Skip the grocery run, boos! Here’s how to make brown sugar at home with just TWO simple ingredients. Perfect for my brown sugar pound cake or those fluffy brown sugar pancakes.
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How to Make Brown Sugar
Step 1: Add granulated sugar and molasses to a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Stir until completely combined.
Brown Sugar Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp molasses or 2 if you want dark brown sugar
Instructions
- Simply combine the ingredients in a bowl until well mixed or even add to a food processor to combine quickly!
Notes
- Light or dark? Use 1 teaspoon of molasses for light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons for dark.
- Mix until even. Make sure all the sugar is coated. If you stop early, you’ll get streaks and uneven flavor.
- Use a blender or food processor. It mixes everything fast and smooth. Just a few pulses and you’re done.
- Add vanilla. One drop of extract gives you homemade vanilla brown sugar, great in cookies and cakes.
- Break up clumps. Press sticky molasses bits against the side of the bowl with a spatula to smooth them out.
- No molasses? Try maple syrup, agave, or buckwheat honey.
- Room Temp: Keep your brown sugar in an airtight container with very little head space to keep it soft and fresh. (I have a couple storage tricks down below in the tips!) Technically, brown sugar doesn’t go bad, but it’s best used within 3 months for peak texture and flavor.
- Freezer: You can freeze brown sugar in a sealed freezer bag with all the air pressed out. Thaw at room temp, then fluff it up with a fork if needed.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Light or dark? Use 1 teaspoon of molasses for light brown sugar and 2 teaspoons for dark.
- Mix until the sugar’s fully colored and even. If you stop too soon, you’ll get streaks and clumps.
- Use a blender or food processor. It blends everything fast and smooth. Just pulse a few times and you’re good.
- Add a splash of vanilla. Just one drop turns it into vanilla brown sugar, which is bomb in cookies and cakes.
- Molasses loves to clump up. Press those bits against the bowl with a spatula to break them down.
- Out of molasses? You can swap in maple syrup, agave, or buckwheat honey in this brown sugar recipe.
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Recipe Help
Yup. Use unsulphured molasses. Avoid blackstrap, it’s too bitter for this diy brown sugar.
Air exposure, boos. Store it in an airtight container, press plastic wrap directly onto the sugar, or use a Ziploc bag with all the air pressed out.
Add a slice of bread to the container and wait a few hours. Or microwave it with a damp paper towel on top in 20 second bursts, breaking it up with a fork between each round.
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Can cane sugar be used instead of GRANULATED sugar?
Hi Rachel, great question, I’ve never tried to use cane sugar so I honestly do not know. If you try it let me know if it works!
Loved this! Never thought of making my own brown sugar, thank you!