Quick and easy homemade sugar plums recipe! This Christmas classic is made with dried plums, warming spices, a bit of orange, and a coating of sugar. Everyone will love these!
Disclaimer: this sugar plums recipe is sponsored by Fruit Bliss. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Rhubarbarians!
Happy Holiday, Rhubarbarians! I am so so excited to share this sugar plums recipe with you today!
Sugar plums are so beautifully reminiscent of the holiday season. The poems, the songs, the dances, the ballets, the fairy, all of the festive imaginings that come to mind when you hear the phrase. It makes you feel pretty warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?
Can you imagine the look of surprise and delight on a loved one's face when you gift them some sugar plums? My guess is.... they have never tried one. Somehow, so many people haven't!
What is a sugar plum?
I know we've all heard sugar plums mentioned in Christmas songs, poems, and there's even a fairy named after them in the Nutcracker. But, what IS a sugar plum?
I went all of my childhood and most of my adult life not knowing. I always assumed it was just one of those "old fashioned" things like figgy pudding or fruit cake. And well... it most definitely is old fashioned.
If you look it up in the dictionary, a sugar plum is described as a hard candy that is made of boiled sugar. There aren't any plums in it at all. Those 'visions of sugar plums' that children saw dancing in their heads in the classic Christmas poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, were most certainly these candies that children enjoyed in the 17th & 18th centuries.
The vision of a sugar plum has changed over the last few centuries. I came across some sites that define a sugar plum as a confit coated in hardened sugar. This sugar plums recipe is a more modern version of the confit, coated in conventional sugar.
These may not be the original recipe for sugar plums, which were not made of plums, but they are more than worthy of the title. They are made with plums, warming spices that make you think of Christmas, pecans, and a coating of, of course, sugar.
Fruit Bliss organic french plums
For these Christmas sugar plums, I used Fruit Bliss french plums. The dried french plums are super soft & juicy, so they are perfect for blending with nuts and seasonings to create sugar plums. They are SO juicy, that you don't have to add anything like coconut oil or maple syrup to hold these together. The plums are nice and sticky on their own.
Fruit Bliss products are all organic, non-gmo, preservative free, and chemical free. They don't add any sweetener to their products either, just a bit of water to give you plump and juicy dried fruits. No more tough and chewy dried fruit!
I made some 'crispy-edge-in-every-bite' stuffing muffins with Fruit Bliss tart cherries before Thanksgiving and they were UH-MAZING! If you're looking for more recipes you can make with Fruit Bliss dried plums, I recommend the Fruit Bliss french toast or plum and pistachio coconut bliss balls.
You can purchase Fruit Bliss products here.
How to make sugar plums
This sugar plums recipe is incredibly easy! Start by combining your sugar plum ingredients in a food processor. You'll want to pulse your food processor until everything is combined, but not overworked. You don't want a paste, but you want everything to stick together.
You'll need to line a large plate or a baking sheet with parchment paper. This will keep the sugar plum mixture from sticking. Using a large spoon or a small cookie dough scoop, spoon out 13 1" balls and place them on the parchment paper so they aren't touching each other. No need to worry about the shape quite yet. Place them in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Next up, place your sugar in a shallow dish, making it deep enough to roll your sugar plums in. Take one of the spoonfuls of your mixture and quickly roll it into a ball with the palms of your hands, being careful to move quickly as you don't want to warm it up too much. Roll it in sugar and return it to the parchment paper. Repeat until all of the spoonfuls become sugar plums.
Repeat if necessary.
What type of sugar to use
One thing to consider when making sugar plums is the type of sugar you'd like to use. This all depends on the presentation you'd like to achieve.
- Granulated sugar: this is very fine sugar that will coat every bit of sugar plum surface easily. This will give you the perfect sweetness level and texture, however, it does dissolve quickly.
- Coarse sugar: the larger crystals from coarse sugar will coat the sugar plums evenly and give them that wonderful sparkle. The crystals can be crunchy and won't dissolve into the sugar plum, but oh so gorgeous.
- Sanding sugar: the medium sized crystals and rainbow color options make the most beautiful, sparkly sugar plums! The crystals can be crunchy, but not as crunchy as coarse sugar. You can usually find sanding sugar in the baking aisle of your grocery store near the sprinkles.
If you're making sugar plums as gifts or with children as a fun holiday treat, we recommend sanding sugar! Look for sanding sugar in the baking aisle near the sprinkles at your grocery store.
If you're making sugar plums for yourself to enjoy the taste, we recommend granulated sugar.
If you can't find sanding sugar, coarse sugar is a great option! Or you can buy a pack of colorful sanding sugar on Amazon here.
Recipe tips and variations
I don't know about you, but I just feel like sugar plums should be made of um..... plums. Right?
I keep mine very simple, with just plums, pecans, a few spices, some vanilla, and some dried orange peel. But, you can easily add your own favorite ingredients to these to make them perfect for you own family recipe tradition. Add some almonds or hazelnuts, toss in some ground ginger, add some freshly grated nutmeg, maybe some dried apple. YOU DO YOU!
I made a few of these coated in cinnamon AND sugar and they were basically the most delicious things ever. Give that a try!
How to make sugar plums as a holiday gift
Sugar plums would make the perfect, thoughtful, festive, holiday foodie gift. They are really quick easy to make in large batches and taste amazing.
Sugar plums are very soft and don't travel well, so here are some tips to make sure they stay beautiful:
- Think about your sugar: you'll want to use raw sugar if you're giving these as a gift. Granulated sugar is perfect for getting the perfect coat, but it dissolves and won't look as pretty.
- Keep them cold: keep these in the freezer until you are ready to gift. You may even need to give them one last roll in sugar at the last minute.
- Make them pretty: remember that these are brown balls. LOL! Some white parchment paper, colorful cellophane, or Christmas ribbon will go a long way!
- It's a good idea to place these in mini-muffin paper so they don't stick together.
- Continue to keep them cold: make sure the person you are gifting them to knows to keep them in the fridge.
Recipe
Easy homemade sugar plums recipe
Ingredients
- 10 oz Fruit Bliss French Plums (2 5oz packs) About 2 ½ cups
- ½ cup pecans (toasted, optional)
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon finely cut dried orange peel
- ¾ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ¼-1/2 cup granulated sugar or raw sugar
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the sugar. Pulse until everything is combined, but not completely pureed.
- Spread a piece of parchment paper over a plate or baking sheet and spoon 13 1" spoonfuls onto the parchment. Like you would with cookies. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Place the sugar onto a shallow dish so that you can roll the balls into the sugar to coat them. Roll a ball with the palms of your hands and then roll it in the sugar with your finger tips. Repeat with all the spoonfuls. You want these to stay cold, so try not to over roll them. They should conform to a ball easily. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Thank you to Fruit Bliss for sponsoring this post!
I hope you’ll give these sugar plums a try! Snap a pic and give me a shout on social media #Rhubarbarians!
Trish
P.S. Want to see what I’m cooking up this week? Check out my Instagram stories! And don’t forget to join my FaceBook community of vegetarian cooks!
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Marisa Franca
I love the whole idea of making sugar plums. My gosh I've heard the name but never have come across an actual recipe. I mean this recipe is definitely Christmas. I'm saving to make next year. I'll be on the lookout for those French Plums. I can hear the Sugar Plum Fairy song in my head right now.
Patricia Bozeman
They are the perfect treat for Christmas! Let me know how it goes when you make them. 🙂
Sean@Diversivore
I didn't know (though I'm not surprised) that the original sugar plums were just a sugary candy. I think I always pictured something much more like these. And given the choice, I'd definitely pick these! Visions of them can dance in my head any time - though they'll probably be more like ghosts given how quickly they're likely to disappear. Cheers, and Merry Christmas!
Patricia Bozeman
Hahaha! So strange that they called hard candy sugar plums. ??♀️I'm making a triple batch this weekend because they were gone before I could give any away this year. Luckily, they are pretty easy. Cheers and Merry Christmas to you too!
Sues
Oh, how perfect!! I think I only really knew original sugar plums were candy because my The Night Before Christmas book had pictures of them LOL. But I like this version of sugar plums way better... Such a fun idea for the holidays!!
Patricia Bozeman
Thank you, Sue!
Dana
I love plums! Especially dried. I need to look for this brand. You know, I've never even *seen* actual sugar plums—I've only ever heard about them in Christmas stories! Ha! But they look just as delicious as I'd imagined. Now I need to make them. Love how easy they are!
Patricia Bozeman
You should definitely try out Fruit Bliss! It's the best! You know, I had never seen a REAL sugar plum either before I made my own. WHYYYY? So strange.
Stef
It's so crazy to me that sugar plums are referenced so often during the holiday season and no one eats them! I am excited to try this!! Also, I love when dried fruit isn't overly dried out. The plums sound great!
Patricia Bozeman
Right? Why don't people make sugar plums? LOL! And Fruit Bliss plums are the best!
Traci
Gorgeous recipe...perfect for the holidays! First, I love the name, because my mom used to call me sugarplum as a kid. How adorable is that?! I absolutely love the ingredients in this recipe...and I happen to have them all available, most of the time. Of course, I need to get my hands on the fruit bliss plums. Done and done...thanks for the recipe 🙂
Patricia Bozeman
Aww that is so cute that your mom called you sugar plum! Let me know if you try these out!
Debra
I had never really given that expression much thought....but of course sugar plums should have plums as an ingredient. Thanks for clearing that up and for the great resource. Such a special treat for the holidays.
Patricia Bozeman
Hahaha. Yeah, I was surprised that some sugar plums aren't actually made with plum. Hmmm.....
Carmy
I'm in love with your photos of your sugar plums! They're so pretty. I can't believe I've never tried this before and I need to eat it ASAP. I need to find that Fruit Bliss French Plums in my local shops.
Patricia Bozeman
Thanks, Carmy! You should definitely try these out, they are GREAT! 🙂
Tracy
Eek! I'm so embarrassed to admit - I've never had a sugar plum! I only knew them from those songs! How have I missed out on them for >ahem< many years! 😉 Sending my husband to the store now to get some French plums!!
Patricia Bozeman
Don't be embarrassed! I don't think many people have. I don't think a lot of people are even really sure what a sugar plum is, LOL! Be sure to let me know if you make these!
Mackenzie
I've always wanted to make sugar plums, but in my head I've always pictured them as being too complicated. My daughter has really gotten into the Nutcracker, and I would love to do these with her and have her give them as a gift from her (The sugar plum fairy). Thank you for the tips on giving these the gifts (especially that raw sugar tip!) It will make it so much better!
Patricia Bozeman
That would be so cute if your daughter gave these out as the sugar plum fairy! Let me know if she does, I'd love to hear how it went. 🙂
Lisa
You're right, the idea of fruit plums conjures so many idyllic scenarios, but I've never actually had them before. However, I do have these Fruit Bliss French Plums in my pantry right now! Coincidence? I think not. I'm going to put them to good use with your recipe... By the way, your photos are beautiful!
Patricia Bozeman
Yay! You will love these, Lisa! Thank you! Remember to give me a tag or a shout on social when you make them. 🙂
Gloria
WOW...I have never tried this before. What a great treat for the holidays. Just made by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Perfect addition to the sweet trays at the holiday parties. I would love one right now with my coffee.
Patricia Bozeman
Isn't it crazy that we didn't grow up eating these?