Roasted Sugar, it's a real thing. It's a real good thing. If you have two hours to babysit your oven, then you need to put this on your hit parade. Roasted sugar is just what is sounds like, sugar that is roasted in the oven until it develops a light caramel color and a bit of a toasted taste, all while remaining powdery dry. What does one do with roasted sugar? Glad you asked! You can use it to replace white sugar in any recipe. Why would one do that? Glad you asked! It will give whatever you're making a very subtle "note of complexity," according to Food52, where I found this recipe...and really, if I can add complexity to any dish, isn't it my obligation to do so?? 
If you're going to try this, and I highly recommend that you do, then by all means, roast an entire bag of sugar - don't bother doing a small batch, you'll want more! Of course you can roast smaller amounts of sugar, it won't take as long, maybe 30 minutes as opposed to two hours, but I really think this is genius and that it does make baked goods better - and I'm all about better baked goods!
See those little clumps in the sugar? It was a very humid/wet/rainy day in Seattle when I roasted my sugar - and the humidity caused the very hot sugar (be careful when stirring the sugar, it will burn you if you touch it!) to clump a bit - either that or my oven temp was a bit high or both. But no worries if it does clump a bit, pour the sugar through a strainer after it's cooled to remove them. Notice the color? Light caramel, I love that color, would look great as paint on my walls!
I ended up removing the sugar from the baking dishes and spreading them out on parchment to cool faster. Once cooled I poured it into plastic Zip-lock style bags. I have used this sugar when making cookies and cake - and while I didn't have an "ah-ha!" moment when I bit into my cookies/cake, I do think they were better...but then I'm easily influenced when it comes to baked goods!
Roasted Sugar - From Food 52 - Stella Parks
Makes 4 pounds (9 cups)
9 cups (4 lbs.) refined white sugar (This technique will not work with raw or semi-refined cane sugar, as its natural molasses content will begin to melt at much lower temperatures, causing the sugar to clump.)
Preheat the oven to 325° F. Put the sugar in a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish and roast, stirring well once every 30 minutes, until it darkens to a sandy tan, with a coarse texture like turbinado, about 2 hours. The color change can be strangely difficult to judge in the dim glow of an oven, so scoop out a spoonful to examine in better light.
Let the roasted sugar cool away from any sources of moisture or steam until no trace of warmth remains, about 1 hour. If you notice molten caramel around the edges, pour the hot sugar into a heat-resistant container, leaving the melty bits behind; once cool, the baking dish can be soaked clean. Despite its innocuous appearance, roasted sugar can be dangerously hot, so take care not to touch it. Store for up to a year in an airtight container at room temperature.
Troubleshooting: Metal baking pans conduct heat more rapidly, and their corners may harbor traces of grease or moisture, factors that make the sugar more likely to liquefy around the edges. Given the importance of maintaining a low temperature, use an oven thermometer to verify that yours runs true to dial. Otherwise, the sugar will caramelize too quickly and begin to liquefy.
I didn't have a great deal of clumps, maybe 1/8th of a cup when it was done. I doubled the recipe and roasted 10 lbs. of sugar - when it comes to sugar, go big or go home!! Giving a jar of roasted sugar to a friend who bakes would be like giving them a bag of cash - just a thought!
