Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Sage Brown Butter Sauce
salted butter
fresh sage, chiffonade
minced garlic
cracked black pepper
all-purpose (plain) flour and/or heavy cream

Melt the butter slowly and gradually in a saucepan over low heat. Once butter is melted and the sage, garlic, and pepper. Continue heating until the butter turns a golden, nutty brown. The sauce may be served as is, or is may be thickened as desired. This may be done by adding a small amount of flour and whisking in. Or by adding some cream. If using cream, heat it before adding to the butter to prevent the sauce from splitting. Do not bring the sauce to a simmer or boil after adding a thickener. 

Butternut Squash Ravioli, Chickpeas, Sage Butter, Herb Foam

• Homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli
• Spiced Roasted Crispy Chickpeas
• Sage Brown Butter Sauce
• Herb Foam

Browned Butter Frosting

This is the frosting recipe I used on the Spicy Orange Pumpkin Bars. It was included with this recipe, but it is similar to many other browned butter frostings. Browning butter gives it a deeper, richer, more aromatic flavor, that is a nice alternative to regular frostings. Browned butter frosting is also good on pretty much any type of cake or cookies, but is especially good with blueberries, apple, pumpkin, carrot, and spice. It can be used in other recipes too, such as muffins, and savory dishes.
You can add some cinnamon, ginger, or cloves to this frosting, or use orange juice instead of milk to enhance the flavor of the bars even further. You could also use a cream cheese frosting on these bars instead, which would also be good.

Browned Butter Frosting
1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 cups icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4 Tablespoons milk

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Cook, stirring often, for about two minutes longer, or until butter is golden brown and begins to smell nutty, be careful not to burn the butter. Pour into a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Beat, adding more milk if necessary, to achieve a  spreading consistency. Immediately spread over Spicy Orange Pumpkin Bars. 
I found the consistency was too greasy, because the proportion of butter to icing sugar was too high, and I also did not think there was quite enough icing to frost the entire pan. So I added another 1/2 cup of icing sugar. I ended up using 3 Tablespoons of milk. This is a rich, buttery frosting, that is quite sweet.

Button Cookies

Another Christmas cookie to display: Button Cookies. We just started making these cookies a few years ago, but since then, they have become a tradition that is greatly adored. These button cookies are really just brown sugar shortbread cookies with holes poked in them after baking. They must be made using real butter for the best taste, and it is customary for them to be overloaded with powdered sugar, so that you inhale it when you take a bite. The holes are simply poked with a wooden skewer, we usually go with four holes, but have also tried three and five holes, which look nice too. My mother and I make these cookies together: she does most of the mixing and the baking, and I poke the holes and sprinkle with icing sugar. These cookies are quite fun to make, and they really are cute as a button.

Blueberry & Brown Butter Squares

Blueberry & Brown Butter Squares. If this sounds familiar to you, you are probably remembering the Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins I made on August 24. Well, these recipes are quite similar, as they use the same concept and ingredients. The muffins were so delicious, when I came across this square recipe I just had to try it! I guess blueberries and brown butter are a winning combination!

I found some significant differences in the two recipes. There is less butter used in the squares, but the butter is browned a lot longer than the muffins. The muffins call for 1/2 cup of butter cooked for 2-3 minutes until nutty smelling and browned. The squares call for 1/3 cup of butter cooked for 6-7 minutes until deep, golden brown and fragrant. The squares method is definitely the way to go. I found the brown butter taste in the blueberry muffins quite weak, but in the squares it was highly detectable, yet not overwhelming.

These squares start with a soft, moist base piled high with fresh blueberies, and finished off with a cinnamon-streusel topping. They are absolutely divine!

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins

These are Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins from Woman's Day Magazine, and they are delicious! Brown butter is a step in the recipe where you melt the butter in a saucepan, and then cook it for a few minutes more until it is brown and smells nutty. This gives a deeper, rich aroma and taste to the finished muffins. Browning the butter sounds like an extra step, but the results are definitely worth it! It's easy, and it really doesn't take any longer; just let the butter melt in the saucepan as you whisk together the dry ingredients. I like these better than the usual blueberry muffins I make!

Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 400◦F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or coat with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of the sugar; make a well in the center.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once it melts, swirl the pan until the butter begins to brown and smell nutty, 2 to 3 minutes; remove from heat.

Pour the butter, milk and egg into the well of flour and stir to combine (a few lumps are OK - don't overmix); fold in the blueberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups; sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 16 to 20 minutes.

“Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins.” http://www.womansday.com/recipe-search/find/keyword-brown%20butter%20blueberry%20muffins/. Woman's Day, n.d. Wednesday, August 24, 2011.