Real Life... how to brown butter.

2012 is all about browning your butter. It's the new red velvet, if you will. 

But first: I interrupt this post to bring you the view outside my window...

Ginormous fire. Totally under a "shelter in place" warning. But, no biggie, let's talk about butter!

Brown butter is simply unsalted butter melted over medium-low heat until golden amber and nutty. If you want to get fancy about it, it's the process of separating the butterfat from the milk solids. The milk solids to sink to the bottom and turn a toasty hazelnut color and all is right with the world.

Basically... it's baking magic and I refuse to stop. 

Also if someone could please invent a brown butter-flavored coffee, that would be wonderful. 

Brown butter in action:

These cookies are stuffed full of peanut butter truffles, chocolate chips, and brown butter. It was good living... even if I had to google "question: how exactly do you brown butter?" as I set out to make them.

Brown butter chocolate chunk cookies. That golden color! Put it in your life! 

Cheesecake filling optional/totally not optional at all. 

Andddd... these cookies. See those tiny browned butter flecks? That's where happiness and good times live. 

Can we make this a thing? Can we put brown butter in everything?

And seriously: brown butter coffee. Invent it.

How To Brown Butter

Melt unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir or whisk frequently until it turns an amber-golden brown color, gives off a distinct nutty scent, and little brown bits appear at the bottom of the pan (about 7-9 minutes). 

Keep an eye on your butter as it cooks down; there is a small window between brown butter and burnt butter... it will brown quickly after it foams up and subsides.

Once it reaches this point, remove from heat immediately and pour into a heat-proof bowl to cool.

Magic! Make it happen!