Reader Query: Packed or Unpacked Brown Sugar?

Jessica emailed me to ask about measuring brown sugar:

I often see fairly high amounts of brown sugar in your recipes, and I was just wondering if you meant for us to use "packed" cups of brown sugar, or if we should just scoop it out of the bag at the normal level of density. Since it can get slightly packed on its own, I wasn't sure how dense the cups of brown sugar should be.

Hi, Jessica. Thanks for writing in! Good question. I always firmly pack my brown sugar when I measure.

Comments

[Lorraine]

I just noticed the new picture of you that's posted on the blog. I love it! Did you change it recently or did it just take me a long time to notice?

[Oatmeal Cookie Guy]

Hey, Lorraine. Thanks! I just changed the pic today. My friend In-Young took it at Momofuku a little while ago.