Recipes other than icing that use lots of powdered sugar?
March 21, 2017 11:08 AM   Subscribe

Uncovered a bag of powdered sugar that I'd like to quickly use up. Hoping for something more original and/or less tedious than icing a few hundred sugar cookies. I have a candy thermometer but I do not have a marble board. Thanks!
posted by certs to Food & Drink (29 answers total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
Do you like hot cocoa, or know someone who does? This recipe for homemade hot cocoa mix uses 2 cups of powdered sugar at a time.
posted by dywypi at 11:10 AM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


My grandmother's Lemon Squares recipe uses powdered sugar in the crust and dusted on top. The recipe is a family fave! I don't have it to hand but this recipe looks eerily familiar.
posted by DoubleLune at 11:11 AM on March 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


My recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares calls for powdered sugar:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares
Mix the following ingredients together until the sugar is all absorbed. (If needed, you can add a few drops of water to the mixture, but not too much, you want it to be "doughy").

1lb box of confectioners sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 of an average size jar of peanut butter(smooth variety)
1 stick butter (softened or melted)

Press the mixture onto an average sized cookie sheet. Use a rolling pin to flatten it evenly.

In a double boiler, melt 1/2 a stick of butter and a package of semi-sweet chocolate chips. You want the butter and chocolate chip mixture to be completely melted and to have a pourable consistency.(Again, you can add a few drops of water to thin it a little if needed.) Pour the mixture on top of the peanut butter "dough" and quickly spread it evenly over it.

Put the cookie sheet into the fridge until the chocolate top is solid and then slice into squares. They can be stored in the fridge or the freezer. Makes about two dozen squares.
posted by Hanuman1960 at 11:12 AM on March 21, 2017 [10 favorites]


These double dark chocolate shortbread cookies have powdered sugar in them. Only a quarter cup, but they're so good and so easy you might want to make multiple batches. You can try them with regular cocoa and chocolate chips, too. Or try the peanut butter chocolate chip shortbread cookies on the same site.
posted by Redstart at 11:23 AM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


I love this quick microwave fudge that uses 1 lb of powdered sugar.
posted by songs about trains at 11:23 AM on March 21, 2017 [3 favorites]


DIY Nutella
posted by General Malaise at 11:24 AM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


You should be able to use it in any sweetened drink; it dissolves at least as easily as regular sugar. Hot chocolate, as mentioned above, lemonade, sweet tea, etc.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 11:31 AM on March 21, 2017


just whip it into a paste with butter and eat it right out of the bowl

I meant that as a joke originally but then I knew it to be profoundly true as soon as I thought about it for even a second
posted by terretu at 11:32 AM on March 21, 2017 [18 favorites]


puppy chow/muddy buddies
posted by Ms Vegetable at 11:36 AM on March 21, 2017 [12 favorites]


Mexican wedding cakes, which are actually very rich cookies, will use up 2 cups of xxxx sugar.

Also, this recipe for butter mints calls for 4 cups of xxxx sugar.
posted by she's not there at 11:36 AM on March 21, 2017 [5 favorites]


These tahini shortbread cookies don't use a ton (3/4 c), but they are extremely delicious.
posted by dizziest at 11:47 AM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


Any recipe that uses a liquid fat (oil, melted butter, etc.) is fine to substitute powdered sugar for regular sugar. You'll have to do it by weight rather than by volume (powdered sugar is a lot less dense), but the only difference between the two is that granulated sugar is useful for carving lots of little holes into your (solid) butter when you mix them together, which then get filled and expanded by leavening agents. So, off the top of my head, any olive oil cake, brownie, or shortbread-y cookie should be eligible for the confectioner's sugar treatment.
posted by Mayor West at 11:52 AM on March 21, 2017 [3 favorites]


If you're not from the St Louis area, you've probably never had Gooey Butter Cake, but brace yourself, because this is going to be life-changing:

Ingredients
1⁄2 cup butter (none of that fake-ass stuff, use real butter)
18 ounces yellow cake mix (one box)
3 eggs
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Grease a cake pan. Now some people go rectangular (9x13) which will taste fine, and I guess circular would work, but we're going for authenticity here, and to me that'll always mean 10-inch square.
- Melt the butter in the microwave
- Mix it with the cake mix and ONE egg, then press it in to line the pan. This is your crust. It is merely a vessel for the gooey goodness that is the main event.
- Mix the cream cheese, vanilla, and remaining two eggs together, then slowly add in the powdered sugar while mixing
    - About 1/4 of the way through, you'll think "woah, that's a lot of sugar". Keep going.
    - About 1/2 of the way through, you'll thing "wow, did I read that recipe right?" Keep going.
    - When you get all the sugar in, and it's no longer lumpy, it's ready.
- Pour it over the cake crust in your pan, using a spatula to get every last drop out of the bowl.
- Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until golden brown on top. Your usual "stick a toothpick in" method will be useless here. The middle is still going to be gooey - that's the whole point!
- Let it cool completely - gotta let everything set.
- Sprinkle just a touch of extra powdered sugar on top because you're classy like that.

Serve it up, and bask in the admiration of your peers: "Oooh - it's from St Louis? How exotic!" "You're so worldy, and damn, is this cake good!"
posted by chrisamiller at 11:53 AM on March 21, 2017 [28 favorites]


Buttermints!
posted by aimedwander at 12:03 PM on March 21, 2017 [3 favorites]


cake frosting

fudge

chocolate log roll cake

angel rood cake

whipped cream
posted by amtho at 12:12 PM on March 21, 2017


Peppermint Patties!
posted by damayanti at 12:12 PM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


(look i know this is noise but I'm pregnant and craving sweets and this thread basically is making me cry with joy. I am making all of these things - or at least as many as i can eat until my next set of cravings. Adding powdered sugar to shopping list now)
posted by brainmouse at 12:19 PM on March 21, 2017 [6 favorites]


Fruit dip

1 regular size tub cool whip, thawed
1 8 oz cream cheese
a bunch of your powdered sugar - like a cup and a half. sorry to be vague but i eyeball it.

Beat together until smooth and completely combined. i used a mixer. dip any fruit you like in it.
or dip your fingers in it. it is pretty tasty
posted by domino at 12:24 PM on March 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


I make these cookies pretty often and they are always a HUGE hit - Chocolate Cayenne Crinkles
posted by silverstatue at 12:46 PM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]


Mashed potato candy! But beware, you can't really rely on exact amounts of sugar to add, you just have to watch for when the consistency/stiffness is right to be able to roll it out.
posted by dilettante at 1:09 PM on March 21, 2017 [1 favorite]


Cream cheese frosting can be applied to cinnamon rolls and carrot cake, if you like variations on icing substrate.
posted by crazycanuck at 2:07 PM on March 21, 2017


Powdered sugar is also the main ingredient in filling for whoopie pies
posted by Mchelly at 2:18 PM on March 21, 2017


Use it in place of granulated sugar for whatever, but measure it by weight rather than by volume.
posted by gregr at 2:34 PM on March 21, 2017


These were always my mother's favorites. They're kind of a cross between meringues and macarons. And chocolate!

Bryn Mawr Cookies

3c firmly packed confectioner's sugar (about 1 pound)
7T cocoa
2T flour
4 egg whites
2c finely chopped pecans (optional; I always leave them out and so did Mom)

Combine sugar, cocoa, and flour. Then add egg whites. Mix, then beat with electric mixer on high speed for one minute. Drop spoonsful of dough about two inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Cool on the parchment paper, then peel off.
posted by DrGail at 2:41 PM on March 21, 2017 [3 favorites]


just whip it into a paste with butter and eat it right out of the bowl

If some brandy were to fall into that bowl while you were mixing it you would have some righteous brandy butter. Why not have Christmas now?
posted by Kafkaesque at 3:37 PM on March 21, 2017 [3 favorites]


It's been years since I've made it, but I recall marshmallow fondant using a lot of powdered sugar (and not much else--it's basically a dough made of melted marshmallows and sugar). I think you may be able to freeze it, too.
posted by spelunkingplato at 4:01 PM on March 21, 2017


Make some beignets and just build a freaking Mt Everest of powdered sugar on top like they do in New Orleans
posted by exceptinsects at 4:37 PM on March 22, 2017


You could whip up some post St. Patrick's Day Irish potato candy.
posted by gennessee at 5:04 AM on March 23, 2017


While you're cooking, why not drink a little?

a classic/on the rocks margarita uses it:
.5-.75 oz lime juice
1 oz triple sec
1.5 oz tequila
1-2 tsp. powdered sugar to taste

stir until the sugar is dissolved, choke the glass with ice and serve

If you're serving a crowd on Cinco de Mayo and need a pitcher's worth, the ratio is more or less 1:2:3 or 1:3:3 (lime juice : triple sec : tequila)
posted by dlwr300 at 10:50 AM on March 23, 2017


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