How to Make Maple Sugar

Finished powdered maple sugar in a glass jar

You can turn maple syrup into sugar at home with just one ingredient! It's so much easier than you'd think! And once you have it, you can use homemade maple sugar as a replacement for white sugar, brown sugar, or even powdered sugar in almost any recipe! Get the full substitution information below!

Course Condiment, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Homemade Maple Sugar, How to Make Maple Sugar, Maple SUgar, Powdered Maple Sugar

Cook Time 15

Total Time 15

Servings tsps (2 cups)

Calories 18kcal

Cost $6

Ingredients

2 cups maple syrup
1-2 tbsp arrowroot powder (for powdered sugar only)

Instructions

In a large, heavy bottom sauce pan or pot (at least 3 times larger than the amount of syrup you are cooking), pour the maple syrup and turn onto medium-high heat.
DO NOT STIR as this can cause crystals to form and will hinder the sugar making process.
Bring to a boil and monitor the temperature until it reaches 255°F (124°C)
Note: If the temperature on the gauge doesn't move any more once it gets to a certain point, bump the setting up on your stove and monitor closely.
Remove syrup from heat and in the bowl of an electric mixer (or by hand, if needed) start the paddle attachment at low speed and pour the hot syrup into the bowl.
Be careful to have the speed low enough that the hot syrup doesn't splash. It is basically lava and can burn you!
Beat on low-medium speed, raising the speed as much as you can without causing any splashing. Continue to mix until the syrup completely turns to powder.
Scrape maple sugar onto a parchment lined tray and allow to fully cool. There will be a lot stuck to the sides of the bowl. I have found that using a wooden spoon really helps get the vast majority of it out of the bowl.
You can use the sugar at this point as a white or brown sugar replacement in any recipe! Store in an air tight container for up to a month at room temperature, or for up to 3 months in the refrigerator.

How to Make Powdered Maple Sugar

Take the maple sugar created above and pour it into a food processor. Process on high for about 3-5 minutes.
NOTE: You want to maple sugar to be completely cool before starting this process, so you don't have large chunks of hot sugar sticking together.
In a fine mess sieve, sift the powdered sugar from the larger granules. We set the granules aside and use them in place of white or brown sugar.
For each cup of powdered maple sugar, add 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder and mix well. This will keep the sugar from caking, and will help with the thickening process when baking with the powdered maple sugar.

Notes

How to Substitute Maple Sugar in Recipes

One of the best things about homemade maple sugar is how easy it is to swap into your existing recipes! Here’s a quick rundown of exactly how to substitute in various situations!

Replacing white sugar – Use 3/4 cup maple sugar for every 1 cup of white sugar called for in a recipe.
Replacing brown sugar – Use maple sugar 1:1. The natural caramel notes in maple sugar make it an especially delicious swap here!
Replacing powdered sugar – Use powdered maple sugar (see instructions above) 1:1 in frostings, glazes, and royal icing.
Maple syrup to maple sugar conversion – Since the yield is nearly identical, 1 cup of maple syrup will give you approximately 1 cup of maple sugar. So if a recipe calls for 1 cup of maple sugar and you only have syrup on hand, just process 1 cup of syrup! Note that you may need to adjust the liquid measurement of other liquids in the recipe to account for the lack of liquid from maple syrup!

Maple Sugar FAQs

Over the years, we have gotten many questions on the process of making your own sugar from maple syrup. Here are the most frequently asked questions and their answers!

How Much Sugar will 1 Cup of Maple Syrup Yield?

We have found that the yield is just about identical to the starting amount. So, if you need 2 cups of maple sugar, you would process 2 cups of maple syrup.

This can vary slightly if you end up boiling more of the water away than normal, which is why a candy thermometer is so helpful!

Can I use Maple Sugar for Canning?

While I haven’t broken into this topic yet myself (YET), my friend Michelle Visser is “the maple queen” and she has a recipe for canning pears in maple syrup you might enjoy!

How Should I Store Maple Sugar?

Unlike honey, maple syrup is not shelf-stable for long periods of time. It will mold eventually (ask me how I know!).

So, if you want to store maple sugar at room temperature, be sure to store it in an air-tight container, with an oxygen absorber, and a moisture absorber. Or you can store it in the fridge or freezer.

If you store it in a cold environment, you may find that it reabsorbs a bit of moisture. That’s likely going to be fine for any recipe you need it for, however, if you want to dry it out, just pop it in the dehydrator at 135°F or in the oven on the lowest setting until it’s dry again.

Nutrition