1 year, 7 months ago
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What is the difference between light brown sugar and dark brown sugar?
I have noticed that some of the recipes I’ve been looking at for cookies call for dark brown sugar, others call for light brown sugar and some don’t seem to distinguish which kind to use. What are the main differences between dark brown sugar and light brown sugar? Will it make a difference if I substitute one for the other and if so, how noticeable will it be?
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M$1 Answer
The amount of molasses: dark brown has roughly twice as much.
Often, you can use whichever one you happen to have on hand. The dark brown sugar will have a richer, "darker" taste. There may be small effects on the baking, but given the other variables in baking (inexact oven thermostats, variable measuring cups, flour measured by volume rather than weight, different shapes and colors of pans) it's just part of the noise.
If a recipe calls for one, do use that. There are plenty of substitutions if you keep white sugar on hand (as every cook should) and one kind of dark sugar or molasses (less common):
light brown sugar
= 1 cup white sugar + 2 tbsp molasses
=1/2 cup white + 1/2 cup dark brown
dark brown sugar
= 1 cup white sugar + 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) molasses
= 1 cup light brown sugar + 2 tbsp molasses
Notice that in each case it totals exactly 1 cup of sugars. The molasses fills in the space between sugar crystals and doesn't add noticeably to the volume.
Often, you can use whichever one you happen to have on hand. The dark brown sugar will have a richer, "darker" taste. There may be small effects on the baking, but given the other variables in baking (inexact oven thermostats, variable measuring cups, flour measured by volume rather than weight, different shapes and colors of pans) it's just part of the noise.
If a recipe calls for one, do use that. There are plenty of substitutions if you keep white sugar on hand (as every cook should) and one kind of dark sugar or molasses (less common):
light brown sugar
= 1 cup white sugar + 2 tbsp molasses
=1/2 cup white + 1/2 cup dark brown
dark brown sugar
= 1 cup white sugar + 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) molasses
= 1 cup light brown sugar + 2 tbsp molasses
Notice that in each case it totals exactly 1 cup of sugars. The molasses fills in the space between sugar crystals and doesn't add noticeably to the volume.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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