Making a recipe that calls for dark corn syrup? If you don’t have any, or just plain don’t like to use it, here are several dark corn syrup substitutes that you can use instead.

Use any of these in place of one cup of dark corn syrup:

3/4 cup light corn syrup + 1/4 cup molasses – Dark corn syrup is just light corn syrup with some molasses added to it. So, if you have both ingredients in your pantry, just make your own. This will keep your recipe as intended.

3/4 cup honey + 1/4 cup molasses – If you’re trying to avoid corn syrup, make a quick substitute by stirring honey and molasses together. This will maintain the proper thickness, and give you that signature dark color. It’ll also keep your baked goods moist. It just won’t resist crystallizing as well as dark corn syrup. So, if you’re making caramel, or another hard candy, you may want to use a different substitute.

1 cup maple syrup or pancake syrup – Replace the molasses that’s called for with an equal amount of maple syrup. If you use pancake syrup (the fake stuff that’s made with corn syrup and maple flavoring), you’ll even get the intended amount of corn syrup in your recipe. This substitute will add a decidedly maple flavor to whatever you’re making, but that could be tasty. Baked goods made with maple syrup will be lighter in color, than those made with dark corn syrup. Making hard candy? As long as you use the fake stuff, your candy should turn out great.

1 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup hot water – In a pinch, a concentrated simple syrup can stand in for dark corn syrup. Make it with brown sugar to get some of the intended molasses and color back into your recipe. This substitute won’t resist crystallizing, like corn syrup. So, if you’re making candy or something else where this matters, you may want to choose another substitute. Have light and dark brown sugar in your pantry? Use the dark; it contains more molasses.