Making Brown Sugar

Did you know you can make your own brown sugar?  It's not necessarily cheaper, but when you need it and can't get to the store, it's handy to know this little trick.  We used to do this all the time when I was growing up as we lived in the country and a grocery store was a 20 min. or more trip into town.  I haven't made brown sugar in years, but the other day I was in the midst of making cookies and really didn't have the time to run to the store.  So, here's what I did - I don't have exact measurements, but you can eyeball it.

First get a good pile of sugar in a large bowl.

Then pour a small amount of molasses into it.  I tend to use less rather than more because if you get too much molasses, you end up having to keep adding sugar to get the right consistency and sometimes it can go on forever!

Toward the end you may still have little balls of molasses.  Keep mashing it (I used the back of spoon) until it is completely worked into the sugar.  It takes some patience, but keep working at it.

I imagine you can also do this in the food processor, but I'm not sure if it would eliminate the small balls of molasses.  You may still need to do some mashing by hand.

Voila!  Beautiful, golden, brown sugar.

Another trick I learned, from my Uncle's sweet, southern mother, for any brown sugar is to place a piece of  bread on top of the sugar in the canister you're storing it in.  The bread absorbs the moisture and turns hard instead of your sugar.  Therefore, leaving you with fluffy brown sugar every time!