When I fall in love, I’m head over heels. I’m the type of person who can’t get enough of a good thing.

And today I’m introducing you to the recent love of my life: brown butter.

I think it will be particularly helpful, as many of my cookie recipes use brown butter.

What is brown butter?

Brown butter is a crazy good thing. No really crazy freaking good. Basically unsalted butter is melted in a saucepan which separates the butter and milk. The milk from the butter sinks to the bottom of the pan, which essentially browns and turns a caramel color. The french call is beurre noisette, which translates to hazelnut butter. I believe it’s called this because once the butter is brown, it gives off a nutty aroma. I love it from the bottom of my heart… obviously.

What do you need?

Unsalted butter, a medium saucepan, and a whisk.

So, how do you brown butter?

First slice your butter so that it will melt faster and more evenly and place it into a saucepan over medium heat. I use any saucepan available since I’m familiar with the process, but you might want to use a light colored saucepan so that you can easily see when the butter begins to turn color.

Once your butter begins to melt, start swirling the pan or whisking to promote melting.

Pretty soon you’ll notice small bubbles.

Remember to continue to whisk!

The bubbles will become bigger and the butter will begin to crackle and foam a bit.

Whisk, whisk, whisk! With care of course. Don’t get all crazy on yo’ butter.

Finally the butter will foam again and the bubbles will become smaller. Are you still whisking? The answer should be yes!

This is when the magic happens. You should smell a nutty, delicious aroma! The milk solids at the bottom of the pan will begin to darken and turn a light caramel color. Once this happens, immediately turn off the heat and continue to whisk.

See that gorgeous color? That’s the color I like my brown butter to be: a rich amber caramel color. However brown butter can be lighter if desired.

Once the butter is browned, it should be transfered into a bowl immediately to prevent burning and to allow to cool. You can use brown butter in all sorts of recipes, and it can be stored in the fridge to use later!

Now it’s your turn to fall in love.