Add the sugar and water to a small pot. Turn the pot on over the lowest heat setting possible and stir with a wooden spoon until small clumps of sugar form. Your goal is to clump as much sugar together as possible (minimizing the amount of loose sugar) while not creating any overly large clumps. If there seems to be too much loose sugar and not enough clumps, add 1/2 teaspoon of water and stir again. Don't add too much water or you'll end up with soggy sugar.
Let the mixture sit over low heat for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This essentially dries out the sugar into the clumps you just created. (If the mixture doesn't seem to be sticking into ball-like clumps, you can turn the heat up to medium low for 30 seconds or so, then return to low heat--just don't let the sugar melt down into caramel).
Remove from heat and let cool completely (clumps should harden as they cool!) before using.
Reviews
Manon on 2025-05-28 (5 stars): Thank you for sharing ;)
Jake on 2025-03-03 (4 stars): Used theses to top my chouquettes and they were super crunchy and delicious. But the next day they had melted so I was kinda disappointed. Overall good though
Christina on 2024-12-24 (5 stars): This recipe worked perfectly. I only needed a small amount, so I cut the recipe down to 1/3 of the amount (1/4 cup sugar and a scant tsp of water) and used a small non-stick frying pan. Perfect topping for my panettone-inspired muffins. Thank you!
Andy on 2024-09-01 (4 stars): Just had one big mass in a small pot. Added a bit more sugar and moved to a small frying pan and voila! Success!
Melissa on 2024-08-31 (5 stars): Recipe worked very well. I found it worked better in a nonstick pot than it did in metal.
I recooked some of my first batch with a bit more water because I made the chunks too small - it was more like sanding sugar, and it came back together properly. I also added a little too much water at one point and just added more sugar to the pot and it clumped back together. It’s near impossible to mess this up unless you cook it at too high heat.. but just keep your stove set on the lowest temperature setting per the recipe instructions and you’ll be fine!
Thanks for sharing!
Skeet on 2024-07-20 (5 stars): Okay, it's Saturday morning and I'm feeling waffles from Jamba Juice. But I've an excellent Belgian waffles mix in the cabinet. My girlfriend said I use the same but use buttermilk instead of water. However the sad truth is I don't have any pearl sugar. No problem, that's what the internet is for. But it is crazy expensive! Then your site floated acrosst screen. I read the ingredients 3times, what do you mean 3/4cup of sugar and1 Tbsp of water? I know, give it a try, this is MASTERFUL! THANK YOU SO MUCH. Jamba Juice will see me no more. I could give you a hug!
Linda Horne on 2022-07-04 (5 stars): This post has brought a hopeful joy to my step this morning. I lived in Maastricht in 1985 to 87 and we used to go accross the Belge border to a super bakery that did the most divine Liege waffles. All these years I have had to dream about that delicious sugary taste as you cannot get pearl sugar in South Africa. You can try & import but whether it will get through customs is highly unlikely.
So Im giving it a go & hope to be in waffle heaven tomorrow.
If it is as good as mentioned my market Waffle stand customers are in for a treat this Sunday.
Thank you for making an old lady's day.
Chandrasekar on 2020-09-04 (5 stars): Well explained...
Elan on 2020-05-10 (5 stars): I made homemade vanilla and took some of the pod pieces out (after a year of soaking in vodka) and air dried them a little then put into containers with sugar. It formed clumps which I cut down to size. I don’t know how it will work but I’m making Belgium Waffles for my mom this morning (Mother’s Day) and I’m putting in my vanilla bean “pearled” sugar!
