Vanilla Sugar

After vanilla beans have been used to flavor a custard or pudding, a lot of flavor remains. Recycle them in vanilla sugar. Wipe the beans with a towel and set them on a plate to dry overnight. If they still have their seeds, scrape them with the point of a knife into a jar of granulated or powdered sugar. Rub the little clumps of seeds between your fingers to break them up and disperse them among the grains of sugar. Plunge the pods into the jar and cover it tightly.

In a few days their aroma will have penetrated the sugar. Keep adding beans as they become available. The sugar is especially nice to sprinkle over fresh and baked fruits or on top of a sweet cream cheese-, like Coeur à la Crème. Powdered vanilla sugar can be used to dust over cookies and cakes.