Thank you for indulging me while I wax on about butter this week. It’s like that time I wouldn’t shut up about toast.
While we’re here with butter on the brain, can we brown it and stir it into flour and sugar? I mean… might as well.
Now… Brown Butter (which I indiscriminately call Browned Butter sometimes) is this: butter that is melted in a small pan over low heat until the butterfat and milk solids separate and the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and begin to brown to a nutty color, flavor, and fragrance, at which point the butter (brown bits and all) are transferred to a small bow, honored, appreciated, and then stirred into batter.
Try to say that sentence three times fast.
I’m not just adding more dish and extra stress to your baking process. Brown butter really is the secret sparkle to so many baked goods. Brown butter adds a depth, richness, and irresistible nutty flavor to cookies, cakes, and breads. It’s a simple pleasure that feels like a luxury. I love when that happens.
Let’s start with a classic: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Bring these cookies to a party and I swear you’ll leave with three new friends, like it or not.
Brown butter and light rum happen to be the same color. Coincidence? I think not.
Brown Butter Banana Bread with Rum and Coconut
Put strawberries in the mix before they go out of season. I love the sweetness of this bread. Slice it too thick, and then go back for seconds: Brown Butter Strawberry Banana Bread.
You already know what’s up with Brown Butter Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze.
This recipe is like making cartoon doughnuts in your own kitchen. It’s like Homer Simpson is in the next room waiting for a plate piled high.
Savory, sweet, buttery and delicious. Some things are just right. Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread. Please note aggressive use of honey. Cool, thanks.
Butter in a brownie incarnation. Not browned, but still delicious: Ginger Walnut Chocolate Chip Blondies + Triple Chocolate Black Bean
Put some butter in your weekend. Also consider sleeping in, holding someone’s hand, two cups of coffee, and one of those 3:30 to 4:45 ugly naps.
Anne
My family loves butter. My daughter eats it like it is the equivalent of a piece of chocolate…savoring each bite. What are your thoughts on Irish Butter? We love it but haven’t baked with it. I really want to recreate the scones we had in Ireland and I was told that the butter was the key.
Heidi - Apples Under My Bed
haha ugly naps. x
Jaclyn
Does that mean we can change the normal butter in any recipe to brown butter?
Sam TH
Great Ideas here!!! I am totally going to try the brown butter rum coconut banana bread. I’ve been making a version of shutterbean’s salted brown butter rice krispie treats but adding a little chocolate to them. I featured them on neurotic kitchen recently and they are getting a ton of traffic. On thing’s for sure, Joy, the people want brown butter so you are SPOT ON! Amazing work.
Lorraine
Yes, please. To all of that.
Anna
Joy, I just made your brown butter chocolate chip cookies and they were simple delicious! Probably just found my new favorite cookie recipe and my go-to recipe. Thank you for showing me the joys of brown butter!
Dahz
great presentation as always!
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Jayne
You’re making me want every single one of these at 1:36pm at work! Gosh darn it.
Liz @ Life Made Sweet
You are speaking my language of deliciousness!! As many cookies as I’ve had & made, I’ve never actually tried one with brown butter…..I can’t wait! Thank you for so much inspiration!
Sarah
SO. I’ve always been afraid of browning butter because everybody is like “oh it goes from brown butter to BURNT in like 2 seconds so basically you’re going to burn it!” So I have always been afraid to make it. I also used to over bake/burn all of my cookies growing up (as a result my mother thought I liked crispy cookies until a couple of years ago when my brother ratted me out. Soft and chewy for this girl!). ANYWAY your post gave me the encouragement and confidence I needed to make some DELICIOUS brown butter chocolate chip cookies. I want to put brown butter in/on everything now … and I think I will. I also no longer over bake things for the record. So thank you for the enlightenment and satisfaction – I’m pretty sure I have eaten half the dough. Let’s hope the rest makes it into the oven so I can try the finished product! Can’t wait to brown butter for everything forever!
Sagan
Oh. Yum. I want it all!
Wish I would have read this 15 minutes ago BEFORE I started making brownies. Bet that browned butter would add a whole lot of flair to the recipe!
Monica
I’ve really got to get more adventurous on the brown butter beyond just using it to make financiers. You are very convincing, Joy. I’ve already bought that donut pan thanks to your last mouthwatering post and I’m looking forward to making some donuts with my little one soon. : )
Alissa
Yes! I will trying the Chocolate Chip Cookies & the Black Bean Brownies in the coming weeks! I never knew about Brown Butter until you :) Thank you for opening my eyes to a whole new world.