Fire up your printers for these tips.
To Color Sugar: Put about 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl and add food coloring, 1 drop at a time. Mix thoroughly after each addition. Be sure not to overcolor your sugar.
To Make Vanilla Sugar: Place 1 pour of sugar in a canister with an airtight lid and push 2 vanilla beans deep down into the sugar. Cover and let stand at least 1 week before using. Replenish sugar as needed and add a fresh vanilla bean every 6 months. You can use vanilla sugar wherever vanilla extract is called for in making candies, cookies, custards, souffles and sauces. You would use 1 tbsp vanilla sugar for each 1/4 tsp of vanilla and decrease the recipe’s total quantity of sugar accordingly. If the recipe called to 2 cups of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla you would use 4 tbsps of vanilla sugar and 1 3/4 cups of sugar.
To Toast Grated Coconut: Spread coconut out in an ungreased shallow baking pan and toast uncovered, stirring often, 30 to 40 minutes at 300 degrees until golden.
To Color Grated Coconut: Dip a toothpick in food color and stir through the coconut and then rub with your fingers to distribute. Repeat until color is the intensity you want.
