This easy DIY brown sugar recipe saves money and ensures you never run out of brown sugar again!
By keeping two simple ingredients in my pantry, molasses and organic cane sugar, I can access fresh, high-quality brown sugar whenever I need it. And you can too.
So let’s dive into this simple DIY brown sugar recipe!
Why Make Brown Sugar at Home?
If you live out of town, last-minute trips to town for a single item can be costly. They cost both your time and fuel. By keeping a few key ingredients on hand you can avoid unnecessary trips to town for that missing ingredient.
The cost savings don’t stop at your fuel tank. By making your brown sugar at home you are avoiding the cost of double spending on ingredients. Brown sugar is just sugar with molasses added to it. If you already stock those two ingredients in your pantry, there is no need to go and spend extra money on premade brown sugar.
You can also control the quality of ingredients that are being used. If you hang around here long enough, you will hear this over and over. Quality matters. When you choose to make brown sugar at home, you are able to decided the quality of the ingredients that you put into it.
Ingredients Needed
• Cane sugar – granulated sugar as the base.
• Molasses – Blackstrap or regular molasses for flavour and moisture.
So hopefully by now, you are on board with making brown sugar at home. You probably already have everything you need in your pantry for this project.
First is cane sugar. In our home, we choose to use organic cane sugar as the base of our brown sugar. Not all granulated sugar is created equal. Do your research and make sure that you are consuming a product that aligns with your family’s food values.
The second ingredient is blackstrap molasses. Molasses is a byproduct of pressing out the juice from the sugar cane. The molasses will be added back to the sugar to add flavour and moisture.
How to Make Brown Sugar
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of organic cane sugar
Choose one:
- 1 tbsp of blackstrap molasses for light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp of molasses for dark brown sugar
Step 1: Measure the ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer. Or just a mixing bowl if you are going to mix by hand. I wouldn’t use a food processor as there is a chance you could turn it into powdered sugar
Step 2: Mix thoroughly using a fork, or stand mixer.
Step 3: Store in an airtight container to maintain freshness.
Tips for the Best Homemade Brown Sugar
Use organic cane sugar for a richer taste.
Adjust molasses amounts for different levels of darkness. If you prefer extra dark brown sugar, add more molasses. Or you can add less if you want just a touch of flavour
Don’t make more than you can reasonably use in the next few weeks. The best part of making brown sugar at home is being able to keep it fresh and moist. If you make a large batch and it just sits in your pantry, you run the risk of the brown sugar turning hard.
If the brown sugar does harden, there are a couple of ways to soften it.
First, you can place the hardened sugar in an oven-proof container. Cover the sugar with a damp cloth or paper towel. Add the sugar to the warm oven. Stir every few minutes until the sugar is soft. Allow the sugar to cool completely before using.
If you have a microwave, you can do the same with the oven method but give it a quick 20-second turn in the microwave. Stir the sugar. If it is not quite soft, give it 20 more seconds.
How to Store and Use Homemade Brown Sugar
The best way to store your homemade brown sugar is in an airtight container. I prefer the glass flip-top jars but use what you have. Keeping the brown sugar in an air-tight container will help to maintain freshness and moisture.
You can use your homemade brown sugar in any recipe that calls for brown sugar. You can add it to homemade BBQ sauces. Add it to your coffee or hot chocolate for a delicious depth of flavour. My oldest loves brown sugar and chooses to use it instead of white sugar in all of her baking.
With two simple, pantry ingredients, you are able to make a high-quality homemade brown sugar at home. All it takes is cane sugar and molasses. This easy, DIY recipe will save you time, and money, and ensure you never run out of brown sugar again.
I hope that you will give this recipe a try. Leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out.
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