These New Finishing Sugars Have Us Feeling Very Cozy

A few months ago, I had what I thought was a completely innovative idea for a new food product: “What if there was a seasoning mix, but for sweet foods? Something you could shake over baked foods or ice cream to give them an extra burst of flavor?” I was excited about the prospect of being the very first person to bring this to market and make millions from it for about 24 hours, before I remembered that finishing sugars have been around for ages, and on a mass-produced scale, McCormick beat me to it by several years. The seasoning giant has been releasing finishing sugars since 2024 (including some cute Bridgerton-themed ones), and we’ve got a bunch of new ones coming for Christmas.

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Well, hey. I guess it saves me the hassle of making them myself. New McCormick finishing sugars: Let’s discuss.

Festive Flourishes

As per @candyhunting (via @rockgirlmaxim84), there are three new, limited-edition finishing sugars from McCormick, now available at retailers like Albertsons and Walmart. There’s a cranberry flavor, a sugar cookie flavor, and a dulce de leche flavor. I do like that McCormick hasn’t gone down a typical gingerbread route here, and that the festiveness of it all is being held relatively loosely; these are the kinds of flavors that, if you didn’t finish the bottle before Christmas, would have plenty of applications once the Yuletide period is through. It was the same last year: There was a candy cane flavor, but other than that, McCormick went for options like chocolate orange and English toffee, which felt versatile and kind of festive by association. 

Prospective customers have already started discussing what they’d do with these new finishing sugar flavors. “Cranberry sounds the most interesting—tart and sweet could be so good on cookies,” stated a comment on @candyhunting’s post. Someone also floated the idea of scattering the cranberry flavor into a Sprite. Now that sounds good. 

Pros And Cons

Although these finishing sugars will likely be a hit with bakers and soda-flavorers alike, some people are less excited about them. “These have been underwhelming in the past,” stated a commenter – a sentiment that’s been shared by quite a few people. McCormick gets its flavors right, but they’re not quite as robust or punchy as you might expect. So, if you’re looking for something that will completely transform the taste of whatever you’re making, you might not get it, but as a garnish that adds a little extra flavor, these will likely suit you well.