Review: McCormick's Harry Potter Finishing Sugars Are Spellbinding

Hard to believe, but it's been 25 years since the first Harry Potter film hit movie theaters. The blockbuster movie franchise would go on to rake in over eight billion dollars at the box office, as fans of all ages across the globe flocked to cinemas to see their favorite witches' and wizards' adventures on the big screen. Food is a big part of the Harry Potter world, from mouthwatering feasts in the Great Hall, to the magical — and sometimes bizarrely stomach-turning — treats sold at Honeydukes, to the iconic first meeting of Harry and Ron on the Hogwarts Express, where they share a glut of candies from the train's snack trolley.

If you've ever wondered what those foods really taste like, you don't need to rely on just your imagination anymore. McCormick has added six new flavors of finishing sugars to its Harry Potter collection, each based on a treat from the expansive fantasy story. Do these sugars add a magical dimension to homemade sweets and baked goods, or do they sputter like a failed spell? In order to find out, I went on my own baking adventure and put all six to the test. 

Once I had purchased all six of McCormick's Harry Potter finishing sugars, I gave each a taste and noted down my initial impressions. I then baked simple vanilla cupcakes in six batches, replacing one-third of the sugar in the recipe with a Harry Potter sugar.

I frosted each cupcake with chantilly cream, which I then topped with a sprinkling of the same sugar I used in the recipe. I assessed how well each sugar worked as an ingredient in the baked good and as a topping. 

While I don't think I could bring myself to eat an actual chocolate frog from the story — a candy that appears and moves like a living animal does not sound appealing to me — McCormick's Chocolate Frog finishing sugar is something I'll happily enjoy. Basically just sugar and cocoa, it's a very simple product, but that's in no way a detraction. There are also three natural coloring ingredients: spirulina, turmeric, and beta carotene, blended to create a warm auburn-brown hue. The soft powdery cocoa and fine sandy sugar crystals create a pleasantly smooth texture with just a touch of crunchiness.

The chocolate here is soft and mellow, and I absolutely loved how it melded into the vanilla cupcake to give it a subtle layer of cocoa color and flavor. That mildness means you can be extra generous with this finishing sugar and know that it won't overpower or oversweeten anything. I liked the cupcakes I made with this Chocolate Frog sugar so much; I plan on adding them to my regular baking rotation, although next time I'll add more of it.

McCormick's Treacle Tart finishing sugar turned out to be one of my two favorites in this new Harry Potter collection. This will surprise no one who knows me and my palate's craving for acidity and balance, as this sugar contains lemon oil, citric acid, and buttermilk, all of which add a sharp tang that offsets the melange of sugars and other sweet and creamy flavors. The treacle tart is canonically Harry Potter's favorite dessert, and I've got to say, he's got excellent taste.

The texture of this finishing sugar is fine and uniform, which works well because the flavors are so complex. Demerara sugar, brown sugar, and molasses create a multi-dimensional sweetness experience that hints at caramel and butterscotch, emulating the flavor of treacle, otherwise known as golden syrup. There's a pop of sea salt that keeps things lively. A rich lemon curd-like flavor comes through, but then at the finish, it turns tart and bright. Despite having once lived in Britain, I don't recall ever actually eating a treacle tart, and if this sugar is an accurate depiction of that dessert, it may now be my life's biggest regret. Thankfully, I can make up for that oversight by adding this sugar to everything from now on, which I plan to do with abandon and gusto.

I found McCormick's Cauldron Cake finishing sugar to be among the most successful of the bunch, along with the aforementioned Treacle Tart. The two flavors share a few similar ingredients that the others lack: butter, sea salt, buttermilk, and a mixture of multiple types of sugar. There's no lemon here, but there is cocoa. With the Chocolate Frog sugar, the chocolate is the main event, whereas with Cauldron Cake, it's subtle and just one of the sugar's many dimensional layers. It's got a crunchier texture than the Treacle Tart or Chocolate Frog, and that crackling bite brings to mind hard toffee candy, one of the inspirations for this flavor.

This sugar added such a lovely dimension to the cupcakes, with every element beautifully enhanced by vanilla, merging into a creamy, caramelly overall flavor. As the finishing touch atop the chantilly cream frosting, the flavors were punchier, and the crystalline crunch brought a satisfying texture. I'm almost overwhelmed by how much you could do with this delicious finishing sugar — of all the flavors, this is the one that immediately got me thinking about cocktails. It would make an absolutely killer ingredient in hot buttered rum, one of the best boozy cold-weather drinks.

With the launch of these Harry Potter finishing sugars right on the verge of pumpkin spice season, it's a no-brainer for McCormick to include one based on the Pumpkin Pasty. Unlike the traditional British treacle tart, in my time living in the United Kingdom, I became quite familiar with the pasty, a handheld pie, usually savory, often stuffed with meat and vegetables like potato and onion (side note: cheese and onion was my personal favorite filling). This sugar has less of a pasty personality and really just leans into the pumpkin spice of it all, and honestly, it's a really good rendition of that classic autumnal flavor profile.

Cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg are all here and well-balanced. The combination leans more into soft warmth than sharp spiciness, even when tasted on its own, and it's made even more mellow when baked into cake. I typically like a punchier pumpkin spice, but I enjoyed the softer side of it here. What really makes this sugar special is the addition of pumpkin powder, which takes the form of rather large, bright orange flakes mixed in with the sugar and spice. The result is a smooth, comforting embodiment of fall flavor.

I'm not usually a fan of bubble gum-flavored anything, so Drooble's Best Blowing Gum finishing sugar was the one I was the most hesitant to try. It was definitely my least favorite of the group, but I found it had enough interesting stuff going on to keep it from being a miss. Of all the flavors, this one has the most unique texture, with little blueberry-flavored bubbles mixed in with the crunchy sugar crystals. The sweet-tart candied fruit flavor tastes a bit too artificial for my palate, but of all the sugars, this one definitely has the most Wonka-esque wildness to it (wrong franchise, I know, but who doesn't think of Violet Beauregarde when blueberry candy is mentioned?).

While I wasn't crazy about this sugar's overall flavor as a finishing touch, I did appreciate its combination of textures. Turns out, when I baked it into my cupcakes, it took on a totally different personality, leaning more into its fruity and surprisingly floral berry flavors while losing some of the high-toned candied notes. The sugar kept its texture in the bake, too, adding some crunch inside the cupcake, which none of the others did. Drooble's finishing sugar turned out to be pretty fun at the end of the day, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with it more.

Perhaps even more surprising than my mostly positive experience with Drooble's was my unexpected enjoyment of McCormicik's Licorice Wand finishing sugar. I tolerate black licorice, but it's never been a flavor I've enjoyed, and I'm not alone. As a bar manager, I've grinned through so many tastings of sambuca, ouzo, absinthe, and pastis, trying to find something positive to say about a flavor that just doesn't agree with me. When I initially smelled and tasted this finishing sugar, I was certain I wouldn't be a fan, but once I put my personal bias aside, I did appreciate its pure, warm, spicy anise aroma and flavor. This sugar isn't trying to be any more complex than licorice already is — it simply takes that flavor and goes with it.

Much to my delight, when baked into cupcakes, this Licorice Wand sugar acted as a subdued background note, bringing a spicy warmth that enhanced the vanilla but didn't take over in any way. It's very fine-grained and more subtle than you'd think. When I first took a bite of the Licorice Wand cupcake and sugar-dusted chantilly, I wrote down one word in all caps: SHOOK. I couldn't believe how much I liked these flavors together. For a moment, I truly felt like I'd been the unwitting victim of some sort of magic spell, because it didn't seem possible that I could enjoy licorice this much. As far as I know, that's not the case, and it's just good stuff.

I was incredibly impressed with McCormick's Harry Potter finishing sugars. They are all unique in flavor and texture, and each one was successful as both a baking ingredient and a sprinkled topping. Even flavors that I was initially hesitant about — namely, Licorice Wand and Drooble's Gum — ended up being surprisingly tasty when utilized in my cupcakes.

Not only are these sugars delicious, but they're versatile as well, and I look forward to trying them in all kinds of fun ways. Sprinkled on morning toast, swirled into coffee or cocoa, used to rim a cocktail glass — these sugars present a realm of possible uses. I appreciate the quality ingredients and lack of unfamiliar additives. At $3.99 each, these are well worth the money. I know I'm going to stock up while I can.

The nutritional facts for all six of McCormick's Harry Potter finishing sugars are nearly identical. For a serving size of 2 teaspoons, each has 30 calories, 8 grams of carbohydrates, and either 7 or 8 grams of sugar. Protein, fat, and sodium are all zero. While two of the flavors are labeled as "artificially flavored" (Licorice Wand and Drooble's Gum), their ingredient lists are still short and comprehensible, without any indecipherable ingredients. In all of the sugars, color is derived from natural sources such as annatto, turmeric, and spirulina.

These Harry Potter sugars were launched on August 20th, 2026, and are available for purchase directly from McCormick's online store as a set. They are also sold through Walmart, Target, and Amazon, individually or bundled. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for each is $3.99. According to McCormick, these flavors are only available for a limited time.