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    Home » Recipes » Desserts (No Bake) » Sugar Plums: What Are They & How to Make Them

    LAST UPDATED: September 29, 2021 • FIRST PUBLISHED: December 17, 2018 By Toni Dash 34 Comments

    Sugar Plums: What Are They & How to Make Them

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    This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Sugar Plums title image

    Sugar Plums are easy to make and a great addition to holiday treats. You may be surprised what they REALLY are!

    Sugar Plums title image

    Nutcracker ballet (and now movie) fans will know the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

    And of course, from Clement Clark Moore’s Saint Nicholas Twas The Night Before Christmas….’while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads’.

    But did you ever wonder what a sugar plum is?

    The answer might surprise you AND have you in the kitchen whipping up a batch to celebrate the winter holidays!

    What are Sugar Plums?

    Contrary to the name, Sugar Plums are not sweet plums covered in sugar.

    The Oxford English Dictionary, defines them as a comfit.

    They are a dried fruit, nut and spice mixture pulverized into small balls rolled in coarse sugar.

    Without the sugar they are actually a pretty healthy, dense nutritional snack naturally sweetened by the fruits (think current day ‘energy bites’).

    With the sugar they become a whimsical eye-catching surprise.

    Dried Prune Plums and fresh plums

    What Ingredients are in Sugar Plums?

    The traditional fruits are earthy and the spices palate-catching.

    One might expect the winter traditional spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.

    Instead caraway, fennel and anise, carry the flavors of the sugarplums giving a bold flavor.

    Dried apricots with dried prunes in the background

    For this Sugar Plum recipe I decided to mix it up and use more holiday-traditional fruits:

    Dried cranberries

    Currants

    Dried Cherries

    the customary ‘plums’ (prunes)

    Dried Apricots

    Slivered almonds round out the flavors.

    Decorating or sparkling sugars in opalescent jewel tones were used to coat the sugar plums. Traditional white sanding or decorating sugar may also be used.

    Caraway seeds in a wooden spoon

    Type of Sugar to Use for Coating

    Decorating sugar would be traditional to use to roll the fruit-nut sugar plums in.

    It sparkles but has a finer grain (still larger than granulated sugar but finer than the Sparkling Sugar I used).

    I chose to use Sparkling Sugar instead, loving both the colors and the brilliance of light reflection.

    Sparkling Sugar Plums on a white plate in the snow

    The brand I used and love is India Tree Sparkling Sugars. I’ve used them in other recipes like Gluten-Free King Cake for Mardi Gras.

    The colors are deep in hue and gorgeous and the sparkle is brilliant.

    I’ll share links here for the India Tree Sparkling Sugar colors used on the sugar plums shown here:

    • Electric Blue
    • Hot Pink
    • Star Gold
    • Bright White

    How to Make Sugar Plums

    This no bake confection is always an eye-catching holiday treat. Add it to a cookie platter or serve them on their own. Leave some out for St. Nicholas too!

    STEP 1. Toast the almonds

    In a large skillet, toast the almonds until golden in color and aromatic. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

    STEP 2. Process the ingredients

    Once the almonds cool, combine the almonds, plums/prunes, cherries, apricots, currents and cranberries in a food processor.

    Pulse until the mixture is granular and holding together.

    NOTE: do not allow the mixture to form a ball.

    STEP 3. Toast the spices

    Add the anise seeds, fennel seeds, caraway seeds and ground cardamom into a large dry skillet over medium-high heat. Toast while stirring constantly; 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

    STEP 4. Make the sugar plums

    In a large mixing bowl combine the confectioner’s sugar, spices and salt. Whisk or sift together.

    The fruit-nut mixture and honey to the mixing bowl. With damp hands, mix all the ingredients together.

    Place the decorating/coating sugar or sparkling sugar in a bowl (or multiple bowls if using different colors).

    Scoop a heaping teaspoon of the fruit mixture and roll gently between palms of hands to form a ball.

    Gently roll the ball in the decorative sugar and place on a cooling rack to dry for a few hours.

    NOTE: the sugar plums will be slightly sticky after being rolled.

    Plate of sparkling homemade sugar plums

    How to Store

    Store prepared Sugar Plums between layers of wax paper in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one month.

    Allow them to come to room temperature before serving for best flavor.

    More Holiday Treat Recipes You’ll Love:

    • Pecan Rum Balls (a No Bake recipe)
    • How to Make Divinity (candy)
    • Sugared Cranberries
    • Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes, Tips & Tricks
    • Candy Cane Place Card Holder

    Did you make it? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!

    Please SUBSCRIBE and FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER and PINTEREST!

    Sugar Plums title image

    Sparkling Sugar Plums

    Sugar Plums are actually ground dried fruits, nuts with spices rolled in coarse sugar. A flavorful treat with strong spice flavors unusual to most deep sugary holiday sweets.
    5 from 18 votes
    Print Save Recipe Recipe Saved! Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes
    Servings: 40 Sugar Plums (about 1 inch diameter)
    Calories: 57kcal
    Author: Toni Dash
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 6 ounces Slivered Almonds
    • 4 ounces Dried Plums (prunes)
    • 2 ounces Dried Cherries (sweetened)
    • 2 ounces Turkish Apricots
    • 2 ounces Zante Currants
    • 2 ounces Dried Cranberries (sweetened; with apple juice if available)
    • ¼ cup Confectioner’s Sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon Anise Seeds
    • ¼ teaspoon Fennel Seeds
    • ¼ teaspoon Caraway Seeds
    • ¼ teaspoon Ground Cardamom
    • Pinch Kosher Salt
    • ¼ cup Honey
    • 1 cup Decorating or Sparkling Sugar (may use multiple colors)

    Instructions

    • In a large dry skillet over medium-high heat, toast the almonds, stirring often until they begin to turn golden and aromatic. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
    • Once cool, place the almonds, plums/prunes, cherries, apricots, currants and cranberries in the bowl of a food processor. Plus the mixture until it becomes granular and is holding together. Do not allow the mixture to become a ball by over processing.
    • Place the anise seeds, fennel seeds, caraway seeds and ground cardamom into the large dry skillet. Over medium-high heat allow the spices to lightly toast (1-2 minutes), while stirring constantly. They will become aromatic. Remove from heat.
    • In a large mixing bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, spices and salt. Either sift to combine fully or whisk together.
    • Add the fruit-nut mixture and honey to the mixing bowl. With damp hands, mix all the ingredients together until fully combined.
    • Place the decorating or sparkling sugar(s) in a bowl (or multiple bowls if using different colors). Scoop a heaping teaspoon of the fruit mixture and roll gently between the palms of your hands to form a ball. Gently roll the ball in the coarse sugar and place on a cooling rack to dry for a few hours (the balls will be a bit tacky in texture when first rolled; they are edible then but slightly sticky).

    Nutrition

    Calories: 57kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 0mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.3mg
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @boulderlocavore or tag #boulderlocavore!

    Originally published: December 20, 2013

    « Turkey Roulade with Apple-Cranberry Stuffing in a Bacon Weave
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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    TONI DASH
    Toni Dash head shot

    Toni Dash, is a Certified Nutrition Coach and the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of Boulder Locavore®. She has been developing easy to make, well-tested recipes since 2010. Her seasonal recipes bring excitement to the dining table for both gluten-free and gluten diners. Toni has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for her creative, delicious recipes and travel features. For more details, check out her About page.

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    Comments

    1. Katie says

      September 06, 2021 at 10:47 am

      I don’t care for licorice, so I don’t like anise nor fennel . I do like the ‘pumpkin pie spices’ and mulling spices for wine/cider and chai spices. What other spices might you recommend for sugar plums to remove the licorice flavor? I’d love your thoughts. Thank you very much!

      Reply
      • Toni Dash says

        September 07, 2021 at 6:52 pm

        Hi Katie. Unfortunately I wouldn’t have suggestions of how to alter the recipe and keep it an authentic sugar plum recipe.

        Reply
    2. Krystel | Travel on a Budget says

      December 18, 2018 at 4:32 pm

      I had no idea this is what sugar plums really were. Probably too much for me to make at my current cooking level but I would love to try

      Reply
    3. Rachel says

      December 18, 2018 at 10:59 am

      I had no idea what a sugar plum was. It looks really pretty.

      Reply
    4. Jennifer H says

      December 18, 2018 at 8:29 am

      How creative and adorable! These turned out great!

      Reply
    5. Cathy Mini says

      December 18, 2018 at 7:47 am

      5 stars
      This Sugar plum recipes looks so good. I really want to make some on holidays! Thanks for sharing it.

      Reply
    6. Jennifer says

      December 18, 2018 at 6:28 am

      I never really knew what a sugarplum was until now. This recipe looks so awesome! Now I want to make some

      Reply
    7. Heather says

      December 18, 2018 at 2:07 am

      5 stars
      I’d love to make these with my daughters. They’ve heard about them in songs but definitely have never tasted or seen them. Super fun for the holidays!

      Reply
    8. Catalina says

      December 18, 2018 at 12:39 am

      5 stars
      This is such a festive treat! Dried fruit, nut and spice mixture all together sounds so tasty! They are so cute too!

      Reply
    9. Constance Farris says

      December 17, 2018 at 10:59 pm

      Well your recipe is certainly better than the one I found and tried several years ago. It called for fresh sugar plums (a variety of plum), that were halved and seeded, then cooked in an extra heavy simple syrup. You then let them “cure” for a few weeks until Christmas time. They were horrible!

      Not being much a fan of anise, fennel, cardamom or caraway, I’d probably stick with the more traditional cinnamon, cloves, etc., but these sound tasty. I’m not leaving a rating as I haven’t made them, but thanks!

      Reply
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    About Toni Dash

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    Welcome! I’m Toni. I’m a Certified Nutrition Coach and my goal is to MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER with delicious, well-tested recipes and travel tips! More About Me …

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