Have you ever started a recipe, only to learn an ingredient was missing? I know friend, I feel your pain! It happened to me the other day when our kiddos and I made a cake, only to realize late in the process we were out of powdered sugar (the quintessential pantry staple necessary for icing cakes). What?? Have no fear, perhaps you will be comforted to know that you can make homemade powdered sugar in a pinch.

With being confined to home, we as a family are doing more baking together, and not having all the ingredients when I needed them is a significant buzz-kill, especially during this pandemic, and especially when you have bored teens at home looking to make things.

The thought of going to the grocery store during these uncertain times for one ingredient, in my opinion, is an unnecessary risk I was not willing to take.

Luckily there is the internet;) You can pretty much find the answer to most questions, and it blew me away when I researched "how to make powdered sugar." It had never occurred to me to make powdered sugar from scratch, as I always had this pantry staple on hand. But, with a blender or food processor, any granulated sugar you have on hand (white, raw, coconut, etc.), and cornstarch (or arrowroot, etc.), you can turn granulated sugar into a silky, powdered pantry staple in minutes. I prefer to add cornstarch to keep the powdered sugar from caking or clumping together, but you can omit altogether, as long as you sift before using.

So, let's get started!

1 cup granulated sugar or half the amount of granulated sugar you need for your recipe.
For each 1 cup of sugar, add 1 teaspoon (tsp) of cornstarch (to prevent caking or clumping, or omit altogether).
Add the sugar and cornstarch to a blender or food processor, cover the lid with a towel (to contain the fine dust) and pulse until the sugar has obtained a powdery texture.
Allow the powdered sugar to settle a bit before removing the lid.
Use powdered sugar immediately for your favorite sweet indulgence, or store in an air-tight container for later use.

That's it!