Homemade brown sugar takes two ingredients, white granulated sugar and molasses, and is a practical fix when the brown sugar runs out in the middle of a baking project. The molasses is simply worked into the sugar until the color is even, which takes about 5 minutes.
The amount of molasses sets the shade. Two tablespoons per cup of sugar, as written here, makes dark brown sugar with a deeper molasses flavor; 1 tablespoon makes light brown sugar, the usual choice when a recipe does not specify. Either way the batch gives about 1 cup and scales to any quantity. A fork or whisk is enough for mixing, though a hand mixer or stand mixer also works.
Homemade Brown Sugar
A two-ingredient pantry staple: granulated cane sugar mixed with molasses until evenly colored. Makes about 1 cup of dark brown sugar, or light brown sugar with half the molasses.
Ingredients
Method
- Put the sugar in a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Pour the molasses over the sugar.
- Mix with a fork, a whisk, a hand-held electric mixer and its beaters, or the whisk attachment of a stand mixer until the molasses is fully worked into the sugar and no streaks of it remain, 2 to 5 minutes. When mixing by hand, press any clumps against the side of the bowl with the back of the fork.
- Transfer the brown sugar to an airtight container for storage.
Notes
How to use: measure it firmly packed, like store-bought brown sugar, and swap it in cup for cup.
Light or dark: 1 tablespoon of molasses per cup of sugar makes light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons makes dark. For a larger or smaller batch, keep the same ratio.
Use regular (unsulphured) molasses. Blackstrap molasses is much stronger and more bitter.
Storage: keep it in an airtight container at room temperature and use it within about 6 months for the best texture; do not refrigerate it. If it hardens, seal a slice of bread in the container overnight, or microwave the amount needed under a damp paper towel in 20-second bursts.
