How to Bake with Brown Butter (7 Easy Recipes)

You've heard about this thing called Brown Butter. You've been told it deepens the flavor of whatever you're making. Now you've finally decided to give it a try. But, which recipe should you choose?

In this post I'm going to give you all of my favorite brown butter recipes--everything from frostings to cookies to cake. All you have to do is click on the pictures of the linked recipes to find everything you need to hit the road running!

Sample as many (or as few) of these recipes as you like, but always add brown butter to enhance the final product!

Ready to bake? Great! Let's go!

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How to Make Brown Butter

First, let's talk about brown butter. Nearly any recipe that calls for butter could be amped up with simple steps you'll find in the video below. And it all starts with a stick of butter.

Sometimes a picture really does paint a thousand words, right? Doesn't that video make you want to pull out a saucepan and a stick of butter?

Bubble, bubble, bubble over medium heat, and butter transforms like magic! It turns into a golden amber color that rivals the gold you would find if you were panning in a river.

Those brown bits you see at the end of the video? Those luscious brown specks?

Those are where the magic take place. Those tiny bits of wonder add the depth of rich flavor to your product.

Brown Butter Adds a Delicious Flavor

And isn't that what you want, for your guests to come away from the experience saying, "Wow, there's was something really different about those cookies (or cake or frosting). I can't put my finger on it, but man. . .was that delicious!"

The "wonder" comes from the browned milk solids, (milk proteins), which add warmth and flavor. They also add a nutty aroma similar to melted brown sugar and a similarly yummy caramel flavor.

Whether you use salted or unsalted butter, the finished product (browned butter) will make you swoon! And here's the cool part: you can use it in sweets or in savory dishes!

Let Us Pause for a Moment of Silence

I dedicate this moment of silence to the change that brown butter has made in my life

Moving on. . .

I've been baking with brown butter for several months now and the difference it has made in my products is almost indescribable.

Browned butter has a rich, warm, nutty flavor. There really isn't anything to compare it to. It's in a category all its own. You can take your regular butter and turn it up a notch. No, make that ten notches!

I highly recommend you try it, and I'm going to give you several recipes to experiment with. The first offers a tutorial (how to) for browning butter, so let's start there.

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1. How to Make Brown Butter (and add it to frosting)

First on the list is my brown butter frosting. Here's where the magic begins and where I teach you how to make browned butter. (The browning process is so much fun!)

In this tutorial I give you a full breakdown of how to make brown butter and, then, how to incorporate it into my Dreamy Buttercream. You're not going to believe the difference this brown butter makes to your cakes and cupcakes! (And your savory recipes, too!)

Cook Your Brown Butter Slowly

The key here is patience. You have to wait until the butter browns to remove it from the heat.

Make sure you stir all the way to the bottom of your pan so that nothing burns! You want the good stuff to rise to the top but you definitely don't want burnt butter!

Set the hot pan aside and wait! Pour off the browned butter into a heatproof bowl and bring it to room temperature before adding it to your other ingredients. You don't want to turn your frosting into soup!

2. How to Make Brown Butter Pecan Cookies

Second on the list are my Brown Butter Pecan Cookies. They're nutty, they're rich, they're loaded with pecans. (All favorites of mine.) But what sends these cookies over the moon is the addition of brown butter.

This is one of my favorite recipes, y'all, and I'm happy to share it with you.

3. How to Make Brown Butter Pecan Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting.

The easiest way to add brown butter to cupcakes it to mix it into the frosting. Man, does it take things up a notch! (This is my favorite way to use it, by the way!)

I simply have no words for these delicious butter pecan cupcakes. I love every single thing about them--from the rich nutty flavor of the cake to the luscious brown butter frosting! This is one of those dessert recipes you're going to love!

4. How to Make my Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter

If you love traditional Tollhouse cookies, but want something that's a little more elevated, you've come to the right place. I'm so tickled to offer my Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter recipe. It's truly one of my all-time favorites, a staple in our family and the perfect thing to take to family gatherings.

Brown butter chocolate chip cookies are light years better than traditional chocolate chip cookies. You just have to taste them to understand the difference!

5. How to Make my Walnut Cake with Maple Glaze

This luscious brown butter walnut cake is mega-loaded with brown butter, toasted walnuts, and vanilla extract, so it's got flavor galore. The addition of sour cream makes it sturdy and moist and the milk adds an incredible texture you don't expect. The brown butter maple glaze on top? Y'all! That's the icing on the cake!

6. How to Make my Oozy-Gooey Chocolate Chip Blondies

Where do I begin? I made a batch of these Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Blondies to take to my grandchildren and (sadly) they caused one family member to fall flat off of her diet. Oops. Yep, they're that good! They're gooey, they're rich, and they're perfect with a tall glass of milk or a giant mug of coffee.

7. How to Make my Peanut Butter Ranger Cookies

These Peanut Butter Ranger Cookies have been given the love-name: “Everything but the Kitchen Sink” cookies. Why? Because I throw pretty much everything in them that you can imagine. They're crunchy. They're salty. They're sweet. They're savory. These are truly memorable cookies with a deeper flavor than most.

Store them in an airtight container and they will last for days!

Hey, speaking of storing things, did you know you can store browned butter? Here's a fun hack: once it's cooled, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze! Any time you need browned butter, pull out a cube!

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That's it for now, folks! I'll add more brown butter recipes as I create them! I'm thinking about adding browned butter to my banana bread or my Easy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe. (Can you even imagine?)

In the meantime, let me know which of these sweet treats is your favorite.

While you're trying great recipes, hop on over to South Your Mouth and check out these Magic Brownie Bars! (They look amazing!)

See these recipes at:

Full plate Thursday
Weekend Potluck
Sunday Linkup

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.