A Decent Second Choice: Demerara Sugar
Demerara sugar is an unrefined sugar with a gold color that is only slightly paler than that of light brown sugar. This sugar is made from the first boiling of sugar cane syrup. After boiling, the syrup is dehydrated until the sugar crystals form. The color of demerara sugar comes from the fact that it is made with sugar cane syrup, which does contain a little molasses.
Demerara sugar often has larger crystals than other types of sugar, including light brown sugar. It is a good alternative to light brown sugar in many baking applications, but the large crystals may make it unsuitable for others. For example, consider the fact that an ounce of it has less sweetening power than an ounce of refined white sugar.
Make Your Brown Sugar Darker Or Lighter
This recipe uses just 1 tablespoon of molasses for each cup of white sugar, but you can adjust the amount of molasses depending on whether you want your brown sugar lighter or darker:
- To make dark brown sugar from white sugar, increase the molasses to 2 tablespoons per 1 cup of granulated sugar. Stir with a fork and keep in an airtight container.
- To make dark brown sugar from light brown sugar, add 1 tablespoon of molasses to 1 cup of light brown sugar. Stir with a fork and keep in an airtight container.
Your Best Bet: Make Your Own Light Brown Sugar
Since both light and dark brown sugar consists of refined white sugar and molasses, it is relatively easy to make your own. Remember to remove as much refined sugar as the molasses that you add to the mixture. To arrive at a cup of dark brown sugar, combine 1 tablespoon of molasses with a cup of refined white sugar. Mix by hand using a whisk or with a stand mixer to get a light brown sugar substitute that looks exactly like the prepackaged version. Light brown sugar should only be made with true molasses and not with blackstrap molasses, which has a very different character.
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The Best Brown Sugar Substitutes
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Brown sugar is an ingredient added to sweeten specific recipes, and is distinguishable in color from the addition of molasses, a sweetening syrup of crushed sugar or sugar beets. Brown sugar is mainly comprised of sucrose.
This granulated sugar is available either in natural form or commercially made with refined white sugar and molasses. It may be darker in color if it contains more molasses. But the darker color may also be the result of more caramel coloring.
Containing around 17 calories per teaspoon, brown sugar has a similar nutritional profile to its white counterpart, both of which rank high on the glycemic index at 64 and 65 respectively, out of a score of 100.
Is There A Brown Sugar Substitute
The good news is that there is a sugar free brown sugar substitute availableand you can make it at home in minutes!
By using the sugar free sugar alternatives you already have on hand and some blackstrap molasses, you can have a brown sugar substitute perfect for low carb baking, THM sauces, or any other recipe youve been wanting to make.
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Best Brown Sugar Substitutes
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Sugar is a staple kitchen ingredient that makes our life sweeter daily.
We are using it as a sweetener in baked goods to keep them moist and soft, in desserts, drinks, jams, and many other recipes. But sugar is not only a sweetener. It has many other functions in food production.
Sugar works as a preservative, coloring agent, flavoring agent, to assist the fermentation process, and as a bulking agent. It is made by extracting the juice of the sugar cane and sugar beet plants.
Brown sugar is a common ingredient in sauces, baked goods, marinades, baked beans, drinks, and other recipes. However, if your recipe calls for brown sugar and you dont have it on hand, you can use other sweeteners instead.
The best substitutes for brown sugar are coconut sugar, muscovado sugar, white sugar, white sugar & molasses, white sugar, and maple syrup, or some of the following products.
Read on to learn more about each substitute.
Easy Brown Sugar Caramel Glaze Recipe
Reduce speed to low. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk and ending with dry. Scrape sides of bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Step 3. Bake cupcakes until testers inserted into centers come out clean, 25 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.
A little ground cardamom adds a whisper of fragrance and flavor. Finished with a shiny butter and brown sugar glaze, the cake finds great company in a cup of coffee or tea. To ensure the cake doesnt stick, pan prep is important, but the flutes, ridges and center tube of a Bundt pan make oiling and flouring a challenge.
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, pecans, and melted butter. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and brown sugar in a bowl for an electric mixer and beat until well blended.
COMBINE brown sugar and milk in small microwave-safe bowl. Heat on HIGH 20 seconds. Stir to dissolve. Whisk in powdered sugar until glaze is smooth and of desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Instructions. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9Ã5 loaf pan with baking spray. In a stand mixer on medium high speed, add together the butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy, about 23 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time until fully combined, then add in the vanilla.
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What Can I Use If I Dont Have Brown Sugar
There are more options than we can count these days, but while they all add sweetness to your recipe, there are a lot of things to consider when picking, or making, a brown sugar substitute.
Lets get the first question you might have out of the way: Can you substitute brown sugar for white sugar? While white sugar is not identical to brown sugar, you can sometimes substitute brown sugar for white sugar in a recipe. While your recipe will still be sweet, the consistency and taste may change, as brown sugar has more moisture than white sugar , and a richer flavor.
A direct white sugar for brown sugar substitute may work better in some recipes than others, though, depending on the other ingredients in the recipe.
What can you substitute for brown sugar? Plenty!
Brown Sugar Substitute Ideas That Will Keep You Cooking
Home » Cooking tips » Cooking substitutes » Brown Sugar Substitute Ideas That Will Keep You Cooking
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Were you really looking forward to a recipe with brown sugar?
Did you just discover that the store of brown sugar you had has run out?
Or maybe it has clumped up and turned into an unusable block? Trust me, Ive been there and it can be a real let down.
We even help you figure out if brown sugar has gone bad.
But, dont worry, you dont have to put that recipe aside for another day. There are different alternatives to brown sugar that you can try out instead.
Here are some brown sugar substitute ideas that you can search for in your pantry.
They dont take much time to put together and will give you a taste very similar to brown sugar.
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Brown Sugar Substitute :
This is the BEST option if you need brown sugar and dont have any on hand, or if you have a recipe that calls for a small amount of brown sugar and you dont want to buy a whole bag. This isnt a substitute so much as a method for actually making brown sugar at home. Heres what you need:
Granulated sugar + molasses: Using a wooden spoon, silicone spatula, or your fingers combine the molasses into the sugar until it is evenly distributed and the sugar is an even shade of brown. It should be soft and moist, just like store bought brown sugar.
- For light brown sugar: Use 1 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of molasses.
- For dark brown sugar: Use 1 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of molasses.
This substitute can be used in any recipe that calls for brown sugar and you should not need to make any changes.
Once prepared, you can measure out this brown sugar however your recipe indicates. You will be able to pack it . Need more or less? You can easily adjust this recipe up or down.
Whats A Good Light Brown Sugar Substitute
Light brown sugar is a flavorful sweetener used in baked goods and other foods ranging from oatmeal and banana bread to barbecue sauce. It is a milder alternative to the deeper flavor notes and darker color that dark brown sugar brings. If your household uses a lot of light brown sugar, you may find yourself out of it right when you need it most. For an emergency light brown sugar substitute, consider one of the following.
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How To Make Brown Sugar Without Molasses:
First, youll maple syrup, regular granulated sugar, some measuring cups and a measuring spoon.
Next, grab a small mixing bowl and fork or a whisk. Then combine the granulated sugar and maple syrup in the bowl.
Last, mix them together and youll have a brown sugar substitute made with maple syrup. Thats it, youre done.
At this point, we can move to a more traditional variety using molasses. Of course, were including light and dark versions too.
More Mixing Less Molasses
So, having realized that contrary to what we believed, that molasses wasnt an ingredient that almost everyone had in their kitchen while having a morning coffee with one of our friends, we were forced to think of something that we could swap molasses with.
We were stumped and couldnt think of anything until one of our friends suggested maple syrup. It was a lightning bolt moment, and we vowed to try it the next time we were baking a batch of cookies.
That was exactly what did, and guess what? It worked. And whats more, it worked in almost exactly the same portions as using molasses did and it tastes divine in cookies.
Its not as good as we thought it would be when its used to make brownies, but when its added to cookies, it adds a smoothness to the sugary snap that we never dared to dream that wed be able to achieve in our baking.
Use it for cookies, but maybe give it a miss if youre baking something else.
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Whats The Difference Between Brown Sugar And White Sugar
All sugar is made from sugar cane or sugar beets. When the cooking process happens, the liquid that comes from the sugar can becomes a combination of molasses and sucrose. Depending on the kind of sugar being made, all or some of the molasses is removed and then the product is dried and crystalized into sugar.
Granulated sugar has had all the molasses removed and is pure sucrose. Brown sugar contains some of that original molasses , creating its brown color and distinct flavor.
Because of the molasses, brown sugar has more moisture in it than granulated sugar .
Pantry Staples: How To Make Brown Sugar With Molasses
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You never know when youll be in the middle of a delicious recipe and realize you needed just a little more brown sugar than you have! Learn how to make brown sugar in just moments with pantry staples you already have on hand! This is a great trick to have in a pinch, for sure.
But at this point, I use it all the time. Since I make water kefir with my brown sugar, we always need some on hand! We also love to use it in recipes like our wedding day apple crisp and our butterscotch pudding pie!
Since organic brown sugar is more expensive anyway (I saw a 1.5 lb bag for about $7 recently, we find this quick, 5-minute recipe helps us keep it in stock all the time.
We get the 10 lb bag of organic white sugar from Costco and I have a bottle of organic blackstrap molasses from Wholesome.
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Combine Maple Syrup And White Sugar For A Simple Substitute
While not everyone keeps their kitchen stocked with molasses, most of us have some maple syrup handy. Waffles, anyone?!
This quick and easy brown sugar substitute works just like the molasses.
- Just add one tablespoon per one cup of white sugar and mix thoroughly.
- Again, if youd like a darker end result, you can add in an extra tablespoon of syrup.
Thats it! Easy as pie, huh? Still, there are times you want to keep it simple and might be wondering
White Sugar With Molasses
In case you didnt already know this, brown sugar is essentially made of white sugar and molasses.
So, if youre out of brown sugar, this is the closest substitute youll find.
All you have to do is mix 1 tablespoon of molasses into 1 cup of granulated white sugar. This will give you light brown sugar.
For dark brown, add 2 tablespoons of molasses to 1 cup of white sugar.
You can mix the ingredients in a food processor or add them separately to the recipe you are making.
Theyll mix together when you blend everything at the end.
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How To Make Brown Sugar Without Molasses
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Learn how to make brown sugar with or without molasses. Our simple recipe shows you how to create homemade brown sugar using maple syrup or molasses.
Weve all been there, you need brown sugar for iced oatmeal cookies or a moist carrot cake and youre all out of the sweet ingredient. Of course, there are tons of how-to recipes for homemade brown sugars, but most of them use molasses.
Its an ingredient that the average household may not have. Fortunately, were going to show you how to make it with or without molasses.
Including, light and dark varieties created multiple ways. So, lets get started with the maple syrup version.
What Is The Difference Between White Sugar And Brown Sugar
There is very little difference between white and brown sugar, even though it may seem like they are entirely different.
White sugar is produced through a purifying process that removes a brown syrup which we know as molasses.
Brown sugar either experiences less processing into order to retain the molasses, or it can be made by mixing white sugar with molasses.
In short the only real difference between white sugar and brown sugar is the molasses content in the sugar.
This is why if you do not have any brown sugar in the kitchen, and you need some desperately all you need to do to make some is mix together sugar and molasses, and you will have some fresh brown sugar ready for use whenever you need.
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Is Brown Sugar Better Than Raw Sugar
Raw sugar isnt even really raw. Its just slightly less refined, so it retains some of the molasses. But theres no real health real benefit from it. « Theres no more nutritional value in raw sugar than there is in white sugar or brown sugar, » Nonas said.
Editors. 16 Last Updated. 30 days ago Users. 10
Brown Sugar Substitutes For Last
Also, you can make your own brown sugar
Have you ever started to bake, only to realize that the recipe calls for brown sugar and you don’t have any on hand? So you start scrambling around, trying to find a brown sugar substitute somewhere in your kitchen cabinets? Well, I’ve got some great news for you. The easiest brown sugar substitute is, in fact, white sugar. Yes, simply swap in white sugar where a recipe calls for brown sugar. If you need one cup of brown sugar, use one cup of white sugar. According to the folks at Better Homes & Gardens, your recipe will still workthough it might not taste the same.
The reason this baking hack only works some of the time is because there is a big difference between brown and white sugar. As professionally trained pastry chef Stella Parks wrote in Serious Eats, “White and brown sugars can be swapped without fuss in any recipe where the chemistry isn’t important. So….not very many recipes, to be honest.” There are dozens of different chemical reactions that take place when you’re cooking or baking, and the different types of sugar can have different reactions than what the recipe creators originally intended. That means there’ll be changes in the texture of the dish if you’re swapping sugars, even if it works in a moment of crisis.
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Can You Substitute Light Brown Sugar For Dark Brown Sugar And Vice Versa
Before we get into our favorite brown sugar alternatives, its important to note that if you happen to have one variety of brown sugar, they can be used interchangeably.
If your cookie recipe calls for light brown sugar and you only have dark brown sugar, you can absolutely use it. Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light brown sugar, so the end result might be deeper brown and have a slightly richer, more molasses-forward flavor, but truthfully, you probably wont notice any difference at all.