Save apple peels and use them to make this truly delightful sprinkle! This sugar is perfect on buttered toast or rimming a cocktail glass - it tastes just like apple pie!
I have always regarded apple peels as beautiful, sweet smelling, and a shame to neglect. I’m a self-proclaimed food preservationist, and wasting food bothers me. I often experiment with ways to use the bits of food that may end up as compost— or worse, landfill, which is the case with the under-utilized apple peels.
After a few unsuccessful endeavors, I came up with Apple Pie Sugar. The peels hold a good amount of apple flavor, and mixing them with your favorite warming spices and some sugar makes a jar of pie-flavored crystals. Use your Apple Pie Sugar to top cookies and pastries, roll donuts in, or rim a sweet cocktail glass. You can also reunite the peels with their cores and sprinkle it on applesauce.
If you’re like me, you will also enjoy surprising people by giving them a spoonful and asking them to taste it—watching people’s faces light up as they find their memory of sweet apple pie makes the experience as much a joy for me as it is for them.
Yeilds about one 8oz jar
peels from 6 apples
2⁄3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon allspice
1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
1⁄4 teaspoon dried ginger
pinch of salt
- In a dehydrator or a low oven, dry apple peels until crispy.
- Using a spice grinder or food processor, grind the dried peels until very fine.
- Mix peels with remaining ingredients and store in a cool, dry place.
TIP:
Use apple pie sugar to top your favorite sweet treat. Enjoy.
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