Kitchen Tips How To Sweet Spot This Simple Trick Makes Desserts Extra Decadent By Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes with nearly two decades of experience helping home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen. A self-taught cook who grew up reading cookbooks for fun, Vanessa lives and breathes the challenges faced by busy everyday cooks to get dinner on the table. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Published on November 29, 2016 Close Home cooks are catching on to this one thing that makes just about any dessert taste even better. So, what is it? lutzflcat Try this recipe: Brown Butter Cookies The answer is brown butter. Specifically, you brown your butter before you use it in your dessert recipes. What? Why? How? Read on: Q: What's the big deal about browning butter? A: Brown butter is regular unsalted butter that has been cooked until the butter melts, the milk solids caramelize, and the whole thing looks like molten gold, smells like toasted hazelnuts, and tastes super-rich and nutty. Now, imagine using all that intensified color, aroma, and flavor in your recipe instead of plain butter. See why it's the hot trend in dessert-making? Get step-by-step instructions to make brown butter. Q: How do I use brown butter in desserts? A: Use brown butter anywhere you'd use regular butter: cakes, cookies, frostings, and icings, to name a few. Once you've browned your butter, you can let it cool and solidify, and use it in recipes as you would room-temperature butter. Q: Recipe ideas, please? A: These recipes get you started with detailed instructions on how to brown the butter and use it. Once you get the hang of it, you can feel free to substitute brown butter in other dessert recipes. Note: Because of the caramelization, brown butter is darker than regular butter. It also contains even darker flecks from the caramelized milk solids, which will show up as tiny spots in light colored frostings and icings. You can pour the butter through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the solids if you wish, but that's strictly optional. Besides, those flecks add a rustic visual interest. Brown Butter Pear Cake: Brown Butter Pear Cake Brown Butter and Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies: Brown Butter and Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Browned Butter Icing: Browned Butter Icing Cream Cheese Frosting with Brown Butter and Bourbon: Cream Cheese Frosting with Brown Butter and Bourbon Peach Financiers: Peach Financiers Video: See how to make The Best Brown Butter Salted Rice Krispies® Treats You might also like... Why is everyone losing their minds over wine butter? Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit