Place about 1/8 cup of sugar in a container with a tight lid. Add a few drops of food coloring. Seal the container and shake well. Add a few more drops of coloring if the color is not dark enough, and again, shake well. Remove the seal and air dry overnight. Sprinke colored sugar on cookies before you bake them. You can also use the colored sugar on cake frosting to decorate a cake, cupcakes, etc. The homemade sprinkles taste much better than the store bought and of course, are much cheaper.     Karen D.

Wow! Thats a great idea! I never would have thought of that. Thanks! :D

Let the sugar dry first before you decide whether the color is intense enough. Also, if it clumps when it's dry, shake it again.

(This was my idea from a few years back, published on About.com)  

I'm always afraid the moisture will make the sugar dissolve, so I shake it to get it coated as quickly as possible. Guess there's more than one way to do almost anything.

 I do this with coconut at Easter to make "grass"....then throw some jelly-beans in as the "eggs."

I love coconut grass with jellybeans. Used to make a great bunny cake with coconut and then the grass etc around it.   I always just mixed sugar and food colouring in a stainless steel bowl using more then 1/8 of a cup though.  old baby food jars would work well for that.

I used to mash the sugar and food coloring with a fork, too, but when my daughter started selling Tupperware, I was constantly trying to come up with uses for some of her Tupperware products. Shaking the colored sugar was inspired by the snack cup and seal; one, because it is easier, and two, the colored sugar can be stored in that container, meaning less dishes to wash.

To Pat,

I did not claim that the idea was mine, nor were my intentions to step on anyone's "toes". I'm sure most of the information offered on this site could be "claimed" by more than one person. I thought the purpose of this site was to share information that could be helpful. Sorry if I misunderstood.

Southern Saver

I never understood this claiming some idea was yours---isn't it possible for two people in different areas to come up with the same idea?  jmho

 I'm sorry, I guess I didn't explain myself well.. I had to go back to see what you were talking about. The "claiming the idea" was of letting it dry then adding more food coloring, since when it dries it looks different. Anyway, I don't "claim" anything. There's nothing new under the sun.