I started making my own because I couldn't find organic brown sugar that didn't drain Jack's college fund. I like to bake. A lot. So, I was buying the C&H stuff at Costco and it was $4.39 for 4 lbs. Decently priced, but I really wanted to try to find a better solution. And I did.
It's easier and cheaper than you think. Make it at home and impress your friends! And if you use blackstrap molasses, it adds (delicious) iron to your diet.
- For light brown sugar, use 2.5 tsp of molasses per 1 cup of sugar
- For dark brown sugar, use 1 tblsp of molasses per 1 cup of sugar
1) Gather your ingredients (I totally cleaned the stacks of junk off of my counter for this photo. You're welcome):
2) Add to a mixer (or mix by hand):
3) It takes 4 minutes in my Kitchen Aid to turn in to this (with stopping 2 minutes in to scrap the bowl):
Let's run the numbers!
*This is potentially some fuzzy math because it's somewhat hard to convert cups to pounds. And my Bachelors degree is in Criminal Justice and Political Science, so I was more focused on the humanities and social sciences classes during college. Sue me. Or don't...my Crm-J degree will take you down!
10 lbs Organic evaporated cane juice from Costco - $8.69
2 cups of sugar equals approximately 1 pound, which makes it $.869 per pound. Would you believe I
actually busted out the calculator to figure that out. :head desk:
I use 3 cups of sugar to fill my brown sugar jar (that sounds pervy), so $.869 x 1.5 = $1.3035
16 oz of Organic blackstrap molasses - $5.69
1 fluid tblsp = .5 oz
16 oz = 32 tblsps
$5.69/32 = $.117 per oz
I use 3 tblsp of molasses for my recipe, so 3 x .117 = $.53
So, my 3 cups (1.5 lbs) of organic homemade brown sugar comes out to $1.84 or $1.22 per pound.
The non-organic stuff I was buying at Costco was actually cheaper at $1.09 a pound. But, compare it to $6.50 (on sale) for 2 pounds of organic brown sugar, and I'm saving about $.40 a pound. That's not "gettin' rich" money, but it something; especially considering how much I like to bake.
But more than anything, I will never run out of brown sugar because I always have regular sugar and molasses in my house. Additionally, I'm not going through plastic packaging every 6 weeks buying more brown sugar.Labels: Cheap trick, Desserts, Don't be a lazy ass - make it yourself, Poverty Cookbook
