Primitive Sugar Cones Recipe

There are lots of Primitive Recipes around in bloggy land for making Primitive Sugar Cones. A lot of them involve cooking the sugar with water in a pot, and well, I'm just too lazy for that. So I checked out a bunch of no-cook recipes and combined some into my own new recipe that I thought I'd share.

This recipe will usually make 2 medium Sugar Cones, but it will vary depending on the size of your molds.

Ingredients

• 3 Cups of Dark Brown Sugar*
• 3 Cups of White Granulated Sugar
• 1 Cup of Water (you will not use it all)
• 3 TBSP Instant Coffee Granules
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray
• Mold for the Sugar
• Aluminum Foil

First of all, some notes: You don't have to use 2 kinds of sugar; you can use all Dark Brown Sugar, all White Sugar, or even all Light Brown Sugar. But I like the look of white and dark brown sugar, so that's what I used here. For a more solid look, then just use one type of sugar. Also, you don't have to use the Instant Coffee if you don't want. You can just use plain water. The coffee just adds an extra layer of scent, and a touch of darkness here and there. But it's totally optional. And also, for the sugar mold...you can use all sorts of things if you don't have an actual sugar mold: Styrofoam cups, paper cups, a fluted beer glass, or anything in your home that has a shape you like. You could also invest in a silicone candle mold that is shaped like a sugar cone, because you can buy them!

Directions

1. Spray your mold(s) lightly with the non-stick cooking spray.
2. In your cup of water dissolve the Instant Coffee (if you're just using water skip this step).
3. Add your sugar to a large a bowl and use your fingers or a fork to get all of the lumps and clumps out.
4. Dip your fingers in the water-coffee mixture (or plain water) and sprinkle the water from your fingers into the sugar. Work the water into the sugar with your hands. Repeat this process until the sugar becomes the consistency of wet sand. If your sugar gets too wet, add a little more sugar.
5. Pack  your sugar, a little bit at a time, into your molds. Make sure you pack it good and solid and just do a little at a time to ensure that it gets tightly packed into the molds. Once your mold is full, you can take a table knife and level it off so that it will sit flat.
6. Invert your molds onto a flat, foil-covered surface. A cookie sheet is perfect for this. Be careful when removing the mold so that the sugar cone stays solid and doesn't crumble. Take your time! 
7. Once the sugar cones are released from the molds, they need to sit, untouched, in a cool, dry place for 3-7 days. Time will vary according to room temperature and humidity. But once they're finished they should become quite hard.

Your finished Primitive Sugar Cones can be wrapped in grungy muslin, cheesecloth, or ribbon, or even tied up with jute or homespun. Do a bit of Googling and you can find lots of examples of other Sugar Cones that may give you some more creative inspiration for presentation.