I've recently started selling cookies I bake in my home. That means I go through a lot of ingredients! I'm having a problem with the brown sugar though. It dries out very quickly and gets hard lumps. How do I prevent this from happening? I don't want to sell somebody cookies with lumps in them and I don't want to have to throw away sugar because it dries out. Any suggestions on how to store it so this won't happen?
Try a zip lock bag or a sealable tupperware box and store in the fridge. I use brown sugar for my BBQ sauce I keep it in its original package and in the fridge.
Yeah, I also have heard some of these. Sandra Lee puts a piece of bread on top (Semi-Homemade Cokking with Sandra Lee). And Giada D. has the clay disc that prevents her brown sugar from getting hard (Everyday Italian). I don't do either of these but was actually in my brown sugar this morning and realized that I needed to do one of these things.
Good luck with the cookie business.
I've had very good luck with putting the sugar in ziploc bags inside of tupperware. A double whammy! It's always soft when I do that. I've also heard that storing it with a bit of sliced apple also helps to keep it moist.
I saw this on tv the other day. On a cooking show they said to use a air tight jar and put a piece of bread in with it.
I buy organic, which has the 'ziploc' type closing. I squeeze the air out, while zipping it closed and then store that bag in a large actual ziploc bag, squeezing the air out as I zip that. My brown sugar remains moist for months.
Good luck.
PS - If it does dry out there are ways to soften it again. You can place it in a bowl with a wet paper towel across the top of the bowl (not touching the brown sugar) and heat it in the microwave.
M.,
I store my brown sugar in a container with a piece of plain bread on the top. This soaks up the air and keeps the sugar from getting lumpy and hard. Change the bread about every 4th or 5th opening. Good Luck
A.
Make sure that the brown sugar is right very very tightly. Wrap the bag in saran wrap. A piece of bread will also do the trick too. Good luck!
They make a clay stone (mine is in the shape of a bear), and it can be found at any kitchen store or place that sells baking products. They are specificly meant to keep sugar from getting hard and lumpy. You soak the clay stone for a couple hours and then towel dry it. The moisture the clay stone absorbed will provide enough moisture in your sealed sugar container to keep it soft. Works with any kind of sugar.
I have also heard the trick about using a slice of bread or an apple.
Hope this helps! Happy baking!
