Again, you really should always try to use the exact ingredients that a recipe author lists; but in a pinch you can try one of the following recipe ingredient substitutions.
| If you don't have: |
Use: |
| 1 cup honey |
1-1/4 white granulated sugar plus
1/4 cup water |
| 1 cup molasses | 1 cup dark corn syrup or honey |
| 1 cup dark corn syrup | 3/4 cup light corn syrup plus 1/4 cup molasses |
| 1/2 cup light corn syrup | 1/2 cup white granulated sugar plus
2 Tbs water |
| 1 cup white granulated sugar | 1 cup packed brown sugar or 2 cups sifted powdered sugar |
| 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar | 1 cup white granulated sugar mixed with
2 Tbs molasses |
| about 2 cups maple syrup | combine 2 sugar and 1 cup water, dissolve sugar and bring to boil; take off heat; add 1/2 tsp maple flavoring |
| 1 ounce (1 square) unsweetened chocolate | 1 ounce unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 Tbs shortening |
| 1 ounce (1 square) semisweet chocolate | 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
plus 1 Tbs sugar or 3 Tbs semisweet chocolate chips |
| 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips | 6 ounce semisweet baking chocolate, chopped |
| 1 cup sour cream | 1 cup plain yogurt |
| 1 cup buttermilk | 1 Tbs vinegar or lemon juice plus milk to equal 1 cup (stir; let mixture stand 5 minutes.) |
| 1 cup whole milk | 1 cup skim milk plus 2 Tbs melted butter |
| 1 cup cream, half and half | 1Tbs melted butter plus enough whole milk to measure 1 cup |
| 1 cup whipped cream | 1 cup chilled evaporated milk plus 1/2 tsp lemon juice, whipped until stiff |
| 1 cup coconut cream | 1 cup cream plus 1/2 tsp coconut extract |
| 1 cup coconut milk | 1 cup milk plus 1/2 tsp coconut extract |
| 1 egg yolk (1-1/3 Tbs) | 2 Tbs dried egg yolks plus 2 tsp water; or 4 tsp frozen egg yolks, thawed. |
| 1 egg white (2 Tbs) | 2 tsp dried egg white plus 2 Tbs water; or 2 Tbs frozen egg whites, thawed |
| 1 whole egg | 2 egg whites or 2 egg yolks or 1/4 cup egg substitute |
| 1/2 cup raisins | 1/2 cup currants, dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, chopped dates or chopped prunes |
| 1 tsp fresh grated lemon peel | 1/2 tsp dried lemon peel reconstituted with ½ tsp water, or 1/2 tsp lemon extract |
| 1 tsp allspice | 1/2 tsp cinnamon plus 1/2 tsp ground cloves |
| 1 tsp apple pie spice | 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp cardamom |
| 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice | Combine ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground ginger, 1/8 tsp ground allspice and 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg |
| 1 tsp grated fresh gingerroot | 1/4 tsp dried ground ginger |
| 1/4 cup rum | 1 Tbs. rum extract plus enough liquid to make 1/4 cup |
| 1/4 cup brandy | 1 Tbs. brandy extract plus enough liquid to make 1/4 cup |
| 1Tbs cornstarch for thickening | 2 Tbs all purpose flour |
| 1 tsp baking powder | 1/4 tsp baking soda plus ½ tsp cream of tartar |
| 1 cup cake flour | 1 cup minus 2 Tbs all-purpose flour |
| 1 cup self-rising flour flour | 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp baking bowder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp baking soda |
| 1 pkg (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast | 1 cake (5/8-ounce) compressed yeast |
The best advice I can give you on recipe ingredient substitutions is don’t do it! That said, let’s be realistic here, we have all been stuck making a recipe without reading it through first and then half-way in we realize we don’t have something. It happens to the best of us. You may ask “what is going to happen if I use recipe ingredient substitutions?” No, the ingredient police are not going to storm down your kitchen door; the only thing that will happen is your results will be different than the recipe author intended. But hey, so what, yours might just even be better.