Carrot Cake Oatmeal

I wish I could claim this as my idea.

Carrot cake oatmeal is kinda genius no?

My boss actually gave me the idea. She told me how she came across a recipe for carrot cake oatmeal online somewhere and I decided to come up with my own.

Because I'm stubborn dangerous like that.

I actually never liked the idea of carrot cake until I tried one of the carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting at the bakery...um...yum! As a kid, I thought the idea was gross. Carrots in a cake? No thank you!

Now, I take that back. Please put carrots in my cake. Anyone?

Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Dame Good

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup skim milk
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup carrots, shredded
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
1 packet of splenda (optional, if you would like more sweetness)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes or until thickened. Enjoy!

Gorilla Bread

Class started again yesterday...

Gross, I know.

That break felt about as long as a blink.

I remember when I used to be so excited to go to school. I used to LOVE school. I loved it so much that in 4th grade I decided to sleep on the living room floor the night before the first day of school...in my yellow, green and blue velvet dress, and white tights, and my black mary janes...

No joke, my mom woke me up that morning for school and I shot out of that sleeping bag so fast and declared in my annoyingly high-pitched 9-year-old voice "I'm Reaaaddddyyyy!!"

I don't even know that I ate that morning. I am pretty sure I grabbed my barbie back-pack that always looked like it was swallowing me and ran to the corner of my street to wait for the bus.

We had it made back in elementary school. I mean who else remembers how incredibly awesome it was to have a pizza party, where you could eat at your desks! Whaaaat?!

And the bake sales...oh the bake sales...There was always someone who made that "monkey bread". I never knew what the stuff was except that the more I ate, the more I fell in love.

What happened to this enthusiasm for learning and waking up in the morning? That, I don't know. Now, the only thing that gets me out of bed is the smell of coffee coming from my kitchen (thank God I can set that thing ahead of time), peanut butter banana oatmeal and the promise that the weekend is that much closer.

I don't have the promise of monkey bread or pizza parties anymore. But, I did stumble upon this "gorilla bread" and was immediately taken back to the "monkey bread days". Yep, I am so making this.

It...is...delicious...

I meant to only have one piece but one turned into 1 1/2 which turned into 2 and that turned into 2 1/2 and then I think I had a sugar black-out...

That's okay with me because this stuff rocks. I am telling you, make it...it's a Paula Deen recipe which means there is an abundance of sugar and butter...you know it's good.

What makes this stuff better than monkey bread? Yes, I said better...there is cream cheese in it! It's monkey bread with creamy goodness.

Yeah, I thought that might get you to go to the grocery store.

Good choice my friend...good choice.

Gorilla Bread
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.

Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan.

Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

Whole Wheat Cherry Walnut Bars

Who likes free stuff? Me me!! I am actually kind of amazed at the lengths I go through for free stuff...or to win something. Winning is so much fun am I right?

I don't know who else remembers being at that tender young age where you realize boys actually don't have cooties...in fact boys are kinda cute. I reached this stage around the same time that Usher arrived on the scene. Yes I am talking about Usher Raymond. I remember when "My Way" came out and I was infatuated.

I am not the biggest Usher fan nor do I consider myself obsessed (as I do with many other things...pugs, chocolate, margaritas...you know) but I have been secretly jealous of everyone who was able to snag some tickets to the Usher concert this Wednesday...

Jealous until I won a ticket of my own...yep! Thats right! I won't say what I had to do but I'll attribute it to having a gorgeous friend and lots of  loud "fans" aka Shawns friends...so not really "fans" but its fun to think that.

Needless to say I am excited...it's been a while since I have gone to a big concert...in fact I think the last one was Justin Timberlake...Notice the theme here...what'r'ya'gonna'do?

These bars=good. You can mix and match with different fruits and jams.

Whole Wheat Cherry Walnut Bars
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:


1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten to mix
1 egg white
3/4 cup chopped dried tart cherries
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
Cooking spray
1/4 cup "fruit only" apricot preserves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, wheat germ, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, oil, egg and egg white until well combined. Stir in the oatmeal mixture until well combined. Add the dried cherries and walnuts.

Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Put the preserves in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the bars come out of the oven, brush with the preserves. Cool completely and cut into 12 bars, about 4 by1 1/2 inches each.

Cinnamon Roll Granola

I don't know what it is lately but I have been all about the cinnamon roll. I have always loved them...but lately I have been going a little cinnamon crazy.

I've made cinnamon roll bread...cinnamon coffee cake and this cinnamon roll granola that I came up with.

I saw these cinnabon nuts at the store that I had origionally bought for Shawn. Then I had an intriguing thought...I could totally use these nuts in a granola...

I tried it out and loved it...its delish. Not the most healthy way to start your morning but when it comes to cinnamon rolls...screw healthy (though I do have a lighter version I plant to try soon...only so I can eat 5 and only feel half as guilty).

You should make this...

Now.

You're gonna love the way your house smells. Trust me.

Cinnamon Roll Granola
Dame Good

Ingredients:

4 oz Cinnabon almonds, chopped (found in the nut/snack aisle)
3 oz Cinnabon cashews, chopped (found in the nut/snack aisle)
1 tablespoon skim milk
1/2 tablespoon margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups oats
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl combine milk, margarine, vanilla and powdered sugar to make icing. Stir until mixed. In a large bowl mix the oats, oil, cinnamon and 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of the icing mixture (reserve 2 tablespoons to drizzle over granola later).

Spread granola evenly on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once after 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, stir granola again, then sprinkle with nuts and brown sugar. Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.

After 30 total minutes, remove granola and drizzle with the reserved icing mixture. Allow to cool 15 minutes. Store in airtight containters.

Peanut Pretzel Bark

Does anyone remember when I went through that bark craze (which I put on hold until my waistline shrinks some more)? Well this stuff is to blame. I made this over the holidays and was so amazed with how awesome it was that I ate maybe half of the pan...true story.

Part of what amazed me was the fact that I found white chocolate to be delicious. Ever since I was a little tot, I have shuttered at the thought of white chocolate. I think everyone has one of these experiences with some type of food. I remember one easter I ate a giant white chocolate bunny...

Which ended up all over the place. My stomache did not agree with the bunny if you catch my drift. Since then, I have not been fond of chocolate bunnies, particularly white chocolate ones. Blegh, I can taste that bunny now.

Anyway, I decided to give white chocolate another chance. I like to give the benefit of a doubt. Plus, I really really loved the idea of peanuts and pretzels and chocolate. Sure it would be awesome with milk or dark chocolate but the white was more "holiday-y" to me.

I am so fricking glad I decided to forgive white chocolate because this was amazing. I LOVED it and will most likely be making it every holiday to come. Gosh I want some now...:/

Peanut Pretzel Bark
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

18 (1-ounce) squares white chocolate
3 cups skinny pretzel sticks, broken into small pieces but not crushed, then measured
2 cups dry salted peanuts

Directions:

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water until smooth, or melt in the microwave in a 2 quart glass dish. Microwave on high (100 percent) for 1 minute, stir, and microwave on high for 1 minute more. If necessary, microwave on high for 10 seconds more, and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in the pretzel pieces and peanuts. Stir well with a flexible spatula.

Spoon onto the prepared cookie sheet, spreading the mixture out so that ingredients are relatively evenly distributed.

Allow for the chocolate to cool for several hours or refrigerate for about 45 minutes, until firm. Break the bark into irregular pieces, like peanut brittle. Store in cookie tins, or package in Chinese food take-out cartons lined with waxed paper.

Almond Coconut Granola

Making homemade granola is one of the easiest ways to experiment with flavors and ingredients. I love making homemade granola because I have complete control of what goes in and how much of it goes in. I find many store-bought granola's have too much sugar or an additional ingredient I could do without. I also typically do not like a whole lot of nuts and fruits. I prefer just enough so that each bite has more oats than everything else. But that is probably just me :)

I particularly love this recipe because of the coconut. I could eat toasted coconut by the palmfull. I was never too into coconut until I started working at the bakery. I always loved the scent but eating it was never a preference of mine. At the bakery I was exposed to the snowball cupcake (coconut cake and a coconut buttercream and garnished with shredded coconut), the coconut macaroon and the 7-layer bar. From then on, coconut was not only my favorite scent but a favorite in desserts as well.

I am thinking about trying to come up with a gingerbread granola for the holidays....we'll see if I can pull it off!

Almond Coconut Granola
Dame Good

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups regular rolled oats
1/8 cup flax seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons apple juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheet with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flax seeds, and salt. Mix well. In a small bowl combine the apple juice, maple syrup, vanilla and honey. Mix well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until the mixture is fully combined and moist. Spread the mixture on the greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and stir, breaking the large chunks into smaller pieces. Sprinkle the coconut and almonds on top. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until crisp. Remove from oven and allow to cool. While still warm, stir to break up any remaining chunks. When completely cool, store the granola in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

I love granola. It is so great in the morning with vanilla yogurt and fresh berries or simply on its own with a little milk. My only problem with it is buying it and finding out it is loaded with uneccesary sugar. I prefer the Bear Naked Granola but even some of those have a lot of sugar. I was pleased to find some promising recipes online with room to tweak the recipes and make it my own. Making granola at home is easy, makes your house smell amazing and you can control what goes in it and how much sugar there is. This is just the perfect fall granola recipe...I'm kind of in love with it.

Pumpkin Spice Granola
Adapted from petitchef.com & Greens and Chocolate

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar/splenda blend
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup applesauce
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (not salted), chopped (food processor helps)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In large bowl, combine spices, salt, brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Add oats and stir to combine.

Spread onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, stir granola around on baking sheet. Sprinkle with nuts and bake 15 more minutes. If the granola is not completely done (most likely the middle of the sheet depending on the size of your baking sheet) stir around a little more and bake 5-10 more minutes. Keep close eye if baking the extra 5-10 minutes.

Cool on pan. After cool, add in dried fruit.

End of Summer: Grilled Peach Spinach Salad

Towards the end of summer I made a couple meals that used some of my favorite summer foods like bbq chicken, peaches, fresh greens and the like. I was grilling things like crazy to get my summer food fix so that I could be totally prepared for fall. I am just madly in love with fall. Summer is great, but fall is wonderful.

While I may clearly favor fall over all other seasons, Summer does have one thing that beats them all and that is peaches are in season. Peaches are my favorite fruit (perhaps this is my 9th time declaring this but oh, well, its true). So I gathered a basket of peaches and got to work the last couple weeks of summer. Over the next few days I will be rapidly posting these before my blog is overflown with pumpkin, apple and holiday spiced recipes.

I know I say this everytime I make a salad but this might be my favorite salad recipe thus far. It features some of my alltime favorite ingredients: peaches, bacon, blue cheese, red onion and spinach. The ingredients seem odd and bizaar and that they can't possibly work together but they do, omigoodness they sure do. The dressing is easy and effortless and I just adore blue cheese. There's nothing about this salad I don't like.

 I typically don't care to add nuts to much, I like to just snack on palmfulls of them with bits of dried fruit and dark chocolate but toasted pecans are delicious and compliment all the other flavors. For those of you who like snacking on nuts like I do, try toasting pecans and popping them in your mouth when they are warm, addicting I tell you. Anyways, this salad is right up there with a Strawberry Mozzarella salad I made a while back, strange but fabulous.

Grilled Peach Spinach Salad
From Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

For the salad:
1/2 cup pecans
4 ripe peaches, pitted and quartered
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1/2 pound hickory-smoked bacon, roughly chopped
8 cups baby spinach
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

For the dressing:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) crumbled Danish blue cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, 6 minutes; roughly chop.

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat on one side and medium heat on the other. Lightly brush the peaches with oil and grill over medium until nicely marked, about 4 minutes per side. Meanwhile, place a flat cast-iron skillet on the grill over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Combine the spinach, red onion, grilled peaches, pecans and bacon in a large bowl.

Make the dressing: Mash the blue cheese with a fork in a bowl. Mix in the buttermilk, sour cream, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the salad just before serving.

Blueberry Almond French Toast Bake

This past week was Shawn's week off which equals one of my favorite things...breakfast in bed! I'm still trying to cook and bake a little on the healthier side than usual for now. When I'm trying to be healthy...Ellie Krieger is my best friend. Shawn and I both LOVE french toast and Ellie Krieger has a couple french toast bake recipes I have been intrigued by.

Whats great about them is you put it all together the night before and just pop it in the oven so you can cuddle up in bed with your loved one until the wonderful scent of cinnamon and toast awakens your bellies :) I chose to do her blueberry almond one because I've always read that both blueberries and almonds help reduce belly fat, and lets face it, I could use the help...especially seeing as to how my man is home only once a month. This was super yummy and satisfying. We ate it warm out of the oven on top of vanilla yogurt with a drizzle of sugar-free syrup and a touch of powdered sugar. As one can probably assume, I got this recipe off of the foodnetwork.com.

Blueberry Almond French Toast Bake

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 whole-wheat baguette (about 18 inches long, 8 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes
8 large eggs
8 large egg whites
2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Directions:
Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread. Scatter the blueberries evenly on top and sprinkle with the almonds and brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the baking pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

Per Serving:

Calories 270; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 2.5 g, Mono Fat 2 g, Poly Fat 0.75 g) ; Protein 16 g; Carb 35 g; Fiber 3 g; Cholesterol 220 mg; Sodium 280 mg

Excellent source of: Protein, Riboflavin, Iodine, Manganese, Selenium
Good source of: Fiber, Vitamin K, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc

A Cure For an Overstimulated Sweet Tooth: Savory Peach Chicken

So I've baking A LOT lately which equals me eating a lot of sugar. Sometimes, after so many sweets I just NEED something savory and delicous. I know this is really a baking blog but my passion lies in the kitchen in general. I LOVE to cook and don't see the harm in sharing these recipes every now and then too :)Baking just has a "special" spot in my heart.

Anyways, I saw this recipe on Foodnetwork.com and just HAD to try it. Peaches are my favorite fruit and I like to do healthier cooking to make up for all the butter and sugar in baking. I halved this recipe because I was just cooking for myself, and it turned out phenomenal...this is most definitely in my top 5 favorite dishes to make now.

Savory Peach Chicken

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 large firm-ripe peaches, cut into 1/4-inch slices, or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peaches, (about 4 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and orange juice in a small bowl and set aside. When the chicken is browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, the soy sauce mixture, and the peaches to the pan. Turn the heat up to high and cook, uncovered, for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is nicely thickened and the peaches soften. Add the chicken back to the pan with the sauce, turn the heat down to moderate-low, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

In the meantime, toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Serve the chicken topped with the sauce and sprinkled with the toasted almonds.

Yield: 4 serving, 1 piece chicken, 2/3 cup sauce and 1/2 tablespoon almonds per serving

Suggestion: serve with brown rice..ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal Cookies

I've established that cupcakes make me crazy and cheesecake makes me melt. Everyone's got top 3 favorites in everything right? My favorite desserts 1.) Cupcakes, 2.) Cheesecake, 3.) COOKIES! You just can't go wrong with cookies! There is nothing like a warm, fresh-out of the oven chocolate chip cookie...NOTHING! I've been trying out different types of cookies beyond your average chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin and the like (not that there is anything wrong with those but I'm on a mission to learn!)

I'm not huge on fruity desserts. Some are great but I prefer the rich, gooey, chocolatey, peanut-butter, cream-cheese-filled concoctions. There is one fruit that I find irresistable though and that is peaches! I remember being a kid and always eating a bowl of peaches and cream oatmeal for breakfast in the winter; it was warm, comforting and creamy. I still find myself spontaneously tossing a box in my shopping cart every now and then when I need to be brought back to those days.

I was browsing my all-time favorite web-site (foodnetwork.com) and came across these peaches and cream oatmeal cookies. Not only do they contain my FAVORITE fruit, but they have nutritional value. Bingo! (Also, I'm sure many other kinds of dried fruits will work well in this recipe. Everyone has different favorites and different tastes. Never fear to play around with it!

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used about 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour and 1/4 a cup of regular all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
1 stick butter, softened (I reduced this JUST SLIGHTLY and used "I Cant Believe its Not Butter Light")
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (I actually had a pack of peaches and cream oatmeal so I used about 1/2 a cup of that and 1 cup of oats, they totally made a difference)
1/2 cup chopped dried peaches (I had some dried apricots which I think have a slightly sharper flavor than peaches and they also have a good source of vitamin A so I did 1/4 cup of peaches and 1/4 of apricots just to shake things up)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 teaspooon vanilla extract (the recipe didn't origionally call for this but the "cream" part of the title just kept tugging at me to toss it in, I'm glad I did)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add egg and continue mixing. Slowly add flour mixture, oats, peaches, walnuts, and white chocolate chips. Mix until combined.

Line 2 sheet trays with parchment. With wet hands make 20 balls from the dough placing evenly among sheet trays. Press down on cookie dough with palm of your hand to make a flat circle.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden and still a bit tender in the center. Remove from oven and let sit on sheet trays 1 minute. Remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

These came out perfectly! They are just superb when they come right out of the oven so most definitely serve them warm when you can. Also, I saw that I had a significant amount of walnuts and dried fruit left so I packaged up my own personal trail mix. I tossed in some almonds and raisins as well. It can be a great snack while I'm in class or at work and are a perfect blend of protein and good carbs for a before/after workout snack! Final thoughts on this recipe? Very convenient, very flexible, very tasty.

PS: this recipe made me wonder...what is the difference between light and dark brown sugar? I quickly googled it and here's what I found...
Both types of brown sugar are a mixture of granulated sugars and molasses, with dark brown sugar containing more molasses than light brown sugar. Light brown sugar has a delicate flavor while dark brown sugar has a stronger more intense molasses flavor. They can be used interchangeably depending on your personal preference... hmmm learn something new everyday!