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    Home » THE BASICS

    How to Make Brown Sugar

    December 19, 2020 9 Comments

    Instructions on how to make brown sugar in your own kitchen, and 3 tips for softening that brick of brown sugar in your pantry.

    Brown sugar is essential to a lot of baked goods. It gives them a distinctive caramel flavor that elevates the treat.

    For example, in cookies, like these Figgy Snickerdoodle Cookies.

    Or cookie bars, like these Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.

    Or in breads. Like this Brown Sugar and Plum Pull-Apart Bread.

    But sometimes we run out, just when we need it. Or it's hardened into a brick hard enough to be a weapon.

    But did you know you can make your own brown sugar? Seriously, it's so easy to do. You only need 2 ingredients. And about 10 minutes.

    But first, let's say you have some brown sugar you need to soften.

    How To Soften Brown Sugar

    There are at least 3 ways to soften brown sugar that's as hard as granite.

    1. If you have time, place the brown sugar in a sealed container, and add either a slice of bread or large piece of apple. By the next morning, the brown sugar should be soft. Once the brown sugar is softened, remove the bread or apple.

    2. A much quicker way, is to place the hardened sugar lump(s) in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover it with a dampened paper towel, and zap it on high in 15 - 20 second increments. After each zap, nudge the brown sugar lump to break it up.

    3. A third approach is to wrap the brown sugar in foil, place it on a baking sheet, and slide it into a 250˚F oven. Check the brown sugar every 5 minutes.


    How to Make Brown Sugar

    Now, let's say your pantry is completely bare of brown sugar, and you don't want to take the time to run to the market. All you need is 2 ingredients: sugar and molasses.

    Oh, and a bowl, measuring cup, tablespoon and a fork.

    The idea is to combine the sugar and molasses together in a bowl and use a fork to mesh them together.

    Towards the end, I use my fingers to capture any last lumps of molasses, and massage them into the sugar.

    You can use a food processor to do this, but while it might be faster, the cleanup is much longer.

    By the way, light brown sugar uses 1 tablespoon of molasses for every cup of sugar. But dark brown sugar takes 2 tablespoons of molasses for every cup of sugar.

    And if you don't have any molasses on hand, and you still don't want to head to the market, substitute maple syrup. the darker, the better. It won't offer the same rich distinctive flavor, but it can be an adequate substitute in a pinch.

    Tips:

    • When measuring the molasses, first coat the tablespoon lightly with olive oil, or other vegetable oil. This allows the molasses to pour from the tablespoon very easily. (This tips works great with honey too.)

    • Make sure the bowl you use is large enough for you to comfortably massage the molasses into the sugar at then end.

    • Be sure to use the spoon to sweep the white sugar on the bottom of the bowl onto the top of the brown sugar, and mash it back down. This helps ensure all the sugar and molasses are well combined.

    • Customize it to you own preferences by using a little more or less molasses. Make it your own by adding a little vanilla (or use vanilla sugar), cinnamon or allspice.


    Want more vegetarian and vegan dish ideas? I can help you. I have three newsletters for different topics: 1) Weekly Recipes, 2) Vegetarian Meal Plans, and 3) Monthly Vegetarian Tips for helping you to move to a more vegetarian diet. Choose which newsletters are most relevant to your lifestyle, and unsubscribe at any time. The last thing any of us needs, is more emails that don't help us in some way.


    Brown sugar made in your own kitchen with just 2 ingredients.
    Print Recipe
    4.64 from 11 votes

    How to Make Brown Sugar

    Making your own brown sugar couldn't be easier. It just takes 2 ingredients and about 10 minutes of your time.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Total Time10 mins
    Course: ingredient
    Cuisine: Any
    Keyword: how to make brown sugar
    Servings: 1 cup
    Calories: 16kcal
    Author: The Wimpy Vegetarian

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup white granulated sugar
    • 1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses

    Instructions

    • Place both ingredients in a bowl and massage the molasses into the sugar using a spoon to mash the molasses into the sugar. Finish with mashing any last nuggets of molasses with your fingers to fully combine the two ingredients.
    • Be sure to use the spoon to continue to bring the sugar on the bottom to the top to get a consistent brown sugar ingredient for your baking.
    • Store in a sealed container.

    Notes

    The calories were calculated using VeryWell Fit nutrition calculator, and are based on 1 tablespoon.
    Light brown sugar uses 1 tablespoon of molasses for every cup of sugar. But dark brown sugar takes 2 tablespoons of molasses for every cup of sugar.
    If you don't have any molasses on hand, substitute maple syrup - the darker the better. It won't offer the same rich flavor, but it can be an adequate substitute in a pinch.
    Tips:
    • When measuring the molasses, first coat the tablespoon lightly with olive oil, or other vegetable oil. This allows the molasses to pour from the tablespoon very easily. (This tips works great with honey too.)
    • Make sure the bowl you use is large enough for you to comfortably massage the molasses into the sugar at then end.
    • Be sure to use the spoon to sweep the white sugar on the bottom of the bowl onto the top of the brown sugar, and mash it back down. This helps ensure all the sugar and molasses are well combined.
    • Customize it to you own preferences by using a little more or less molasses. Make it your own by adding a little vanilla (or use vanilla sugar), cinnamon or allspice.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 16kcal

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Healing Tomato

      December 19, 2020 at 11:38 am

      5 stars
      All I need is two ingredients to make my very own brown sugar? How did I not know about it?? This is perfect for so many recipes and it looks super easy.

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        December 19, 2020 at 5:55 pm

        5 stars
        It's very very easy - and you can customize it to your own likes - and according to how you'll use it. Enjoy!!

        Reply
    2. Sandra Shaffer

      December 20, 2020 at 8:38 am

      5 stars
      My pantry space is limited, so I either have light or dark brown sugar. Now I can make it when it's needed and any variety!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        December 20, 2020 at 9:15 am

        5 stars
        Totally! I'm so happy this helps you during this big baking season!!

        Reply
    3. mjskitchen

      December 30, 2020 at 12:22 pm

      5 stars
      This is one of those recipes that has me saying "Why didn't I know this sooner?" I ALWAYS have molasses and I use brown sugar for a lot of things. This is so easy and this way I can make what I need at the time and not worry about the sugar getting hard. Thanks for sure a useful idea!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        December 30, 2020 at 12:40 pm

        5 stars
        You are so welcome! I always have molasses on hand too - it lasts seemingly forever. A very Happy New Year to you, my friend!!

        Reply
    4. Liz

      December 09, 2021 at 1:02 pm

      5 stars
      I go through so much brown sugar! I use it for baking, in seasonings and marinades, the list goes on! What a great idea to just make it at home!

      Reply
    5. Sharon

      February 09, 2022 at 3:02 am

      1 star
      But why would a vegetarian be using sugar, which is mad with animal bone char? You'd have to buy organic or raw sugar and your link is to regular s non-veg sugar.

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        February 10, 2022 at 8:41 pm

        5 stars
        You are absolutely correct about the common use of bone char. It's used as a de-colorizing agent. But, as my site name states, and my About page goes into some detail about, I'm a wimpy vegetarian, and do not pretend to be a strict vegetarian. We each have our own journey, and I believe that any step we all make towards eliminating meat and meat products from our diet is a good one.

        Reply

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    I'm a mostly vegetarian married to a mostly carnivore and am on a constant hunt for healthy, delicious recipes we'll both like. Most recipes here are vegetarian with tips for adding meat or fish for the meat-eaters at the table. Whether you're vegetarian, or just wanting to eat less meat, I hope you'll find inspiration here to try something new for your own table, even if you're sharing it with someone with different eating preferences.

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