Bring on the Homemade

While browsing some of my favorite blogs the other night I took note of an interesting post on molasses found at Lizzy Lane Farm. There I read about a simple and quick way of making your own brown sugar. I am sure I read how to make this a few years ago somewhere as it seemed familiar but I had completely forgotten about it until reading Karyn’s post. I had to try it as it is right up my alley seeing that I also like to make my own yogurt, bread, butter, herbal salves, you name it.

It is so surprisingly simple to make. It makes you wonder why we even buy the packaged stuff. All you need is two ingredients: granulated white sugar and molasses. Karyn wrote in her post that you simply drizzle some molasses over the sugar and mix in, the amount being up to you. I decided to take note of how much molasses and sugar I used so I could duplicate my results next time. Plus, I just like to write down what I do for future reference. Relying on my memory alone has not always been the smartest thing for me to do.

I ended up mixing 4 Tablespoons molasses to 2 cups sugar. My kids were in love with the results! They kept trying to steal bites whenever my back was turned- including the 2 year old!

Now, you know what I just had to do after making something as yummy as homemade brown sugar? I took one look at that bowl of moist sweetness and thought, “This sugar is screaming out to be made into Brown Sugar Drop Cookies”.  Of course my kids did not protest this thought.

So, out came the mixing bowls, flour, and eggs. I have been making cookies for as long as I can remember. It is to the point now that I can throw some ingredients together and bet on them coming out pretty good. For these Brown Sugar Drop Cookies I sort of played off the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have been making for well… ever. The recipe I came up with is below for those that might like to try it themselves. (See, I wrote it down as I went so now I remember it.)

Brown Sugar Drop Cookies

Mix together with a wire whisk:

• 2 ¼ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Set aside.

Cream together:

• 1 cup softened butter
• 1¾ cups homemade brown sugar

To the butter/sugar mixture beat in:

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until blended together. Place dough in the refrigerator and allow to chill for about 2 hours. Chilling the dough first helps the cookies not spread quite so much.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Drop dough by the spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.

Now enjoy that yummy homemade brown sugar goodness. I don’t even miss the chocolate chips!

One warning though, if you happen to make these with a two year old present, especially if this two year old happens to be a very independent and stubborn little cutie pie; you might want to watch your wooden spoon when you turn your back to check on the baking cookies. If you don’t she might just try to take over and you will never get that bowl of cookie dough away from her. Trust me, just see the photo below.

Thanks again to Karyn for posting the homemade brown sugar instructions. It was a huge hit with my kids (and me!).

Tagged as: cookie recipes, Recipes