If you’ve ever wondered how to soften brown sugar, we have four simple methods that do the trick. To quickly soften brown sugar: place the sugar in a microwave safe bowl and cover it with a damp paper towel for about 20 second, or use a food processor to loosen the brown sugar. If you aren’t pressed for time, use a slice of bread or an apple in an airtight container with the brown sugar for 24 hours.
One of the most frustrating things about baking is getting halfway through your recipe, preheating the oven, and almost tasting that delicious dessert in your mouth, only to realize that your brown sugar has gone rock hard. While lumpy brown sugar may be upsetting, it doesn’t have to be the end of a great recipe.
There are many ways to soften hardened sugar, and you could purchase a terra cotta brown sugar saver or use ingredients you already have in your pantry. The four methods to soften brown sugar can actually save that brown sugar in time for those cookies to still bake perfectly. With a little help from baking experts worldwide, we've explained some of the top, most effective ways to soften up brown sugar and get your baked goods back on track!
The 24 Hour Method: Using a Slice of Bread
While this method takes a full 24 hours to work properly, it is one of the best ways to revive your brown sugar. All you need is a slice of soft bread and your lumpy brown sugar.
To restore your brown sugar, place hardened brown sugar in an airtight container. After transferring it to the brown sugar container, slice a piece of bread and lay it sliced side up on top of the sugar. Once the bread is in with the sugar, close the lid tightly and let it sit for at least 24 hours. The moisture in the soft bread will work to soften the sugar, and by the next day, you'll have a perfect and moist brown sugar ready for all your baking desires. This method works on light brown sugar too.
It’s important to note that while adding moisture, the sliced bread also absorbs some of the molasses in the process. This absorption may cause the top layer of the sugar to look lighter than the rest. Not to worry, just discard that top layer of sugar and the rest of the batch will be just as flavorful as before!
An Apple a Day Keeps the Brown Sugar Ready
Much like the sliced bread method, an apple can be used to bring hardened brown sugar back to life. Just add a few apple slices to an airtight container and let it sit for 24 hours to loosen the brown sugar.
The advantage of using an apple slice over bread is that when the apples provide the brown sugar with moisture, they also transfer a little of their flavor, giving the sugar a fruity taste. This method works great when you're baking fall treats that could really use that extra bit of flavor!
Don’t have 24 hours to wait around for your brown sugar to be ready? Don’t worry, while the methods above may be the best ways to soften up hardened brown sugar, there are faster methods that will help you save that cookie batter waiting on your counter.
The Microwave Method for Softening Brown Sugar
While this method piggybacks on the previous methods, it moistens the sugar in a much shorter amount of time. Put the hard brown sugar in a microwave safe bowl or container and place a dampened paper towel on top of it. Then, microwave for about 20 seconds and break it up with a fork as you go. The moisture from the paper towel should help get the brown sugar soft. If needed, heat for another 20 seconds, but be careful not to melt it.
Loosen the Brown Sugar by Putting It in a Food Processor
Sometimes a round in the food processor simply does the trick. Place your lumpy sugar in a food processor or blender and begin blending. Always begin at low second intervals and make sure the brown sugar isn't so hard that it damages your blender. When done properly, this is the quickest way to soften brown sugar! Now you can bake and enjoy our Brown Sugar Banana Bread aka The Best Banana Bread EVER!
Have any other tips for how to soften hard brown sugar? Share your favorites in the comments below.
To retain highest quality, the product should be stored under proper conditions. Sugar does not “spoil” but is susceptible to hardening and lumping over long-term storage. Therefore, our packages now display a "Best By" or "BB" date, which is strictly related to lumping or hardening--not spoilage.
Following are some storage hints we hope will be helpful:
Granulated sugar/Baker's Sugar should be stored in a cool, dry area away from moisture and humidity. Moisture causes granulated sugar to become hard and lumpy, and unfortunately, there is no way to adequately restore granulatedsugar when this has occurred.* Because our Superfine Sugar/Baker's Sugar is so finely granulated it is very susceptible to caking and hardening if exposed to moisture or humidity; we do recommend that this product be stored in an airtight container.
With Powdered Sugar, there are a couple of concerns. If it gets moist, it will develop lumps, and a customer would certainly be aware of this when the package is opened. Powdered sugar should be stored in a cool, dry location. Simply because of its physical makeup, powdered sugar has a tendency to absorb strong odors, so it needs to be stored away from any strong-smelling product. It can absorb the odor through the packaging, and would be offensive when eaten.
In order for Brown Sugar to retain its natural moistness, it should be stored in a cool area away from light and heat (and extreme changes in temperature) in an airtight container. Exposure to air will cause it to dry, and as you are undoubtedly aware, it does have a tendency to harden if not properly stored. We do not suggest storing in the refrigerator; however, if you expect to keep it for a particularly long time, you may want to freeze it. It will thaw and be ready for use between two or three hours. If ice crystals form after long freezer storage, stir the sugar as soon as it thaws, as pockets of moisture could be damaging to product quality.
If the brown sugar does harden and you are unable to purchase a fresh package, these methods may help to temporarily restore moisture to the product:
Microwave Method. Place brown sugar is a microwave-safe container. Cover container with a wet (not dripping) white paper towel and then cover tightly with plastic wrap. Heat on high 1 to 1.5 minutes (as microwaves vary in power, you may need to adjust the cooking time). Use caution as the sugar will be hot. Stir. Use sugar immediately as it will harden again as it cools.
Oven Method. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Place brown sugar in an ovenproof container. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Heat for 10 minutes. Use caution as the sugar will be hot. Stir. Use sugar immediately as it will harden again as it cools.
Overnight Method. Place brown sugar in a container. Cover container with a wet (not dripping) white paper towel and then cover tightly with plastic wrap (alternative method: add an apple/bread slice (remove once sugar is soft/moist as it may develop mold) instead of wet paper towel). Let stand overnight at room temperature. Stir.
I set a little shot glass with about 1/4”-1/2” of water in the brown sugar & by morning should be perfectly soft again. Any large pieces of brown sugar will easily break up by slicing through with a butter knife.
This way, the brown sugar does not pick up the odors from putting other foods in with the brown sugar.
Otherwise just use granulated sugar & add 1-2 tablespoons of molasses to the recipe, depending on if you want a light or dark brown sugar affect your recipe. This way you don’t even have to keep brown sugar on hand. Brown sugar is just white sugar to which molasses has been added back in.
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