Gimme some sugar
Have you ever broken the cardinal rule of baking? You know, the one where you’re supposed to read the entire recipe from start to finish, checking off the list of ingredients to ensure that you have all the necessary components for a finished product of perfection? Unfortunately, I often bake on a whim (or just have a minor case of ADD) and forget this step. You know, like the time I had to run out for more jam in the midst of making my peanut butter & jelly bars for July 4th. Or the time I was elbow deep in mixing meatloaf, only to realize that I had nary an egg to bind the whole thing together. Well add another one to my list friends, because during Lindsey and my 1950’s playdate where we spent the entire day making (and subsequently taste testing) apple pies, I was midway through Pie #4 when I realized that I had no brown sugar in the house.
And isn’t brown sugar such a tough ingredient to keep? It’s sold in small packages so I use it up quickly (not to mention the fact that sometimes while baking, I eat small scoops of it since I love it so much - I know, gross). It hardens very easily. It’s not really a baking staple that always graces my cabinet, unlike white sugar, all purpose flour, baking powder or vanilla extract. Instead of stopping midway through our day o’fun to run out to the store, I realized that I could just whip up my own. And honestly? It couldn’t be easier. Or more delicious.
Simply mix 2 tbsp of molasses with 1 cup of granulated sugar. And don’t think the irony is lost on me that I was out of brown sugar, but somehow managed to have a more elusive ingredient like molasses on hand.
I used a fork to mix it altogether until it resembled the brown sugar I know and love.
Though it was a bit more orange that typical brown sugar and at first taste, the molasses was very apparent, I just went with it. We scooped some up and used it in Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie and it worked perfectly!
I stored the rest in an air tight container and by the next day, the molasses flavor had waned a bit and the mixture had turned golden brown. Success all around! And now I never have to worry about running out of brown sugar. Instead, I just have to worry about running out of molasses…
So there you have it. A quick and easy fix in the kitchen. So what I want to know is, have you ever run out of an important ingredient while cooking or baking? Got midway through your recipe only to send the hubs out running to the local store for that last ingredient? Or were you able to improvise? And completely unrelated bonus question: what’s getting you jazzed for the upcoming weekend? I have no plans aside from getting my teeth cleaned and catching up on Boardwalk Empire!
Psst...Miss out on our Two Girls, Two Guys, Four Pies series? Get the scoop from the beginning, here, here, here and here!
4 Comments | October 22, 2010 | Share Article | Email Article | tagged DIY, Recipes, brown sugar | in Quick Tips, Recipes Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (4)
Oh my, I can TOTALLY relate... I am so bad at reading through the entire recipe before I begin, and often it's more than a missed ingredient. It's things like "marinate for 6 days ahead of time" or "cook from thawed state" - things that totally screw up dinner :) So funny that you had molasses in the house, but no brown sugar!!! I am lucky to have a good friend as a neighbor who has helped me out on more than one occasion. She never asks me for anything though - I guess she reads through her recipes first :)
Have a great weekend getting your teeth cleaned!
I never knew!!! I always have molasses on me, like honey, except that now I on everything so I do run out often.
On another note, get one of the terra cotta disks, (sur la table, or bbb) and stick it in the brown sugar bag. It keeps soft forever.
This happens to me ALL THE TIME. I get the brilliant idea to make something and then get halfway through and realize I don't have something that is essential to what I'm making. Thankfully there is a convenience store right down the street for just such an emergency.
hahaha I eat clumps of brown sugar while I'm baking too! And yes, I always seem to have molasses, but often run out of more normal ingredients. I totally get this post :)