Brown sugar

We are starting to prepare for a family get-together and our first task, at Jaelyn's request, was to make chocolate chip cookies.  After discovering our handed-down recipe was not where it was supposed to be and a phone call to grandma later, we gathered our ingredients, only to discover we were short of a key ingredient - brown sugar. 

Not wanting to make a trip to the grocery store, I mused that we would simply make our own brown sugar.  I don't know what caused me to even think such a thing, but once we were off the phone with recipe in hand, I grabbed Homemade Pantry.  If I were to find how to make such a thing without turning on the computer, it would be there.  And it was!  All we needed was sugar and molasses - easy peasy!

As we poured those two humble ingredients into our stand mixer and watched the molasses clump into a gooey blob with the sugar, we talked a bit about where sugar comes from and how it is processed.  As we scraped the bowl down, we started to get a glimpse of what our brown sugar would look like.  Eyes were glued to its progress, and mouths were anxious for a taste.  What patient babes I had in my kitchen this afternoon!

Soon, in not too much time, our brown sugar was ready.  It looks just like the store-bought stuff, except it has such a lovely soft, moist quality to it.  I don't think I will ever go back to buying store-bought brown sugar again (especially when it costs more for less)!

Just as quickly, our chocolate chip cookies were in and out of the oven.  We've solemnly sworn that we will share just one before we hide them away in the freezer until the weekend.  Wish us luck on that front!