This isn't so much a recipe as it is a technique. You can use as many lilac flowers are you have available to you; measure the amount of flowers after you remove them from their stems and combine them with equal parts sugar, though it doesn't have to be exact. Pour the sugar and flowers into a jar in alternating layers. The essential oils from the flowers will seep into the sugar, capturing their essence.

Most recipes for lilac sugar stop there, but it will leave you with a very wet sugar, which will quickly begin to ferment and take on a vegetal taste and funky aroma. You need to remove the excess moisture that the flowers leave in the sugar. An easy way to do this is to dry it on the lowest setting in your oven, but you can also use a dehydrator if you have one. Then, pulse the dry sugar in a food processor to remove any clumps.

Once the lilac sugar is nice and dry, you can store it for at least a year in a cool dark cupboard.