Maggie Hennessy is a Chicago-based freelance food and drink journalist who has covered food, dining, and the restaurant industry for almost 15 years.

50% light brown sugar/50% granulated sugar. Visual grade: A+. This cookie was beautiful, striking the right balance of golden and golden-brown color.

For 1 cup brown sugar, substitute 1 cup organic brown sugar, coconut sugar, or date sugar, or substitute up to half of the brown sugar with agave nectar in baking.

Granulated sugar is the most common type of sugar. Its neutral flavor provides a sweet blank canvas; it’s your best option when a recipe simply calls for sugar.

Brown sugar is a "granulated, refined sugar that comes from the same plant as white sugar," says Kate Zeratsky, RD, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. It gets its ...