How to Make Brown Sugar

If you have found yourself in a bind, then save this guide on how to make brown sugar. It is a super simple DIY brown sugar recipe. My guide will help show you how to make it yourself, soften hard brown sugar, give storage suggestions, give brown sugar substitutions, and provide recipes that will help you utilize this very simple kitchen staple.

Confession time: There have been a number of times I make a recipe, but I didn't take the time to do my mis en place. In other words, I didn't make sure I had all my ingredients until I was pouring everything into a bowl for a baked good.

This has happened to me with brown sugar. Either I've run short or have discovered that it has turned so solid, it belongs in a 1980's Chevy commercial with the song Like a Rock playing in the background. Or I just don't have enough on hand.

So here is my ultimate guide to how to make, soften, store, and use brown sugar. It will potentially save you a trip to the grocery store. You can use this to make it as needed or in a pinch. I've also included a round-up of recipes from around the web to inspire you to utilize this delicious kitchen staple.

How is Brown Sugar Made?

Commercially marketed brown sugars are made with processed white sugar and have molasses added back into it. That is what gives it such a different and more moist texture than regular white sugar.

There are other sugars that are also brownish in color but aren't marketed as brown sugar. You might recognize the names demerara sugar, turbinado sugar, raw sugar, or muscovado sugar are all examples that are brown in color. Even some organic sugars aren't quite as white as regular sugar.

However, unlike commercial brown sugar, these sugars did not have all the molasses removed from them in the first place thus giving them a dryer consistency.

Light Brown Sugar contains about 3.5% molasses while Dark Brown Sugar contains about 6.5% molasses.

How Do You Soften Brown Sugar?

So let's say you reach for your brown sugar and you realize it's as hard as a rock. This happens because the water content from the molasses has evaporated leaving you with a brown sugar rock rather than the fluffy brown sugar you desire. The following methods will work:

Paper Towel Method- Place a damp paper towel over a bowl containing your brown sugar. Microwave on high for 20 seconds. Check for progress. Use a fork to start separating the sugar when you can. Why does this work? The microwave reacts with the water causing it to steam ever so slightly. The steam rehydrates the sugar allowing it to come back into it original form. This method is the quickest if you need brown sugar now. Be careful as paper towel and sugar can get hot if you do this repeatedly.

Water Method- Place hardened brown sugar in a plastic bag. For each cup of brown sugar that you have, add ¾ of a teaspoon of water. If you aren't sure take a guess. You can always add more water as you go. Press out all the air and seal the bag. Microwave for 15 seconds. Knead the area where you poured water to distribute and repeat in 15 second intervals in the microwave until brown sugar is softened. This method is also quick. Just take care in handling the bag to make sure it isn't too hot to handle.

Oven Method- Preheat your oven to 250F. Place your sugar into a oven safe pan until it is soft. Use caution as the sugar will be hot. Also, use sugar immediately as it will harden again once it cools.

Slice of Bread Method- Place a slice of white bread into the container with your hardened brown sugar. In about a day, the once moist slice of bread will be stale, but your brown sugar should be moist. This method takes about a day.

Marshmallow Method- Just like the slice of bread method, use 1-2 jumbo marshmallows in the container with the brown sugar. The moisture will transfer from the marshmallows to the brown sugar. This method also takes time.

Terra Cotta Method- Soak a terra cotta saver in water for 20 minutes. Remove from water and place in airtight container with the brown sugar.This method also takes time, but can save brown sugar from hardening for 3-6 months.

In case you need a handy guide save this image for later as a quick reference:

Brown Sugar Storage

So how can you better store brown sugar to ensure you aren't left with a rock-solid brick of sugar? The number one way to store brown sugar is to keep it in an air-tight container whether that is a plastic container or a plastic zip-top bag.

If you are looking to store it long-term consider a brown sugar terra cotta disk which will help your storage for months. Or consider storing a bag in the freezer to preserve the moisture in the brown sugar.

How Do You Keep Brown Sugar Soft?

The best way to prevent brown sugar from getting hard in the first place is with proper storage. Brown sugar should be stored in an air-tight container. Be sure to remove any excess air from the package if you are storing it in a zip-top bag. I've also found the freezer to be a good storage area too as long as it is wrapped properly.

The use of a terra cotta saver is optional, but if you don't use this very often, it is an inexpensive kitchen item that can also be used for other things.

How Do You Make Brown Sugar Without Molasses?

As much of a staples as brown sugar is in many households, my guess is that even fewer people keep molasses on their shelves. So you can substitute the following items in place of molasses in an equal amount: maple syrup or agave nectar.

How Can I Make Brown Sugar at Home? DIY Brown Sugar

White Sugar + Molasses (or Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar) Method

Step 1: Mis en place time: Measure out 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of either molasses, maple syrup, or agave nectar (or 2 tablespoons of molasses if you need dark brown sugar)

Step 2: Add 1 cup of white sugar to a food processor. If you don't own a food processor then use a fork and mix molasses through.

Step 3: Add molasses.

Step 4: Add top to food processor and pulse for 20-30 seconds until combined. You may need to scrape the sides and bottom to ensure even mixing. Light brown sugar will look like a light tan color. Dark brown sugar looks like this:

Tips for Making Brown Sugar

The following are my best tips for making brown sugar at home:

• Avoid using Blackstrap Molasses as it is quite bitter compared to molasses.
• This recipe can be halved, doubled, or more as necessary
• Always store in an airtight container to prevent hardening
• If you need less than a cup, then use the following ratios to make light brown sugar:
  • If you need ½ cup, then use 1.5 teaspoon molasses
  • If you need ¼ cup, then use .75 teaspoon molasses
  • Use double the amounts above if you are making dark brown sugar.

If you are looking for some inspiration on how to use the brown sugar you have now made, then I've got quite the list for you. The following recipes utilize brown sugar in a variety of ways from beauty to sweet to savory options.

Beauty Recipes

• Easy DIY Brown Sugar Scrub by Crayons & Cravings
• Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub by Ruffles and Rainboots

Drink Recipes

• Irish Coffee by Become Betty

Savory Recipes

• Grilled Ribeyes with Beer & Brown Sugar Marinade by Eat Move Make
• Marinated & Grilled Pork Tenderloin by Biscuits and Burlap
• Marinated Chicken with Brown Sugar and Balsamic Sauce by This Delicious House
• Oven Baked Barbecue Chicken by Greedy Gourmet
• Quick Sweet Orange Savory Tilapia Dinner by Monday is Meatloaf
• Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken by Dancing Through the Rain
• Smokey Salmon Sliders by Making Time for Memories

Sweet Recipes

• Apple Danish with Crumb Topping by Crayons and Cravings
• Bourbon Candied Pecans by Sidewalk Shoes
• Brown Sugar Frosting by Cupcake Project
• Brown Sugar Grilled Pineapple by The Happier Homemaker
• Brown Sugar Meringue Cups by Occasionally Bake
• Brown Sugar Pound Cake by GrandBaby Cakes
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies by Become Betty

Vegan Recipes

• Banana Cookies by Veggie Fun Kitchen
• Butterscotch Pudding by Very Vegan Val
• Peaches and Cream Baked Oatmeal by The Recipe Well

I hope you found this Guide to Brown Sugar to be helpful!

If you try this, would you mind hitting the "Rate" button? I'd love to know what you thought of it. If you modified the original recipe here, please let me know how it turned out. I love comments!

If you've tried this Brown Sugar recipe or any other recipe on the blog or on any of the other blogs mentioned. I'd love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to see what I'm up to.