I haven’t really talked a lot about my coming back home this year. That was in mid-October and here it is December, and I still have piles and boxes of stuff sitting around, which is totally unlike me. I’ve just been tired, all the time. Luckily, Christmas isn’t at my house this year. I get to go see my daughter & grandkids! But what does that have to do with Homemade Light or Dark Brown Sugar?
Homemade Light or Dark Brown Sugar
The point of all this is that when I ran out of brown sugar, I just couldn’t muster it up to go to the store. And I figure other people are in the same boat, somewhere, sometime, for whatever reason. Maybe there’s a blizzard and they can’t get out, maybe the store’s closed. Maybe you’re in the middle of baking frenzy and can’t just drop everything to run out for brown sugar. So here’s a super simple method to make your own Brown Sugar.
About Homemade Light or Dark Brown Sugar:
Making your own Homemade Brown Sugar is super easy, and all the instructions are below, but let’s stop for just a minute and think about this. Because before we talk about the Homemade Brown Sugar, let’s talk about what you need to use your brown sugar in. That’s going to determine how you want to proceed.
If you’re baking something that’s beaten together, like bars, cookies, or cake, for instance, don’t make the brown sugar. Just use the amount of sugar that is called for in your recipe and usee the proportions, below in my recipe for Brown Sugar and just add the sugar you are using and the right amount of molasses right into your recipe. Easy, peasy, and a whole step and a little time saved.
If you’re making something that’s liquidy or even something that’s saucy and cooked, like a barbecue sauce or something like a brown sugar caramel sauce, again, just put in the right amount of sugar and the appropriate amount of molasses in. Mic drop!
But for so many other recipes, you might just really need Brown Sugar. You might need it for something you are mixing by hand like a simple stirred together cookie recipe. It’s much more difficult to get the molasses to mix in when it’s something hand mixed as opposed to something beaten with a mixer. Or maybe you’re making something delicate like a frosting. If you’re making a topping like a streusel, you’ll want to make the brown sugar. And if you’re going savory with a barbecue rub for instance, or sprinkling brown sugar over anything, then make the recipe.
Making Homemade Light or Dark Brown Sugar:
This is a super simple, hardly a recipe method. It’s just two ingredients, sugar, and molasses. It can be made in a food processor or a mixer, and I suppose it could be made by hand, too. It will just take quite a bit of mixing.
When you start mixing your Brown Sugar, you’ll think it will never come together – it will be clumpy and weird. Just soldier through it, and stop to scrape the pan. After a few minutes, let it sit for several, then do a final mix. Bag it right away because it will start to get a little crusty if it just sits out. It that happens, once it’s bagged, it will all even out and soften up.
This won’t stay soft forever, though. It doesn’t so much harden up like a commercial brown sugar, it just kind of dries so it’s more like turbinado sugar. It’s still usable, just not as moist.
Saving Money on Homemade Light or Dark Brown Sugar:
One thing about making your Homemade Brown Sugar is that it’s super cheap to make your own as opposed to buying it. A bottle of molasses (look for it on sale around the holidays, especially the Winter Holidays) is about 12 ounces (24 tablespoons) for $3.50. That’s about 15 cents a tablespoon and will make 24 pounds of light brown sugar! Plus it has other uses and will keep just about forever in your cupboard. Literally years. Just make sure the lip of the bottle and the cap are clean when it’s put away or you may never get it open again.
In my area, brown sugar runs around $2.80 for two pounds (it will be less during a great sale, around those same holidays) so $1.40 a pound and basic white sugar (4-pound bag, it’s cheaper per pound in larger bags) runs about 50 cents a pound, so a pound of Homemade Brown Sugar is close to half the cost of a pound of commercial. These prices all vary, of course, but it gives you an idea. Best of all, though, you can make your own brown sugar in just the quantity you need.
Happy Holidays & Happy Baking to you all!
Homemade Light or Dark Brown Sugar
Homemade Light or Dark Brown Sugar
- Yield: 10 minutes 1x
- Category: Forgotten Arts
Ingredients
Multiply the quantities, below, for the amount of brown sugar you wish to make.
Light Brown Sugar:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon of molasses
Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
Instructions
If using a mixer:
Use the paddle attachment. Mix sugar and molasses together, slowly for several minutes, stopping to scrape down, until the clumps smooth out and mixture becomes almost homogeneous. Let sit for five minutes, then scrape and mix again.
If using a food processor:
Add sugar to food processor, using the blade attachment. Drizzle in molasses while pulsing. Pulse until mixture becomes almost homogeneous, stopping to scrape down. Let sit several minutes, then scrape and pulse again.
Bag promptly. If mixture sits out, it can feel dry on the edges; once it’s bagged, it will smooth out.
Keywords: Brown Sugar
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I’ll be posting this recipe this week at Fiesta Friday #202, hosted this week by Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju.com and Laurena @ Life Diet Health.
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