Colored Sugar Mold

This is from a cookbook I rarely discuss on here - the Southern Heritage Gift Receipts volume. It is all things you can make with food for gifts - like preserves, etc. Lots of them are weird, but I kind of liked the idea of this one. I'd enjoy receiving some of these!

I got thinking about this when I made French Toast out of sliced, thick, leftover Thanksgiving rolls yesterday and used a cinnamon sugar mixed spice a friend had given me. It really gave the recipe something extra, in addition to the nutmeg, vanilla, eggs, and milk I used.

For the Colored Sugar Mold here, the book suggests:

3 cups sugar

1/2 cup colored coarse sugar

1 tablespoon water

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl; stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Press mixture firmly into an ungreased 3-cup mold (should I use my salmon mold one?). Let stand at least 30 minutes. Unmold and place in an airtight container. Break pieces from mold and serve in tea or coffee. Yield: one 3-cup mold.

Also pictures was Lemon Mint Sugar, for 'tea, punch or fruit': 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon grated lemon or lime rind, 1 tablespoon dried mint leaves, 1/8 tsp. salt. I think it is in the center of the photo. This time the directions are a little different:

Combine sugar, grated rind, mint and salt in a 8-inch square baking dish. Bake at 200 for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and cool completely in pan. Place mixture in container of an electric blender, and process until sugar is fine. Store in an airtight container.

I am not reading much these days, as I am trying to knit so much - but very much enjoyed Michael Black's Hostile Takeovers - a police procedural mystery set in Chicago. It is the second of a series. Mike is a friend, but I really like his humor and his female cops especially - he does a great job of characterization balanced with good mystery plots.