Vanilla Bean Sugar Cubes

Ingredients:
3 cups of white sugar
4 Madagascar vanilla beans
1/4 cup pure Madagascar vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Cut 4 vanilla beans into 1/2 inch pieces and grind to a coarse powder in a coffee grinder. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, beans and extract until thoroughly combined (when the extract is completely incorporated the mixture will look a bit like dough).

Pour the sugar mixture into a 8 x 8 pan, spread out evenly to a 1/2 inch thickness and press it down lightly. Next, use a knife to score out 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch cubes by running the knife the length of the pan every 1/2 inch and the width of the pan every 1/2 inch. Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, carefully flip the pan over onto a bigger cookie sheet to remove the sugar. Gently break into cubes along the scored lines. To “round” the edges of the cubes gently pour them into a big pot with a cover and lightly shake. Check and repeat if necessary. Next pour the cubes from the pot and into a small holed colander or sifter to gather the cubes and sift off any sugar particles that can be reserved as granulated vanilla bean sugar!

Yields: 256 sugar cubes

Thanks to: Janet Johnston, Savory Spice Shop founder and host of Food Network's Spice & Easy.