If you're out of brown sugar, don't worry! You only need 2 things to make your own light and dark brown sugar in under 5 minutes. It's exactly the same as shop-bought and as easy as 123! (I also have substitutes for those who don't have molasses.)
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Why Make This
- Making light and dark brown sugar is super quick and easy: it only requires 2 simple ingredients that can be found in any grocery store, a few minutes and no special equipment!
- No need to battle with clumps: if you keep molasses in your pantry, you'll never have to buy brown sugar again and watch it go hard and lumpy!
- Flexible recipe: With the same 2 ingredients, you can make both light and dark brown sugar. (The amount of molasses added determines what you make.) If you don't have molasses, there are substitutes you can use too.
Note: In case you're wondering, this is actually how factories make actual brown sugar (i.e. the one you get in the shops): they simply add molasses back to the refined white sugar!
If you look below, can you tell that 1 bowl of sugar is homemade and 1 is shop-bought?
What is Brown Sugar?
There are 2 types of brown sugar: light and dark. Dark brown sugar has a higher molasses content and thus a darker color and richer flavor.
Commercial brown sugar is sugar made from Cane Juice (from Sugar Cane or sometimes Sugar Beets.) It goes through several steps of processing, such as evaporation and spinning. Spinning separates it into white granulated sugar and liquid molasses. Adding the molasses back into the white sugar produces brown sugar.
Thanks to the higher molasses content, it has a more complex flavor than regular white sugar. It's delicious when used to rim the cups of drinks such as Nutella Latte Coffee or in brown sugar roll cookies!
Note: when a recipe asks for just "brown sugar", it's referring to light brown sugar.
Health Benefits
Brown sugar is high in calories and low in nutrients, so it is not a health food.
Some people feel that it's a better alternative to white sugar as it has trace nutrients, but a Harvard article states that "for most people, one type of sugar isn't better than another."
Sooo... don't go overboard!
Substitutes
If you can't get your hand on a jar of molasses to DIY your own, you can use 1 of the following as a brown sugar substitute:
- coconut sugar
- jaggery (Linking to a product on Amazon as, unlike typical jaggery which comes in difficult to use blocks, it's in powder form so much easier to work with!)
- gula melaka palm sugar
- demerera sugar: known as raw sugar, this is actually partially refined sugar
- turbinado sugar: minimally processed sugar
- vanilla sugar: you can make your own by infusing white cane sugar with a vanilla pod (even after scraping off the seeds!) If you enjoy infusing sugars, try this easy osmanthus sugar!
Ingredients
You will need only 2 pantry ingredients:
- white granulated sugar: I do not recommend substituting with a powdered or icing sugar (confectioners' sugar).
- molasses: Of the 5 types of molasses- light, medium, dark, blackstrap, treacle and sorghum (not really a molasses)- the lighter colored ones are sweeter. Unsulphured molasses (mild or dark) work great. I've also tried blackstrap molasses before- it has a stronger flavor and smells a little wonky (almost sour) but works perfectly well. Date molasses are a reasonable substitute.
Note: Use 1 Cup of white sugar to 1 Tablespoon of molasses for light brown sugar or double the amount of molasses for dark (2 Tablespoons). If you want to turn light brown sugar into dark, just add 1 Tablespoon of molasses per Cup of sugar.
Substitutes for Molasses
You can use the following in place of molasses:
- Black treacle: as mentioned above, this is actually a type of molasses and is the best molasses substitute.
- Maple Syrup: this sweetener also has a complex flavor that can work in a pinch.
- Neutral Honey: some honeys have very distinct flavors of spices and herbs. Avoid those as they may taste weird!
For all 3 substitutes: use 1 Tablespoon per Cup of white sugar for light brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons per Cup for dark brown.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- To make 1 Cup of light brown sugar: add 1 Tablespoon of molasses to 1 Cup of White Sugar.
- To make 1 Cup of dark brown sugar: add an extra Tablespoon of molasses.
3. Stir well till everything is mixed thoroughly and you don't see any white grains.
Store in an air-tight container.
Note: I don't recommend using a food processor or electric mixer unless you are making a large batch (as the sugar will stick everywhere and it will just mean more washing up- it's very simple to do it with a spoon, fork or your hands!)
How to Use
- Adding a toffee, butterscotch flavour to popular Asian drinks: e.g. Taiwanese Tiger Milk Tea, Hong Kong coffee milk tea and Japanese royal tea.
- Make simple syrups with rich flavor: such as chai syrup and brown sugar syrup. (This thick syrup is super delicious-my fave way to have it is just to mix with whole milk!)
- It's the secret ingredient in bakes: e.g. brown butter chocolate chip cookies and brown sugar muffins.
- Stirred into hot cereal or yogurt
- Marinades or sauce for meat: it also brings that something special to savory recipes such as Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings and ham.
- In Korean pancakes or hotteok: the caramel flavor goes so well with the nuts and cinnamon powder of the filling!
Note: Sometimes that edge is unwanted as the strong taste of molasses can overpower more delicate flavours, so do be careful especially when using in place of regular sugar.
How to Store
Commercial brown Sugar doesn't really expire but it loses moisture and thus hardens and clumps over time. It's best to use it up within 1-2 years to keep the quality at its best. Store in an airtight container.
Alternatively, you can freeze it if you need to store it for longer.
Tip: Adding a piece of bread to the container helps to prevent lumps. To soften, microwave on medium with a damp paper on top till soft (about 30 seconds.)
Recipe FAQs
Yes, it is naturally gluten-free.
Some sugar refineries add bone char, so it may not be vegan. (This is true of white sugar too.) To be sure that yours is plant-based, buy a vegan white sugar to mix with the molasses.
Yes! It will add a delicious caramel flavor to your bake. It is moister than white sugar though so substituting will have an impact on the texture of the final bake.
Shopbought brown sugar technically lasts forever, but will lose flavor. Homemade brown sugar has wet molasses mixed in, so don't keep it for more than 3-4 weeks. Do keep an eye out for mold or bugs, in which case, it's definitely time to toss!
Recipes that use Brown Sugar
Enjoyed this Homemade Light and Dark Brown Sugar Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY found it useful, a comment would make my week! Thank you and have a great day!
Light and Dark Brown Sugar Recipe
Equipment
- Food processor, totally optional You can just use your hands, a fork or spoon!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Granulated White Sugar Don't use powdered white sugar!
- 1-2 Tablespoons Molasses Use 1 Tablespoon of molasses light brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons of molasses for dark brown sugar. See notes for substitutes.
Instructions
- Mix the granulated white sugar and the molasses together by hand till all incorporated. Alternatively, if you’re feeling lazy, use a food processor to give the mix a few whirls- I only recommend this is making a huge batch (if not you're just adding to the washing up!)
- After everything has been mixed well, store in an airtight jar. Add a slice of bread to prevent lumps.
Notes
- Black treacle: as mentioned above, this is actually a type of molasses and is the best molasses substitute.
- Maple Syrup: this sweetener also has a complex flavor that can work in a pinch.
- Neutral Honey: some honeys have very distinct flavors of spices and herbs. Avoid those as they won't taste like brown sugar!
Nutrition
If you've found this Homemade Brown Sugar Recipe useful, I'd love it if you shared it on social media or left a comment below! Thank you!
Vernon says
Tried both and they tasted just like store bought thanks!
Zen says
Thanks Vernon, glad u found the brown sugar good!
yeni says
Was baking today and realised I didn't have brown sugar- tried this and it worked perfectly. thanks, please do other subs for other baking stuff