Sugar Substitutions in Baking

1. Maple Syrup A natural substitute for sugar, maple syrup is derived from boiled tree sap. Because it’s in a liquid state, you’ll have to reduce the amount of liquid in your recipe by 3 tablespoons. Be sure to read the label, though: Genuine maple syrup is different from pancake syrup, which does contain added sugar. It’s also important to note that maple syrup has a distinct flavour, so depending on the grade you use, the flavour of your baked goods may be affected. Plus, it’s brown, so when substituting white sugar with maple syrup, the finished product may be a bit darker than usual.
   Substitution Tip: I’ve found that replacing one cup of sugar with 3/4 cups maple syrup usually works if you lower the amount of other liquids in the recipe by 2-3 tablespoons. For cookies, I also like to refrigerate the dough for a bit so it can set a bit before baking.

2. Apple Sauce There isn't a hard-and-fast ratio for substituting applesauce. In your morning oatmeal or plain yogurt, just add applesauce to suit your taste. If you use the unsweetened kind, there aren’t any added sugars at all. The sweetness is all natural and it works really good in muffins and sweet breads. For baked goods that need a little more sweetness, sub sugar with half applesauce, half maple syrup. It takes a little more tinkering but it works.
   - Unsweetened applesauce checks in at just 102 calories per cup, while the same amount of sugar measures 774 calories. The problem is that sugar isn't just a sweetener. It also plays an important role in the chemistry of most recipes, providing structure and browning power to the mixture. In a cake, for example, swapping out the sugar can leave the end result pale, dense and chewy. The best recipes for substitution gain their texture and structure from other ingredients. Swap in oatmeal cookies rather than sugar cookies, for example, and muffins or quick cakes rather than conventional cakes.
   - Applesauce can generally be subbed as a sweetener, but you need to consider a few things. First, it is more acidic than brown sugar (applesauce has a pH around 3.5, whereas brown sugar has a pH closer to 6ish), so it will react more strongly/quickly with the baking soda. The cookies might "blow up" when they hit the oven, so you may need to experiment with your baking soda amounts. Second, its moisture content is way higher than brown sugar's. Your cookies will be a gummy mess if you try to just substitute it 1:1, so you'll likely need to add flour to get the texture right.
   Substitution Tip: Recipes for baked goods will require a bit of adjusting if they weren't written to use applesauce, so be prepared to experiment a little. There’s a lot of liquid in apple sauce, so while you can sub it 1:1 with the sugar in the recipe, you need to reduce the other liquids to suit. A good starting point is reducing the other liquids, such as milk, by 3-4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) for every cup of applesauce added. Don't cut the eggs, which serve other important purposes in your batter.

3. Ripe Bananas: Ripe bananas can come in handy in all kinds of ways when baking, including as a sugar substitute! Their natural sweetness makes them the perfect swap with baked goods like muffins or quick breads. If you’re using bananas as a baking substitute, get the ripest ones you can find and blend them so they’re smooth before adding.
   Ratio: 1 cup of mashed ripe banana for every 1 cup of sugar

4. Berries: Jams and jellies may have extra sweeteners, so to avoid any added sugar, mash up some berries of your choosing! The result? A sweet and berry good puree that adds fresh flavor and moisture to your favorite baked goods.
   Ratio: 1 cup of fruit puree for every 1 cup of sugar

5. Honey: Something special about this sugar substitute is that its flavor profile varies based on the flowers where the honeybees got their nectar. That’s why locally sourced honey adds such a rich sweetness to any recipe. When using honey as your sugar substitute, you’ll want to decrease any liquid ingredients, such as water or milk, by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey.
   Substitution Tip: Replace every cup of sugar with 3/4 cups honey and reduce other liquids by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey. Honey also browns faster than other sugars, so you need to reduce cooking temperature by 25 degrees to avoid burning.

6. Molasses Known for its delicious, complex flavor, molasses is a by-product of refined sugar production. It has a distinct taste that is less sweet than honey or maple syrup making it good for fall recipes with spices such as apple crisp or pumpkin pie. When using molasses, you’ll want to reduce the liquids in your recipe by 5 tablespoons.
   Ratio: 1-1/3 cups of molasses for every 1 cup of sugar.

7. Agave Agave is a good substitute for sugar because, while it still has a fructose content, you need a lot less of it to achieve the same level of sweetness. When using agave, you’ll want to reduce the liquids in the recipe by 4 tablespoons and reduce oven temp by 25 percent. Because agave nectar is sticky, it may also help to use parchment paper — and you’ll want to combine your liquids before incorporating your dry ingredients.
   This syrup, derived from the blue agave plant, is super sweet, so you’ll only need 2/3 cup to replace a full cup of sugar. Like honey and maple syrup, you’ll need to reduce the amount of other liquids in the recipe by three tablespoons per cup of agave nectar, and watch for your baked goods to be ready sooner. But unlike those other liquid sweeteners, agave doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own, so your baked goods will taste more like the original sugar recipe.
   Substitution Tip: For the best results, you should replace each cup of sugar with 2/3 cups of agave and reduce other liquid in the recipe by 2-4 tablespoons. And, as with honey, agave browns faster than other sugars, so you should also reduce the cooking temp by 25 degrees.

8. Coconut Sugar Coconut sugar is derived from the coconut plant, specifically coconut palm sap. Because it comes in a crystalline form, it’s an easy 1-for-1 substitution for recipes calling for both white and brown sugar. And it’s just as flavorful!
   Substitution Tip: 1 cup coconut sugar for every 1 cup granulated sugar

9. Date Sugar: Date sugar is a slightly sweeter alternative made from dehydrated dates that are ground into a sugar-like consistency making it a one-to-one replacement for both granulated or brown sugar in baking. It does tend to dry out baked goods, so increasing moisture through may be needed. Bonus: When using date sugar, you’ll also notice a sweet, butterscotch-like flavor!
   - Pureeing dates and figs offers a nutty, flavorful alternative to sugar and can also be used interchangeably with each other! Both are great as sweetening and binding ingredients in dessert recipes such as brownies or cookies. Ratio: 1 cup of date or fig puree for every 1 cup of sugar
   Substitution Tip: 2/3 cup or 1 cup of date sugar for every 1 cup of sugar

Tips for Baking with Sugar Substitutes

While these alternatives are smart stand-ins for sugar, they also have different taste and texture qualities that, especially in baking, require some exploration to get the most delicious results. These guidelines will ease the way:

Less may be more.
Start out by adding the minimum recommended amount of sweetener, then taste. Some sugar substitutes are double or triple the sweetness of sugar, so it’s wise to go slow. You can always add more.

Precision makes a difference.
Baking is, in essence, a chemistry experiment and as such, being able to measure ingredients accurately is important, especially when you’re noodling with what some of those ingredients are.

You could need more liquid.
Many sugar alternatives don’t absorb moisture as well as sugar does, so recipes may turn out drier or more crumbly than ideal. To adjust, incrementally increase the amounts of liquids, such as milk, water, or oil. Or add spoonfuls of mashed banana, yogurt, and/or applesauce.

Watch for over-browning.
Some sugar substitutes brown more quickly than sugar, so start peeking at your baked goods 15 minutes or so before their baking time is done to make sure they don’t get too dark. Another option: Lower the baking temperature by 15 degrees.