Ingredients Needed 

• White sugar – 1 cup
• Molasses – 1 tablespoon for light brown sugar or 2 tablespoons for dark brown sugar

How to Make Brown Sugar at Home

Pour one cup of granulated white sugar in mixing bowl.

Add 1-2 tablespoons molasses.

Stir, breaking up any clumps of molasses that appear.

Stir until completely combined. 

How to Store Homemade Brown Sugar

After you make brown sugar at home, storing the homemade brown sugar just needs to be kept from exposure to air. Once it is exposed to air, a homemade brown sugar recipe begins to harden (just like store-bought brown sugar.) Storing homemade brown sugar in an airtight container will help prevent this. 

A terra cotta clay, like the brown sugar bear keeper is great to help keep brown sugar from drying out. 

How Can I Soften Brown Sugar?

Once brown sugar gets hard clumps, cover with a damp paper towel and then microwave it in 10-15 second bursts, while stirring in between, until it gets soft again. 

How to Use Brown Sugar Made at Home

To use homemade brown sugar, substitute it 1:1 ratio replacement of store-bought brown sugar. 

Tips for Making Brown Sugar at Home

• Remove clumps. As you are stirring the sugar and molasses together, you will see clumps. Use the back of a spoon to smoosh the clumps out. 
• Use an electric mixer for a pretty much hands-off process. Save time on dishes by making this right before you make homemade sourdough chocolate chip cookies, so you don’t have to wash the bowl twice. 
• Use a food processor to blend the mixture, pulsing it gently to break up the granules. 
• A hand mixer can be used on medium speed to blend the sugar mixture.
• Buy sugar in bulk from Sam’s Club or Costco and store in food grade bucket with an air tight screw on lid. Since sugar doesn’t spoil when stored correctly, this will save you money in the long term.

How Long Does Homemade Brown Sugar Last?

For best results, use within 2 years of making. Although, if kept in a cool, dark place and in an air-tight container, homemade brown sugar can last indefinitely. 

Another option is freezing homemade brown sugar. Fully seal a freezer Ziploc bag and remove as much air as possible or use a Food Saver vacuum sealer for best results. 

What is Brown Sugar?

In order to make sugar, the cane juice gets evaporated and spun out. During the spinning, all the molasses is removed from the sugar crystals, which leaves white granulated sugar and liquid molasses. To make brown sugar, you add the molasses back into the white sugar. 

Brown sugar has a softer texture than granulated sugar and adds a depth of flavor similar to caramel. Dark brown sugar has a stronger caramel flavor than light brown sugar because of the amount of molasses added back in.  

What is molasses?

Molasses is the syrup-like liquid that is left from the sugar making process. There are three types of molasses, light, dark, and blackstrap molasses. When making brown sugar at home, use the light molasses or dark molasses. 

What if I don’t have molasses?

There are some alternatives to use instead of molasses, although it will affect the flavor. 

• Maple syrup- semi-similar to molasses color, it will look similar to normal brown sugar. Use 1 cup white sugar and 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• Date syrup- a dark syrup-like liquid made from dates. Use 1 cup white sugar and 1-2 tablespoon of date syrup liquid sweetener.
• Buckwheat honey- a dark and thick honey. Use 1 cup white sugar and 1 tablespoon of buckwheat honey

Other Brown Sugar Substitutes

• Raw Sugar- This sugar does not have all the molasses removed so it is the best brown sugar substitute. It does have larger crystals, so it can affect texture of recipe. To use raw sugar, replace with a 1:1 ratio but add 1 tablespoon of extra liquid or fat to recipe. 
• Coconut Sugar- This sugar has a darker color and tastes a lot like brown sugar but the moisture content differs. To use coconut sugar as brown sugar, replace with a 1:1 ratio but add 2 tablespoonfuls of extra liquid or fat to recipe. Alternatively, add 1 tablespoon molasses to coconut sugar. 

Favorite Recipes to Use Homemade Brown Sugar

• Homemade Coffee Creamer
• Brown Sugar Syrup for Coffee
• Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies 
• BBQ Sauce
• Oatmeal
• Banana Bread
• Pecan Pie
• Gingerbread Cookies