Who knew there were so many different types of sugar to choose from? I really never thought about it until I needed to buy a course sugar to decorate the top of my muffins, to give them that sparkle and crunch.

Sugar choices range from white sugar, to cane sugar, to a rich brown sugar. Each variety offers a special uniqueness and application. Sugar of course provides sweetness but, it also can be used to add texture, and decoration. Sugar also makes the dough tender and provides stability for egg whites when making a meringue. It also helps your baked goods achieve that perfect golden brown color in the oven.

TYPES OF SUGARS
Highly Processed Sugars
1. Granulated Sugar: This is the most common sugar which is white in color and highly refined. It's made from sugarcane and sugar beets.

2. Caster Sugar: This is just superfine granulated white sugar. It's sometimes labeled superfine sugar. You may choose to use this type of sugar if you need the sugar to dissolve quickly, like for making meringues, and syrups.

3. Confectioners Sugar: Another name for confectioners sugar is powdered sugar. It's just white sugar that has been ground into a fine powder. To prevent clumping a small amount of cornstarch is typically blended into the sugar when processing. The best application for this type of sugar is for making icings as well as decorating your baked goods.

4. Pearl Sugar: Another name for pearl sugar is nib or hail sugar. It's a white sugar that has a large irregular coarse shape, hard texture and an opaque color. The advantages to using it are, it holds it's shape when baked. Pearl sugar is commonly used in Scandinavian baking to decorate pastries, cookies, and buns.

5. Sanding Sugar: This type of sugar has large uniform crystals that sparkle, perfect for toppings on your baked items. It's also resistant to heat which makes it a good choice for decorating your baked goods. You may also find this sugar in a rainbow of colors. Since this is a specialty sugar it's usually not at the grocery store, at least not around here.

6. Dark and Light Brown Sugar: We are all familiar with brown sugar, both of these types of sugars are granulated sugar with molasses added back in. The dark brown sugar has a higher concentration of molasses. I usually buy the dark brown sugar because of the higher molasses content. Molasses is a good source of minerals and iron...Read More

Minimally Processed Sugars
1. Sucanat Sugar: Made from crystallized pure cane sugar, this truly unrefined sugar retains a higher proportion of molasses than other types of cane sugars. It has an intense, rather burnt taste that may be overpowering in lighter baking recipes but, is fantastic in things like spice cakes and ginger cookies.

2. Demerara Sugar This is a variety of raw cane sugar that is minimally refined. It has large uniform grains with an amber color and a natural, subtle toffee flavor. The larger grains are similar to Sanding Sugar but it's not as processed and is amber in color.

3. Turbinado Sugar: This sugar variety has larger crystals than Demerara sugar. The medium-brown crystals, are often mistaken for standard brown sugar because of its color. It's made from the first pressing of the sugar cane meaning it contains slightly more molasses and trace nutrients.  Turbinado sugar has a delicate caramel flavor and is commonly used to sweeten beverages and can also be used in baking instead of granulated sugar.

4. Muscovado Sugar: Another name often used is Barbados sugar.  This sugar does not have the molasses removed which gives it a stronger molasses flavor compared to dark brown sugar. The consistency of muscovado sugar is very similar to brown sugar, wet, and sandy. It's this rich strong flavor that works well in barbecue sauce, marinades and savory dishes.

Sources:
https://www.reference.com
www.thekitchen.com
www.mybakingaddiction.com

Substituting honey for sugar in your baked items is not a simple one for one ratio. There are several considerations to take into account before you add the honey.

1. Honey is sweeter then whit sugar so the amount of honey needs to be reduced in the recipe. Also, not all honeys are the same, in flavor and sweetness. General Rule: For every 1 cup of sugar, substitute 1/2 to 2/3 cup of honey.
2. The next consideration when substituting honey is it contains more liquid up to 20% water than white sugar. This will throw off the liquid to flour ratio in the recipe if you don't reduce the total amount of liquid in the recipe to account for the honey. General Rule: For every 1 cup of honey you're using, subtract 1/4 cup of other liquids from the recipe.
3. Most baker don't think of the acidity of the recipe, but adding honey will make the batter more acidic since honey is naturally acidic. The addition of baking soda will help balance the acidity so your baked item will rise properly. General Rule: Add 1/4 tsp. baking soda for every 1 cup of honey used in the recipe.
   
4. The last consideration is the oven temperature at which you will bake your item. Honey has a higher sugar content which means it will burn faster than granulated white sugar. In order to prevent your baked item from over browning you will need to reduce the oven temperature and keep a closer eye on it. General Rule: Reduce the temperature of the oven by 25°F.

Like with most recipes follow these guidelines and take notes on the results. Remember these are guidelines so you may have to make adjustments to your recipe after giving it a try.

Sources:
Tips from the Kitchen, http://www.thekitchn.com

I was always sold on real vanilla in all my baked products, but after reading this article from Cooks Illustrated I have changed my mind. Cooks Illustrated did a taste test a couple of years ago that got a lot of folks talking about vanilla. Here is what they concluded.

Vanilla is a powerful flavor enhancer it intensifies the taste of other foods including chocolate, coffee, fruit, and nuts, and boosts our perception of sweetness.  This is true for both pure and imitation vanilla. Real vanilla has  around 250 flavor and aroma compounds. The artificial version has just one, vanillin, the predominant flavor in natural vanilla. One of the most striking differences between the pure and artificial vanilla involve the flavor of alcohol. The federal guidelines require 35 percent alcohol in pure vanilla extract, while imitation vanilla has little to no alcohol. This explains why the tasters kept describing real vanilla as “boozy,” an adjective rarely applied to artificial vanilla. The tasters also found the real stuff nutty, spicy, and more complex than the artificial vanilla.

The cost between the real vanilla and the imitation is great, so the question becomes are you really getting a more favorable vanilla using the real stuff? The answer depends on how you use it. If you use vanilla regularly in baked goods in which the internal temperature gets over 210 degrees, like cookies and muffins, there's no reason to spring for the real stuff, artificial extract will do just fine. If you drink a lot of nog, or make uncooked ice cream bases or cold desserts you might consider buying real vanilla. But if all you've got on hand is the artificial vanilla, just add a touch of booze to the mix. One teaspoon of vodka or bourbon for every teaspoon of vanilla works great, and you will not be able to tell the difference.

Sources
Cooks Illustrated
Serous Eats

Everything is better with butter is my motto, but things can go horribly wrong if you don't know what you are doing. Here are some of the common mistakes made when using butter.

1. Using the Wrong Temperature of Butter
Most recipes for baked goods call for creaming butter and sugar. It's very important that the butter be at room-temperature, completely softened butter. This allows the sugar crystals to slice through the fat, creating air pockets that give your finished product lift. When the butter is melted the result is a flat chewy texture best used in a cookie not a cake.

When making pie dough the butter needs to be very cold. This is important because too-soft butter won’t form the tiny pea-sized “crumbs” in the dough that lead to a flaky crust. As for recipes that call for melted butter and eggs, like pancakes, it’s best to let the butter cool slightly before combining it with the other ingredients. Hot melted butter will partially cook the eggs, turning your batter into scrambled eggs.

2 Swapping out Butter
Because it has a similar consistency to butter, you may think that you can swap out butter for shortening or coconut oil. The results will not be the same. Butter has unique properties, like the addition of water.  Other solid oils do not, and the results will show in your finished product.  Baking is as much a science as it is an art. Success of any given recipe depends on the specific chemical reactions between ingredients. Stick with recipes that have tested the variables. The same rules apply for oils, like vegetable and olive oil. Each oil has a different burning point, which are all higher than butter.

3. Adding Butter Too Soon When Searing
The reason butter is so tasty is also the reason it’s not ideal for high-heat cooking. The milk solids that give it a full, rounded flavor burn more quickly compared to fats like canola, vegetable, or virgin olive oil. But there’s a way to beat the system: Baste seared meats, seafood, and veggies in butter when they’re almost done cooking. The butter will turn fragrant and nutty, while helping turn the ingredient a beautiful golden brown. Alternatively, you can give protein like steak or chicken a hard sear with ghee, which is clarified butter (which contains no milk solids).

4. Balancing the Richness of Butter with Other Flavors
Butter is rich and fatty. but it needs supporting flavors to really make it come alive. When cooking with butter in savory applications, it should be tempered with acidic and bright ingredients, like lemon juice, zest or vinegar and a  little salt.

5. Know Your Butter Salted or Unsalted
I prefer to bake with unsalted butter that way I can control the amount of salt that goes into a recipe. If you can not find unsalted butter, the salted version  will work for cakes, cookies, and the like,  just adjust the amount of or eliminate the pinch of salt you’d usually add to your baked item. Unsalted butter is also ideal for savory sauces, allowing you to add your own level of salt. Butter is salted to keep if fresh longer, and the amount of salt is typically 1/4 tsp per stick of butter, so not a huge amount.

Source
Bon Appetite, Rochell Bilow 3-2016