How to make brown sugar

Brown sugar is made up of granulated sugar with the addition of molasses. While I always knew this, recent videos and recipes that have been popping up for DIY brown sugar make all the times I ran to the store (mid-recipe) because I had run out of brown sugar feel a bit ridiculous.

There are many versions out there; some recommend using an electric mixer to beat in the molasses – while Martha Stewart calls for them to be stirred together. I found it best to beat in the molasses with an electric mixer to evenly disperse it through the sugar, and then to use a wooden spoon to break down little clumps of molasses and get it fully combined.

The measurements for light brown sugar are about 4 - 5 tsp molasses to every cup of sugar. For dark brown sugar, increase the molasses to about 3 - 4 tbsp; you’ll be able to tell by the colour if you’ve added enough molasses.

Put to the test So yes – brown sugar is very easy to make, but how does it compare to store-bought brown sugar? The brown sugar I made still had the firm grain of granulated sugar, not the soft pliability of brown sugar. When the two are side-by-side, store-bought is drier and more homogeneous, and homemade appears more as granulated sugar that's coated in molasses. Given these differences, I put the brown sugar to a baking test. Chocolate chip cookies seemed the most reliable, as I know exactly how they’re supposed to turn out. And, it meant I could make some chocolate chip cookies and call it “work”.

I baked the cookies substituting in my DIY brown sugar. First off, the cookies were delicious (as always). But were they different? Yes. They spread more than usual, and remained a chewier consistency. Yummy? Yes. But different. Why?

My theory is that for homemade brown sugar to act similarly to store-bought brown sugar, it needs time for the molasses to be absorbed by the granulated sugar. While mixing in molasses gives the appearance and colour of brown sugar, it remains granulated sugar coated with molasses. (This is why it has a wetter, sticker feel.) Molasses is considered an ‘invert’  or liquid sugar, which adds chew to baked goods. As extra sugars increases the spread of a baked good, this explains why the cookies spread so much more than usual.

The result If the purpose of making your own brown sugar is to get you out of a pinch, then this version will absolutely do – but you should expect some small changes in baked goods (as I mentioned with the cookies). While it may seem terribly inconvenient, if you want to get the best result from your DIY brown sugar, it should sit in a sealed bag with all the air removed overnight to allow the two sugars to become homogenous.

Originally published February 19th, 2015. 

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