How to Make Dark Brown Sugar

Learn how to make dark brown sugar easily with just two simple ingredients. This is perfect for when you're in a pinch and don’t have brown sugar on hand.

Brown sugar is what makes some of the best recipes – like chocolate chip cookies – so good.

Luckily, if you’re out, it is really easy to make at home or substitute brown sugar.

All you need is regular sugar and molasses!

Types of Molasses

Molasses is a byproduct of making sugar from sugarcane or sugar beets.

The process goes through three boiling cycles, and with each cycle, a different type of molasses is created.

There are five types of molasses: blackstrap, light, dark or medium, treacle, and sorghum (which is technically not a molasses).

The lighter the molasses, the sweeter it is.

Light Molasses

Light molasses is the syrup that remains after the first processing of the sugar.

It is the lightest in color as well as sweetest in taste.

This type of molasses is often used as a syrup for pancakes and waffles or is stirred into hot cereals such as oatmeal.

Medium or Dark Molasses

Medium or dark molasses is made from the second boiling of the sugar.

It has a naturally darker color and thicker consistency.

It has a little stronger flavor than light molasses, but not as strong as blackstrap.

It is the type commonly used in gingerbread.

Blackstrap Molasses

Blackstrap molasses is the syrup remaining after the third extraction of sugar from sugarcane.

The word "blackstrap" comes from two seperate words.

"Black" refers to the color of the molasses (which is extremely dark), while "strap" is derived in part from the Dutch word stroop, meaning "syrup".

It has a very strong, somewhat bittersweet flavor with a heady aroma.

It is best used in recipes rather than as a straight sweetener such as pancake syrup.

It contains many of the nutrients left behind by refined sugar crystals, so some people feel it is healthier.

Treacle

True treacle dates back to Victorian times. However, today, treacle is a blend of molasses and refinery syrup.

It is notably sweeter and has a much more mellow flavor than molasses and ranges in color from light gold to nearly black.

British treacle can be substituted for molasses in most recipes, but much less frequently will molasses work as a replacement for treacle.

Sorghum Molasses

Technically, sorghum, also referred to as West Indies or Barbados molasses, is not molasses.

It comes from the sorghum plant, a cereal grain, which although grown specifically for molasses, is not refined sugar.

The syrup is made from the juice of the stalk which is cooked and clarified, resulting in a smooth, clear, amber color.

Sorghum molasses generally contains a preservative which is added to lengthen its short shelf life.

Since it can ferment, sorghum molasses should be refrigerated.

How to Store Molasses

Store molasses at room temperature in a cool, dark place.

Can You make brown sugar with blackstrap molasses?

Yes!

You can generally use any molasses for making brown sugar, but blackstrap is sometimes easier to find.

When you use blackstrap molasses to make brown sugar it may smell a little strong, but the color will be right and the flavor will be perfect in baking.

In fact, it is my preferred type of molasses when making brown sugar.

Other Recipes You May Like:

• Oatmeal Cookies without Brown Sugar
• Chocolate Cookies without Brown Sugar
• Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar
• Peanut Butter Cookies without Brown Sugar
• How to make colored sugar