8 Ways To Keep Brown Sugar Soft (And Soften If It Hardens)

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By Lisa A. Kaminski

Taste of Home's Editorial Process

Updated on Apr. 05, 2024

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Ever gone to make a batch of cookies, only to find that your sugar has turned into a brick? Here's how to soften that brown sugar.

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It can be frustrating to find that your brown sugar has gone hard. It happens to the best of us! This type of sugar—both light brown and dark brown sugar—contains molasses. When that molasses is exposed to air, it loses moisture and causes the sugar to harden. This usually happens when the sugar is stored in an unsealed bag or loosely covered container.

The good news is that learning how to soften brown sugar is easy—and fast! You’ll be baking heirloom brown sugar desserts in no time.

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Store Brown Sugar with Marshmallows

It might seem strange, but marshmallows can help soften brown sugar! How? The moisture from the mallows gets absorbed into the dried-out sugar. Just drop a few marshmallows into your container of brown sugar and seal it up tight. The sugar should be softer in a day or so.

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Soften Brown Sugar with Sliced Bread

Like with marshmallows, hard brown sugar can absorb moisture from a slice of bread. Toss a slice into your container and in a day or two, you’ll find that the bread is nothing but a crouton while the sugar is soft and pliable.

Use this same technique to soften cookies that have gotten a bit too crunchy. In both cases, be sure to use bread with a neutral flavor like white or wheat (not yesterday’s onion bagel).

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Add Apple Wedges to Brown Sugar

If you don’t have any bread or marshmallows, apples work too. Toss a few wedges (or even the core) into your container of too-hard brown sugar. Leave this to sit overnight. By morning, the sugar should be softer thanks to the moisture in the apples.

Don’t forget to toss the used slices. They shouldn’t sit in your sugar for more than a day.

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Use a Brown Sugar Bear

The cutest way to soften brown sugar has to be a brown sugar bear. To use, soak the terra-cotta bear in water, then place into a container with the sugar. This will help soften up any too-hard sugar (and keep it soft for up to six months).

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Sprinkle Water in the Brown Sugar Bag

If you can spare a few days, sprinkle a few drops of water in the bag of brown sugar and wait until it softens up. Be careful not to overdo it, though; water can also cause the sugar to dissolve.

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Break Up Hard Brown Sugar with a Rolling Pin

If your sugar is too firm for making pecan pralines, it’s time to break out the rolling pin. Seal the sugar in a zip-top bag and then give it a few good thwacks with the rolling pin (a meat mallet also works). This will help break up the sugar.

Be sure to use our other techniques for any remaining brown sugar you have. You won’t want to go through this routine every time you bake!

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Microwave Brown Sugar

While many of these methods are fairly quick, you need a near-instant method when you’re planning on baking cookies right now. If you don’t have a lot of time to spare, pop the sugar into a dish, cover with a damp paper towel or tea towel and zap in the microwave for 20 seconds.

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How to Keep Brown Sugar Soft

The best way to keep brown sugar soft is to store it the right way from the get-go. As soon as you open the bag, empty the contents into an airtight container. If you don’t have one, these baking containers are some of our editors’ favorites. This will keep air from getting inside and drying out the sugar. It’s the same way flour should be stored, too.