browned butter

Before we can talk about cookies, we have to talk about browned butter. It's one of my favorite ingredients. Basically, we're discussing toasted butter solids [appealing, no?]. Browning butter takes butter from it's buttery-happy-delicious place to a buttery-happy-delicious-toffee/caramel flavored-nutty-richness you're going to adore.

Sounds divine, right?

What you'll need:

• 2 sticks of butter
• a deep-ish pan
• heat-safe bowl

Take your butter and place it in your deep-ish pan, let it melt, and then keep going. It will start to bubble. And bubble some more. The bubbles will almost look like foam. Then you'll see a brown bloom in the middle of the bubbles. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR!  Pour your browned butter into the bowl to let it cool.

[you see the bloom starting, right?]

[off the heat swirling]

Tips:
*VIDEO FROM SAVEUR
*this post from Serious Eats gives you all the technical info on water and solids and things about butter, if you like that sort of thing [you know my nerdy little heart loves it]
*DO NOT STEP AWAY FROM YOUR STOVE, the whole process takes less than 4-5 minutes after the butter melts
*swirl, swirl, swirl
*I don't stir [but you can!], but I do scrape all the goodness off the bottom when I pour it into the bowl
*use a heavy bottomed pan and once you see the bloom, turn the heat off and keep swirling for 30-60 seconds to prevent burning
*BURNED = TERRIBLE, you'll be able to smell it if it's burned. TRUST.
*I love swapping out regular butter for browned butter in recipes [upcoming in these parts are the Browned Butter All the Chips Cookies and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies]

You'll want to stick your face in that and just smell the happiness.


Let's make cookies!
xo