Butter is Better Browned (or Toasted!)
A one ingredient game changer to transform your recipes
Today is all about how to easily turn plain butter into Brown Butter, a versatile flavor powerhouse that takes your dishes, both sweet and savory, to new heights. By simply melting and toasting a cold, bland cube of butter, you can transform it into a caramelized, decadent flavor enhancer in less than 10 minutes.
If you have ever had brown butter and sage sauce on pasta or ravioli, you know how extraordinary brown butter can be - with a depth, richness, and nutty goodness that’s completely unexpected. Even more surprising, brown butter is made with just one ingredient.
You can use brown butter to impart that same magic to:
Eggs: Brown butter pairs beautifully with the richness of egg yolks. Drizzle a little brown butter on softly scrambled eggs at the end of cooking for a decadent breakfast treat. Add brown butter to the skillet when you are frying eggs or slowly add it to hollandaise sauce to make next level Eggs Benedict
Pancakes and waffles: Elevate your pancakes or waffles by substituting brown butter for melted butter or vegetable oil in the batter. Serve chilled brown butter with syrup or fruit as a topping and make breakfast for dinner.
Risotto: Start with brown butter while you are toasting the rice (make it all in the same pan!) and end with it as a finishing ingredient just before serving.
Grilled cheese: Instead of buttering the bread, use brown butter in the pan to keep your grilled cheese from sticking. The butter works with the cheese to create an over-the-top flavor experience.
Vegetables: Brush on roasted or boiled corn on the cob just before serving. Toss sauteed asparagus, broccoli, carrots or greens in brown butter as a flavor enhancer.
Mashed potatoes: Stir into your mashed potatoes for an award-winning Thanksgiving side.
Shellfish: Serve as a dipping sauce for lobster or clams. Mix with roasted garlic and brush on grilled oysters.
Popcorn: ‘Nuff said.
Breadcrumbs and croutons: Add dried herbs, salt and pepper and toss with chucks of old bread or breadcrumbs before toasting (See Toast #5 - A Case for Bread Crumbs).
Bready things: Brush brown butter on loaves of bread, pizza crust, breadsticks, soft pretzels (one of our classes!) and dinner rolls as they come out of the oven. The butter will keep the crust soft and chewy. Garlic bread made with brown butter is a game changer.
Baked goods: Use brown butter anywhere melted butter or oil are called for. It’s an amazing flavor amplifier in brownies and cakes (even improves cake mix!). Brown butter add a rich depth when added to fillings for pies and tarts. Cinnamon rolls are even better filled with brown butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cookies and bars shine when brown butter is added (including the great recipe below!)
A couple of notes about cookies: when adding brown butter to cookies, add an additional tablespoon of butter to the pan, as some of the water cooks off during the browning process, leaving you with less butter than the recipe calls for. Also, if your recipe calls for creaming the butter and sugar together, be sure to chill your brown butter before using so it firms up. Melted butter can’t be creamed.
How to make brown butter
Add cold pats of unsalted butter to a saucepan or skillet, preferably light-colored or stainless steel, so you can keep an eye on the browning process. Set the pan over medium heat if you are using a thick pan and medium-low heat if using a thin pan. Swirl the pan as the butter melts.
When the butter is melted, begin stirring with a wooden spoon or whisk. The butter will begin bubbling, and sizzling and some foam will appear. Keep stirring - butter can burn and that’s not delicious. When the foam dissolves, the butter should be golden brown with darker bits of milk solids on the bottom of the pan. There will be a buttery, nutty smell filling your kitchen. Remove your brown butter from the heat, and pour it into another container to cool, scraping the dark bits out of the pan. Use right away or refrigerate until firm.
Brown butter will keep in the fridge for about a week. It also keeps beautifully in the freezer for longer periods. Firm it up in the fridge, then move it to the freezer for longer storage.
You may be wondering if you can brown plant butter. Yes and no. Miyokoś European Style Cultured Butter can be used to make brown butter, as it contains nut protein and sugars that promote browning. Most other plant butters are like margarine - primarily made from oil and water, and don’t brown when melted and toasted.
Brown Butter Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate Drizzle
This week’s recipe is a brilliant example of what brown butter can bring to the party, especially when used somewhere butter doesn’t usually make an appearance. Macaroons are typically made with just egg whites, sweetened coconut flakes, and sugar.
This recipe adds fat and depth in the form of brown butter. Unsweetened coconut cuts down on the overall sweetness of the cookie and lets the rich brown butter flavor carry the day, transforming ordinary Coconut Macaroons into something outrageously delicious. The chocolate drizzle is optional, but highly recommended.
This recipe makes about 30 cookies, depending on how big you make the cookies.
