What you should know about baking and sweeteners.
There is no real substitution for white, granulated sugar. Yes, we love real sugar. We adore maple syrup. Alternative sweeteners don't have the same chemistry as those wonderful tasty sugar crystals, and a recipe that includes white sugar or brown sugar is a recipe that relies on the science of how it will interact with the other ingredients.
Sugar does a whole lot more than sweeten—it adds color, texture, moisture, and taste. And don't think you can get away with slashing out half of the sugar in a recipe for a healthier version—assume that everything in the recipe is there for a reason!
