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Glass jar of homemade brown sugar with white sugar and molasses beside it

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.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings: 1 cup
Course: Pantry Staple
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup white granulated cane sugar
  • 2 tablespoons molasses regular rather than blackstrap (for dark brown sugar; use 1 tablespoon for light brown sugar)

Method
 

  1. Put the sugar in a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
  2. Pour the molasses over the sugar.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.