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Did you know you can make your own brown sugar? If you thought it was too complicated to make, I promise it’s not! It is so simple and has just 2 ingredients, so it makes my list of budget-friendly recipes. If you’ve never smelled fresh homemade brown sugar, it’s heavenly. Molasses has a very rich smell that reminds you of gingerbread and caramel.
What is brown sugar made of? It is made from molasses, which is made from sugar cane, that’s what gives it a dark color, mixed with refined sugar. Commercially made brown sugar is made by adding molasses to boiling sugar crystals during the sugar refining process. In the grocery store, you will see light and dark brown sugar. Light brown sugar has less molasses, while dark brown sugar has more molasses and a richer taste. Don’t worry, we don’t need to boil anything, we’ll just be adding molasses and sugar together. This Food Network article, What is Molasses, goes into great detail about how it’s made, the different types, and recipes to use it in.
Ingredients for Homemade Brown Sugar
Keep in mind this is for a large batch, but you can make a smaller batch, just use less sugar and less molasses.
You’ll need (1) 5lb bag of granulated white sugar
(1) 12oz bottle of molasses
Use your standup mixer. I only recommend KitchenAid standup mixers. My KitchenAid is at least 25 years old and still going strong. Pour sugar into the mixing bowl, while the mixer is on low speed add 1/2 the bottle of molasses, let the mixer go for 5 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Depending on how dark you like your brown sugar you can continue adding molasses… until it is the color you prefer, for very dark add the entire bottle. Continue mixing and scraping until it is well blended and has the color that you want.
You can use your homemade brown sugar in any recipe that calls for it. It will add a richness to whatever you are making. Store in an airtight container otherwise, it loses its moisture and hardens.
Speaking of Sugar
We’ve got a couple of interesting sugar articles. How to Soften Brown Sugar that has Hardened and How to Turn Granulated Sugar into Powdered Sugar. Both are informative and will save you money!!
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