We've been there. You're frantically baking away—whisking egg yolks and butter, sifting flour, measuring butter—when you go to the pantry to pull out the brown sugar, and you're out.

How on earth are you going to make those perfect chocolate chip cookies without the brown sugar? Well, don't panic. We have a few substitutions that will likely do the trick in replacing it. (Oh, and if your sugar's gone hard, try these hacks!)

Brown sugar is just white sugar without the molasses extracted out. That's what gives it the moist, sandy texture and brown color with the deep, nutty flavor. So to replace brown sugar, you're going to need some of the same sweetness and nuttiness.

Granulated Sugar + Molasses

If you have molasses, just make some homemade brown sugar by mixing one cup of white sugar with one to two tablespoons of molasses, depending on how light or dark you'd like your brown sugar to be.

Granulated Sugar + Maple Syrup

Same idea here, but with a product you are more likely to have on hand. You can make your own version of brown sugar by adding maple syrup to white sugar and basically get the same effect as the molasses. Use the same ratios: one cup white sugar to one to two tablespoons of maple syrup.

Coconut Sugar

This type of sugar is made from coconut palm and can be swapped in for brown sugar using a one-to-one ratio. It should give the same sweetness and color.

Honey, Maple Syrup, or Agave Nectar

If you're making a sauce or a glaze, using these liquid sweeteners as a replacement should work just fine. When throwing them into a baked good, account for the extra liquid by using a ratio of 3/4 cup liquid sweetener to one cup brown sugar.

Granulated Sugar

Just using regular white sugar should still work in almost any recipe that calls for brown sugar. But be aware that whatever you are making will come out a little drier—perfect for fans of crispy cookies!

Maple Sugar, Palm Sugar, Date Sugar, or Muscovado Sugar

These aren't super common pantry staples, but if you happen to have any of the above fancy sugars on hand, they can be used to replace brown sugar in a one-to-one ratio.