Recipe: Lilac Sugar from Foraged Flowers

I had so much fun making this lilac sugar, although it's not actually sugar! In the midst of these often stressful times I have been finding solace in the kitchen. I feel the best when I can make time every day to be creative with food -- try new recipes or conceive my own.

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Seeing everyone's photos of seasonal lilacs filled me with inspiration. I was determined to find a source of lilacs that was pesticide-free, since I have a feeling most commercially sold flowers are grown with pesticides not intended for human consumption.

Using the Nextdoor app, I was able to find a kind neighbor willing to share her lilacs. Also, check out this closeup photo of a 9-petaled lilac flower I found on one of the lilac clusters! It was the only one like it in the hundreds of flowers I plucked. Lilac flowers usually have four petals. Have you ever seen one like this?! I thought it was so cool.

The first thing I made was this amazing lilac "sugar" using Lakanto monkfruit sweetener, which is a blend of non-GMO erythritol and monk fruit, so it has zero calories, doesn't kick you out of ketosis (if you're in it), and doesn't spike blood glucose.

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Most recipes for lilac sugar infuse the sugar and the flowers are discarded. The flavor of lilacs can be subtle, yet the entire lilac flower is edible, so I wanted to try blending whole flowers with the sugar.

What I ended up with was a delightfully bright, floral flavor, with notes of "green." The flavor is quintessentially spring!

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I used a few drops of some beet water I had saved after steaming some beets, which gave the lilac sugar a bit more color than using lilacs alone. The recipe below is super easy. If you have lilacs growing in your yard, I encourage you to try this!

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💜Lilac Sugar Recipe💜

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Ingredients:

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1 cup lilac flowers

1 cup sugar or dry sweetener of your choice (I used Lakanto)

5-7 drops beet water (optional)

Directions

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until combined. Store in an airtight container in the freezer to preserve freshness. Lilac sugar can be used in baked goods or to sweeten smoothies and other beverages. Enjoy!