Sugared Rosemary

Sugared rosemary adds a frosted, wintry finishing touch to desserts, drinks, and seasonal dishes. With a crunchy texture and sweet herbal flavor, this easy recipe makes a pretty garnish for winter cakes, Christmas bakes, and more.

What is Sugared Rosemary?

My sugared rosemary recipe offers a simple way to dress up seasonal recipes with a frosted, wintry look. To make it, I’ve simmered sprigs of fresh rosemary in simple syrup, then tossed them in granulated sugar. Once dry, these sugar-coated sprigs make a versatile garnish for everything from cakes and tarts to holiday cocktails and festive cheese boards.

This recipe is similar to my sugared cranberries recipe, and the finished product can be used in similar ways. (I particularly love adding a few sprigs to holiday dishes, like these miniature Christmas puddings.) I recently made a batch of sugared rosemary to garnish a chocolate pinecone recipe I developed and photographed for Vitacost.com.

As a bonus, you can save the rosemary-infused syrup and repurpose it for cocktails, so it’s almost like two recipes in one!

Ingredients for Making Frosted Rosemary Sprigs

To make candied rosemary, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Rosemary – Start with about 15 sprigs of fresh rosemary, each roughly six inches in length. (If you have a very productive rosemary plant, this is a great way to use the cuttings!)
• Granulated Sugar – While I often use caster sugar for baking, it doesn’t work well for making sugared rosemary. Granulated sugar’s larger crystals are better-suited for coating the sprigs to make the signature “frosted” look.
• Water – You’ll start by simmering the rosemary in a syrup made by dissolving granulated sugar in water.

How To Make Sugared Rosemary

Making this sugared rosemary recipe is pretty straightforward, with no fancy tools or kitchen skills required. (Do pack your patience, however, since you’ll need to allow at least 4-6 hours for the sprigs to dry before they’re ready to use!)

First, steep the fresh rosemary in a homemade sugar syrup. This step adheres the sugar to the herbs, infusing them with sweetness. After steeping, rest the sprigs at room temperature for an hour or so, then toss in a bowl of granulated sugar. Finally, arrange the coated sprigs on a tray and set aside. As they dry, the sugar will set, crystallising to create the rosemary’s crunchy texture and signature “snowy” appearance.

While this process does require some resting and drying time, the hands-on effort is minimal. The end result? A versatile garnish ideal for decorating desserts, drinks, and more.

How To Use Sugared Rosemary

You can use your sugared rosemary sprigs to:

• Cakes and Tarts – Garnish a yule log, cranberry curd tart, pumpkin pie, or a batch of brie and cranberry brownies.
• Photography – I recently added sprigs of homemade rosemary to a shoot I styled for Vitacost.com. It looks so pretty and sparkly, even in photographs!

• Christmas Puddings – One of my favorite ways to use sugared rosemary is to garnish a Christmas pudding.
• Cheese Boards – Garnish a holiday cheese platter, or use the sprigs to accompany baked brie.
• Drinks – Sugared rosemary works great for garnishing hot chocolate, mulled wine, or festive mixed drinks.

Tips and Tricks

Save the syrup. As I mentioned above, you’ll start by simmering the sprigs in a sugar syrup. However, you won’t need the actual syrup for this recipe. After straining out the whole herbs, reserve the rosemary-infused simple syrup and use it for cocktails, like this rosemary bourbon cocktail with lemon, or a rosemary gin fizz.

Grab a strainer. This recipe does not require much in the way of fancy tools, but you will need a fine mesh strainer to separate the rosemary from the syrup.

Don’t crowd the sprigs. While drying, spread the sprigs as far apart as possible—the more space in between, the faster they’ll dry. I also recommend turning each sprig periodically to make sure they dry on all sides. If you’ve lined your tray with parchment you might also want to swap it out for a fresh sheet halfway through.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Make the rosemary the day before you plan to use it. Drying time can vary (you’ll need at least 4-6 hours, but I prefer to let mine dry overnight) so waiting until day-of might cut things a bit close. However, I don’t recommend preparing sugared rosemary too far in advance, as it will start to lose its sparkle after a couple of days.

Other garnish recipes you might enjoy:

Sugared Cranberries
Dried Citrus Peels

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

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