Lemon Sugar is an easy recipe that takes just minutes to make with two simple ingredients: fresh lemon zest and granulated sugar. A great way to add a burst of fresh lemon flavor to everything from cookies to cocktails.
Try it on Blueberry Lemon Cookies, sprinkled on fresh fruit or fruit salad, or on the rim of a glass of homemade lemonade.
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This simple 2-ingredient lemon sugar recipe is my new favorite way to add bright lemon flavor to sugar cookies, iced tea, or lemon desserts -- it also makes great gifts!
❤️You're Going to Love These
- Super easy way to add even more fresh citrus flavor to your favorite lemon recipes
- Versatile recipe can be made with any kind of citrus fruit for different flavors of citrus sugar
- Fantastic way to use the zest of a lemon after using fresh lemon juice for other recipes
- Perfect gift for a lemon lover
- Delicious rimming sugar for drinks or finishing sugar for cookies and muffins
🍋Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Fresh lemons. I use regular lemons. Meyer lemon zest will also work, but the flavor will be a bit sweeter.
🍊Variations or Substitutions
- Limes or oranges. Try swapping out lemon zest with lime zest or orange zest to make lime sugar or orange sugar.
🥣How to Make Lemon Sugar
Step 1: Scrub the lemon clean with hot water and dry it well. Zest the lemon with a microplane zester directly over 1 cup of sugar in a medium bowl. Be careful to scrape off only the yellow part of the lemon. Avoid going into the bitter white pith below the bright yellow part.
Step 2: Massage the lemon zest into the sugar with clean, dry hands. This will release the lemon oil where all the fresh lemon flavor and fragrance is.
Step 3: As an alternative, use the back of a spoon to work the lemon zest into the sugar or quickly whiz it together in a food processor.
Step 4: Use right away, or for a more intense flavor, let the sugar mixture sit for 1-24 hours before using. We love lemon sugar on these Lemon Blueberry Cookies!
🍸How to Use Lemon Sugar
- Glass rimmer. Run a lemon wedge around the rim of a glass or wet it with water. Dip or roll the rim of the glass in a shallow plate of lemon sugar.
- Sweeten tea. Serve with iced or hot tea.
- Cookies. Roll balls of cookie dough in lemon sugar before baking.
- No-bake treats. Coat truffles, cake pops, and no-bake sugar cookie balls.
- Muffins and quick breads. Sprinkle on top of muffins or quick breads, like Lemon Blackberry Bread, before baking.
- Sprinkle on fruit. Brighten up a bowl of fresh berries, pineapple, grapefruit or fruit salad.
- Sugar replacement in baking. Use instead of regular sugar in lemon desserts.
✅Top Tips
- If the sugar clumps, break it up with a fork before using.
- As the lemon zest dries over time, you can sift it out or leave it in.
🎁Storage
Store lemon sugar in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.
😋More Lemony Treats
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Sugar
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest one medium lemon
Instructions
- Scrub one medium lemon clean and dry it thoroughly. Scrape the yellow part of the peel off with a microplane zester directly over a bowl with 1 cup of granulated sugar.
- Use clean, dry hands to massage the zest into the sugar or use the back of a spoon.
- Use right away or cover it and let it sit for 1-24 hours for more intense lemon flavor.
Notes
- You can also zip the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor until combined.
- If the sugar clumps, break it up with a fork before using.
- As the lemon zest dries over time, you can sift it out or leave it in.
- Store lemon sugar in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.
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