From Sweet Onion to Cinnamon, Essential Cane sugars pack a flavorful punch

Remember cinnamon sugar? It's perhaps the first "recipe" I tried as a child. Under my mother's watchful eye, I mixed a goodly portion of granulated sugar with ground cinnamon, carefully sprinkled the spiced sugar over slices of Wonder Bread dotted with butter and watched, transfixed, until the cinnamon sugar went all bubbly and golden under the broiler.

Such sweet memories came flooding back when I first tasted Cinnamon, plus 11 other flavored sugars launched last year by a company called Flavor Storm under the brand name Essential Cane.

Mark Zoske and his business partner and fiancée, Naomi Novotny, formed the Woodinville-based company as a sister to their other enterprise, SaltWorks. The partners, along with Novotny's brother, Gregg, cooked up the idea for Essential Cane when they realized that the extraction processes used in making their tongue-tickling Fusion Salts could be applied to flavored sugars.

"We'd seen vanilla sugar and raw sugars but not the fun, fresh flavors that we have with Essential Cane," Naomi Novotny says. Flavors such as Green Chili, Ginger and Habanero.

"Many flavored sugars and salts use oils or artificial flavors," she says. "We only use the real thing" — the pure flavor plus organic cane sugar. And all dozen are 100 percent natural and fair-trade certified.

Immediately after sampling these sweet treats, you understand the magic these true flavors impart to both sweet and savory dishes.

Sweet Onion adds a caramelized-onion flavor to grilled chicken, shrimp or pork. It's also tasty when dusted on asparagus spears before roasting.

For hot heads, Green Chili packs a punch on warm cheddar-cheese scones. Or try one of Naomi Novotny's favorite combinations, Green Chili and chocolate ice cream.

Habanero adds back-of-the-throat heat to a Mexican mole or your favorite fudge recipe.

Shake Cinnamon on an apple pie before baking to create a unique cinnamon-y crust.

Rub Clove sugar into the surface of a ham before baking.

For a sweet zing, mix Ginger sugar into your favorite stir-fry sauce. Or simply scatter it over best-quality vanilla ice cream to create an elegant dessert.

Rub Vanilla Bean on pork chops just before grilling, or dust it over a bowl of cornflakes, as Zoske's grandfather does every morning.

Espresso is a natural with chocolate-chip cookies. Or, for a walk on the savory side, mix with sea salt and rub into steak before grilling.

Dark Cocoa, aka "chocolate-flavored sugar," shines on a hot-fudge sundae.

Mix Lemon sugar with chopped fresh herbs and sea salt, then sprinkle over steamed or roasted new potatoes. Or shower it onto a mixed-green salad tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.

Lime works especially well with white fish or chicken. Or combine it with sea salt and stir into peanuts or cashews, then arrange (without crowding) on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees 10 to 15 minutes for an irresistible salty-sweet snack.

For an elegant aperitif, rim a Champagne flute with Raspberry sugar, then add equal parts of Champagne and Limoncello. Or top lemon bars or rich chocolate brownies with this bright beauty.

Bobby Moore, executive chef at Barking Frog restaurant in Woodinville, even offers a "sugar bar" when customers order crème brûlée. Choose your favorite flavor of Essential Cane sugar and he'll blow torch the top to order.

Braiden Rex-Johnson is the author of "Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining." Visit her online at www.NorthwestWiningandDining.com. Barry Wong is a Seattle-based freelance photographer. He can be reached at studio@barrywongphoto.com.

Coffee-Toffee Choco-Cinnamon Bars

Makes 20 bars

For the bars

1/3 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

½ cup double-strength hot coffee or regular-strength espresso (See Cook's Hint, below)

1 2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

¼ cup chopped walnuts

Vanilla Glaze (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons each Essential Cane Dark Cocoa, Espresso, Vanilla Bean and Cinnamon Flavored Cane Sugars, or to taste

For the vanilla glaze

1 ½ cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons whole milk or half-and-half

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. To make the bars: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, with a wooden spoon, whip the butter and brown sugar until well blended, then add the egg and coffee and stir until completely incorporated.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

4. Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake until the bars rise and turn golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Place the baking pan over a wire rack and allow the bars to cool completely.

5. To make the glaze: In a small mixing bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar, butter, milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour the icing over the cooled bars and sprinkle evenly with the sugars. Allow the icing to set, then cut into squares.

Cook's hint: Use hot, freshly brewed coffee or espresso, or rewarm leftover coffee or espresso in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Braiden Rex-Johnson, 2009