Oh, Pioneer Woman, I Adore You

I've been singing the praises of the Pioneer Woman for a few months now. Simply put, the woman rocks (if you question that statement - try her pork tenderloin and doughnut recipes. I DARE you to disagree with me after doing that!!). No, I don't know her personally, but her recipe blog has proven to be a fantastic resource more than once ... and her personal blog is also quite a read and really speaks to my inner country girl.

A few weeks ago, we had a brown sugar emergency in the Olson home. I tend to keep our pantry well stocked and rarely run out of the baking basics. Well, mid-recipe for I can't remember what, I realized I was short on the required amount of brown sugar and went to our stockpile of food for the spare bag. We were completely out of brown sugar. I fruitlessly searched high and low to no avail. ACK! Because I had already started the other ingredients, I couldn't simply abandon ship, so I decided to make a "quick trip out" for more sugar. Easier said than done. I went to one store - out. (REALLY??) I went to a second store - none. I went to a THIRD store and the only brown sugar they had was rock hard. I was desperate, so I bought it, brought it home, and then nuked it to soften it so I could actually get the sugar out of the box and into my measuring cup.

Today, I noticed that the Pioneer Woman has a recipe for homemade brown sugar. Who knew you could make your own?? Never again will I drop to the level of rock hard brown sugar (or spending the time for an unneeded run to the store mid-recipe). YIPPEE!