch of other substitutes, but there are the 3 that I use most often.
I recently made powdered sugar from raw cane sugar using coffee grinder, turned out great.
How smart – thanks for sharing !
I did this many years ago in a magic bullet and got as fine as store bought.
I use a Magic Bullet to make this too – always comes out great
I just did this using trivia and it worked great. Low carb fudge – yum!!!
*Truvia
Good to know – thanks for sharing Jenn!
I’ve done this with truvia as well. My son is diabetic, so I made frosting for his birthday cake with this method.
Tip: to keep brown sugar from getting dry or hard, keep it in a glass canning jar. It will stay fresh as when you first made it or bought it and will never dry out 🙂
Great tip! Thanks Kris
Great! I will try it with my coconut sugar. I never have powdered sugar on hand so this will help.
Tip: I’ve never made my own but I will def try it now that I have a magic bullet. But for those who like to make their own buttercream try using less cornstarch when making your own ps.
The store bought powdered sugar (ps) has too much cornstarch (10x is the description used) which results in needing to use more ps and a much sweeter bc. I buy 6x fine ps from a bakery store off Amazon ($35 for 18 pounds; cheaper than the grocery store regular ps!!). The 6x has less cornstarch and it allows for the shortening to blend better with the powdered sugar and you will end up using less ps too! If you want to know more google the difference between 6x and 10x powdered sugar.
Shred up dry oatmeal to make it into a flour. Heart healthy!
I make my own oatmeal flour frequently too. It gives my baked goods such a yummy flavor. In fact, I think my favorite recipe that uses oat flour I found here at H2S. It is for chocolate chip banana muffins. I have found when using oat flour that I get a prettier product if I increase the baking powder though.
You can substitute egg white with aquafaba (chickpea bean liquid). I normally soak the chickpeas at least overnight, cook them until they’re really soft, drain and keep the liquid, and reduce the liquid for another 15 minutes or so to make it a bit more concentrate. It can be kept in fridge for 2-3 days or freezer for 2-3 months.
Thanks Diana!
Z