Brown butter… the baking delicacy that can take any flavor profile to a different universe. Don’t get too intimidated though – I’m giving all my secrets away in this step-by-step tutorial. Brown butter just became a whole lot easier!
How to Brown Butter
I (honestly) can still remember the first time I made a batch of cookies that used brown butter. You may think that’s a little excessive, but when you try anything made with brown butter I think you’ll understand why it’s so memorable. It can truly take any cookie, brownie, pie, even any pan sauce to the next level when it comes to flavor profiles.
Not only does it taste like heaven, the aroma that swells around your kitchen while it’s bubbling away on your stovetop is enough to bring any neighbor flying through your door for a taste. It smells like fall, feels like winter, and tastes like summer all at the same time (if you’re me because I’m making this stuff all year round lol).
Brown butter is a baking (and cooking) delicacy that is used around the world. It’s something I recommend every baker have in their tool belt of tips and tricks. Together, in this post, we’re going to walk through how to brown butter.
What is Brown Butter?
Browned butter (buerre noisette) is a French classic. Annnd it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like.. it’s butter that you brown in a saucepan over low-ish heat until it’s beautifully golden brown and delicious. The butter will sizzle, foam, and then caramelize into a perfect golden brown color. The milk solids in the butter will separate and begin to brown on the bottom of the pan, while also evaporating any water that may be left in the butter. It’s delicious on fish, stunning in a simple pan sauce, and even better in these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
Brown butter is one of the reasons why butter is and always will be my absolute favorite ingredient (call me a southern belle). It’s so versatile and it’s just the best tasting thing out there. Take my word for it, there’s something magical and super scientific that happens when you cook butter gently over low heat. Keep reading to learn how to brown butter…
Can I burn brown butter?
YES. You can absolutely burn your butter on the stovetop, and sadly, it happens very quickly. It’s kind of like making homemade caramel sauce in that it’s perfect 1 second and completely ruined the next. This is why you need to keep a close eye on it, and once it starts to change colors, don’t move!
How to Make Brown Butter: Easy Tutorial
Place the butter in a light-colored saucepan or skillet
Before you start cooking your butter, you’ll want to make sure you’re using a light-colored saucepan or skillet for this. You’ll need to be able to watch the color slowly turn into that deep golden brown color we’re looking for. The one I’m using is this Le Creuset saucier. I love it and it’s white bottom is perfect for making brown butter.
Melt the butter over low heat
Some people cut their butter into cubes, but I hate wasting a dish on something that seems unnecessary, so I just leave the butter sticks whole and melt them over low heat first so they’ll cook evenly when I increase the heat. Obviously, you’re more than welcome to cut the butter into small cubes, just skip melting it over low heat and skip straight to cooking it over medium heat!
Once we get going though, make sure that you’re whisking pretty much the entire time.. we’re not making burned butter 🙂
Increase heat to medium
As the butter cooks, it will begin to sizzle quite rapidly (and it’ll actually be pretty loud). Just keep stirring and scraping down the sides of the bowl as it cooks. This is why I love using a rubber spatula (and why it’s also just my favorite kitchen utensil)–you’re able to wipe the sides of the saucepan clean to make sure that everything cooks evenly, and to be sure you’re getting every last drop of that liquid gold.
The butter will begin to foam
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, and then all of a sudden silence. You’ll notice the butter will begin to foam from the center and you’ll see a golden color start to peek through. This means we’re getting close!! The milk solids should all be at the bottom of the pan just browning away. Make sure you keep stirring though, it’s amazing how quickly butter can turn from beautifully golden brown to completely burned in literal seconds (ask me how I know).
Keep Stirring!!!
I know it can be tempting to stop here, but trust me.. keep going and don’t walk away 🙂
The milk solids will become a deep golden brown color
We made it! Those dark brown speckles you’ll see swirling at the bottom of your saucepan as your stir are what we’re looking for.
Pour the butter into a heat-proof bowl
You’ll want to transfer the brown butter into a heat-proof bowl pretty quickly once you’ve reached golden brown. This will stop the cooking and prevent any burning from occurring. No point in making brown butter if we let it burn! It’s best to have your heat-proof bowl ready to go before you even begin, that way you’re not tearing your kitchen apart trying to find a bowl at the last second.
Get Creative with your Brown Butter
As I said previously, brown butter is so versatile–it can be used in both sweet and savory recipes, so let it be your oyster and find a fun new way to use it. If you’re like me you’ll find yourself never wanting to use plain ole’ butter ever again!
Tips for Making Brown Butter
- Use a light-colored saucepan: you’ll want to see the change in the color of the butter as it cooks, that way you’ll know when to remove it from the heat source.
- Use a rubber spatula to stir: aka the best kitchen gadget ever. This will help you ensure you’re getting all the butter–and that it cooks evenly.
- Don’t stop stirring and don’t walk away: browned butter is kind of like making caramel, the second you walk away is the second everything changes and you end up with a burned mess. It’s best to just stay put and keep stirring.
How to Substitute Brown Butter in a Recipe
You can pretty much substitute brown butter wherever you see plain butter called for in a recipe, as long as you increase the starting amount of butter by about 10%. This way, when some of the liquid evaporates from the butter while you’re browning it, the finished amount of brown butter will be about equal to what you’d have in regular butter.
Ways to Use Brown Butter
Below are a few recipes that would be amazing with brown butter:
How to Brown Butter
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (salted or unsalted)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan or skillet over low heat until it's fully melted. This can take up to 5 minutes.
- As soon as the butter is fully melted, turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, 7 to 10 minutes or until you notice the butter turning a dark golden brown color along the bottom of the pan.
- Immediately pour the butter into a heat-proof bowl to stop the cooking, making sure you scrape all of the browned bits into the bowl - this is where all of the nutty flavors are coming from!
- From here, you can use the brown butter however you please. I recommend using it in cookies and even brownies, but do what you please!
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