Tag Archives: brown butter

Baked Banana Doughnuts with Brown Butter Glaze

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Veronica

My sister-in-law gave me a doughnut pan for Christmas two years ago…maybe three. It’s what I asked for, had wanted for years, and yet I only used it to bake the doughnut mix she gave me with it until now! What is UP with that?

I was Pinteresting (yes, I’m allowed to turn nouns into verbs haha) and came across Shelby’s baked banana doughnuts with a browned butter rum glaze and I HAD TO HAVE IT RIGHT THEN…or at least my own version of it. :) I had my nearly forgotten doughnut pan, a single overripe banana, and the baby was taking a nap – it was like the stars aligned and God smiled down on me in that instant. I got to work and boy oh boy. These were quick to make and so delicious! Brown butter and banana are a match made in heaven. Actually, browned butter makes everything better, don’t you think?

Baked Banana Doughnuts with Brown Butter Glaze

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 cup (4 ¼ oz / 120 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large (about 5 ½ oz / 156 g without peel) overripe banana
1 large egg
¼ cup (2 ¼ oz / 64 g) buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup (2 oz / 58 g) light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup (4 oz / 113 g) powdered sugar
1-3 teaspoons milk, as needed to thin the icing

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 6-well doughnut pan with oil and set aside (I wipe off the top with a paper towel to reduce the amount of baked-on oil build-up on there but that is your call). Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, mash the banana, then whisk in the egg, buttermilk, oil, and sugar. Add to the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined (a few small flour lumps are OK). You can either use a spoon to fill the doughnut pan or put the batter in a ziploc bag and snip a corner to squeeze the batter into the pan. Fill each well 3/4 full. If you have extra, you can make it into mini muffins or wait until the first batch is done baking to make a couple more doughnuts. Bake doughnuts for 12-15 minutes, or until golden and doughnuts bounce back when lightly pressed. Turn out onto cooling rack to cool completely.

While doughnuts are cooling, brown the butter. Place in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the solids separate and turn a chocolate brown color. Remove from heat and add the powdered sugar and enough milk to get a glaze consistency (it doesn’t take much. Dip the tops of each doughnut in the warm glaze with the cooling rack over the sink so the glaze can drip off as you finish dipping each one. If you have extra, you can put it in a ziploc bag or disposable piping bag and snip a corner to drizzle over the doughnuts because extra glaze makes them extra good! :)

Recipe source: adapted from The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honey Bunch

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Posted in Breakfast, Sweets and tagged baked doughnuts, banana, brown butter, browned butter, glaze, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars with Brown Butter Icing

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Veronica

When I look back on things I’ve pinned, sometimes I’m like, “I would never make something like that – it’s just not me. Why did I pin it?” But I know why. The blogger’s enthusiasm about how good it is sells me every time and I end up pinning a lot of things I’ll never make, but still want to make because the blogger was so enthusiastic about how good it was. Such is the case with these bars, but they are SO me so of course I had to make them almost immediately. :)

Miss Marsha sold me with her sheer enthusiasm, but hello, did I ever mention that cookies are my second favorite food group (with dip being the first)? The recipe itself probably would have sold me without her enthusiasm. It had been way too long since I’d enjoyed an oatmeal raisin cookie and making them in bar form sounded genius. I don’t have time to be portioning out dough right now, but I can fo sho pat it into a pan!

These bars are just as good as my award-winning oatmeal raisin cookies and I even used the same icing on them. Marsha’s recipe uses cream cheese frosting so please check it out to if you’d like to make them that way – it looks and sounds majorly delish but I just had to go with brown butter this time. It’s my weakness. Along with cookies and dip.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars with Brown Butter Icing

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (8 oz) light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (4 ¼ oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup (3 ½ oz) old fashioned or quick cooking oats
1 cup (5 ¼ oz) raisins
½ cup (2 oz) chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Icing
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 375F and grease a 9″ X 13″ baking dish.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until lightened and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir into butter mixture until well combined. Spread into prepared pan and press into an even layer with floured fingers. (It may seem there isn’t enough dough to cover the bottom, but there will be). Bake 15 – 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

While cooling, prepare the icing. In a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and the solids separate and turn a chocolate brown. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in sifted powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in enough water to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle on warm bars and cool completely before cutting.

Recipe source: adapted from The Better Baker

You don’t have to go clubbing to hit up some good bars. Check these babies out!

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Posted in Brownies & Bars and tagged baking, brown butter, Cookies, oatmeal raisin bars, recipe. Bookmark the permalink.

Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Krispies Treats

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Veronica

*Disclaimer: this post is sponsored by Kellogg’s, but all thoughts and opinions (and recipe-hehe) are my own. :)

Have you seen this adorable Rice Krispies commercial? Sometimes I really miss commercials (we don’t watch TV), so it’s nice that the good ones are available online whenever I choose to watch them.

[unrulysponsored code=144502383 align=center]

It’s true, they are so gentle on your tummy, which I know because I’m pregnant and a pregnant tummy can be awfully sensitive sometimes. Although I lucked out in the morning sickness department, even I have food aversions and prefer Rice Krispies over a flavorful meal once in a while. They are just so good! They also supply a surprising amount of nutrition, despite consisting mainly of rice. Have you ever looked at a nutrition label for these babies? Gotta love that they’re low in calories as well.

The ingredients for my treats. Still easy to digest…maybe not as nutritious. ;)

Anyway, after watching the commercial, I realized just how long it’s been since I’ve made Rice Krispies treats! I had a special reason to make these, as well as the Pretzel Pumpkins yesterday, but I’ll share that with you later.

Although I love to bake, there is something really satisfying about combining a few ingredients and having a delicious treat to enjoy without ever having to turn on the oven. Rice Krispies treats are my favorite no-bake treat, and I love coming up with new & fun recipes for them. These were inspired by the Pumpkin Spice Mallows that are cropping up in stores lately, combined with my favorite recipe for Brown Butter Crispy Treats. They are so simple and delicious!

Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Krispies Treats

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag Pumpkin Spice Mallows
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
1 cube of vanilla almond bark/candy coating (for optional drizzle)

Line a 9-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides with foil, letting some hang over the edge. (You can also use a 9×13 pan if you prefer thinner treats.) Butter the foil and set aside.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the butter turns amber in color, and the solids have separated and turned a chocolate brown. Turn off the heat and stir in the salt and the Pumpkin Spice Mallows. Continue to stir until the marshmallows have melted completely and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the cereal until well coated, then quickly spread into prepared pan and press down using a silicone spatula or a piece of waxed paper that has been sprayed with oil.

Once the bars are completely cool, use the foil overhang to lift the bars out of the pan. If desired, melt the almond bark in a small microwave safe bowl – microwaving for 1 minute at 50% power, then turning over and cutting in half, and microwaving another minute at 50% power, stirring well until smooth. You might need an additional 10 seconds or so to get it completely smooth but be careful not to overheat it or it will seize up. Spoon into a disposable pastry bag or small Ziploc bag and snip a bit off the tip (or corner for the Ziploc bag) and use a sweeping motion while gently squeezing to drizzle over the top of the treats. Allow to set, then cut into squares.

Need some more snap, crackle, pop in your life? Try these yummy treats!

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

Gingerbread Rice Crispy Treats

Cake Batter Crispy Treats

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Posted in Brownies & Bars and tagged brown butter, crispy treats, Krispies Treats, pumpkin spice, recipe, Rice Krispie Treats. Bookmark the permalink.

Banana Bread Bars

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Veronica

This year I only had a couple hours to prepare the food I was going to take to the Pig Roast so I didn’t have time to make some really razzlin’ dazzlin’ cupcakes like I had planned. I went to the recipes I had saved on Pinterest and decided on these bars because they were pretty quick to make, could feed a crowd, and I had some overripe bananas ready to be used. While many were disappointed I didn’t bring cake or cupcakes (I guess by now I’m kind of known for them), most of the pan was eaten by the time the meal was over (and there were tons of desserts) so apparently they weren’t too disappointed. :)

I got the best reaction from the teenage girls, for some reason – they flipped for them. There were two short rows left when we were cleaning up after the meal, and I asked one of them if she wanted any more before I put them in my trunk and she took another three, saying she’d already eaten five. I’d say that’s a pretty good endorsement.

The bars have a nice, moist crumb, and really good classic banana bread flavor, but the thing that makes them stand out is the browned butter icing. I knew brown butter and bananas was a good match, and that’s why I worked so hard to perfect my recipe for Brown Butter Banana Bread. But I think that the flavor comes through so much better when used in an icing on top of the bread. Oh soooo delicious!

Banana Bread Bars

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

Bars:
1 ½ cups (10 ½ oz) granulated sugar
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
½ cup (4 oz / 1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups (15.25 oz, peeled) over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 or 4)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ½ oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup (2 oz) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Frosting:
½ cup (4 oz / 1 stick) butter
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
about 3 tablespoons milk or half and half

Heat oven to 375F. Grease and flour a 10×15 jelly roll pan or line with parchment paper (for thicker bars use a 9×13 pan and bake longer). Beat first four ingredients until creamy. Blend in bananas and vanilla for one minute. Add dry ingredients and blend for one minute. Stir in nuts if desired and spread in pan. The pan will be very full but it’s OK, it won’t rise over the edge during baking. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack while you make the frosting.

For the browned butter frosting: Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat past the melting point until it is boiling and a delicate brown, stirring constantly. The solids will separate and turn into chocolate brown flecks at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and immediately add the remaining ingredients. This should be thicker than a glaze and thinner than frosting. Using a spatula, smooth over the top of the Banana Bread Bars immediately. The frosting will be easier to spread once it’s on the warm bread.

If not serving the same day, let the pan sit out until cool and the frosting is dry to the touch, then cover with foil until ready to serve. These will last several days at room temperature, but I found them even more delicious when served cold from the fridge!

Recipe source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Nutty for banana bread? You might go ape for these…

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread {Low Fat, Low Sugar}

Buttermilk Banana Bread (my favoritest favorite!)

Virginia Street Banana Nut Bread (multiple blue ribbons winner!)

*You may have noticed I’ve started to include links to older recipes at the bottom of each recipe post. Since I’ve built up quite a collection of recipes on my blog that many new readers have never seen, I’d been thinking about sharing recipes from my archives on a certain day each week like my girl Marsha. But I’m having so much fun rehashing them this way, because I get to search my own archives like a treasure hunter and see if I can come up with three similar recipes to the one I’m posting. So far I’ve been able to do it fairly easily, and I hope you guys enjoy these oldies along with the newbies! :)

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Posted in Brownies & Bars and tagged baking, banana bread bars, banana brownies, brown butter, browned butter, monkey squares, recipe, squares. Bookmark the permalink.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Veronica

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

THESE ARE SO GOOD!

Everyone likes Rice Krispies Treats, but browning the butter before making them really kicks these up a notch. I go through about 3 lbs of butter a week, so that probably counts as an obsession, but what I’m really obsessed with is browning it. I just LOVE the flavor of browned butter. I love the smell of it as it’s cooking. I love the look of it, with the dark brown specks (which also fleck these treats). I just love everything about it. So, naturally, I love these.

I made a double batch, and I’m glad I did b/c my husband and I ate half the recipe immediately, which left just enough to package up to ship out for gifts.

These are very simple, the only difference between it and the original recipe being that you add salt and brown the butter first, which just tacks on about 5 minutes to the prep time. (OK fine, that and the fact that there’s a LOT more butter in it…but I can’t complain about that!) These would be great for Christmas, all-occasion gifts, bake sales, potlucks, after-school snacks, after dinner treats, afternoon snacks, after-breakfast snacks, midnight snacks, “I just ate a tomato so I need to eat something unhealthy to balance out my diet” snacks….I think you get the picture.

I don’t, however, recommend doubling the recipe unless you have a lot of people to feed because, if you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to stop eating them until they’re gone.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats
From Smitten Kitchen, with slightly modified instructions

1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do.

When the butter takes on a nutty color and the solids have turned a chocolate-brown, stir in the salt & marshmallows. Turn off the heat once the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the cereal. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works almost as well.

Let cool, cut into squares and get ready to make new friends.

Veronica’s Notes: If you use salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe. If you use table salt, use a scant 1/4 teaspoon.

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Posted in Brownies & Bars, My Favorites, Sweets and tagged brown butter, crispy, rice krispies, treats. Bookmark the permalink.

Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread with Caramel Swirls

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Veronica

I tried making brown butter pound cake a couple weeks ago and ruined it by overbaking it. Despite the the need to drink an entire glass of milk with each bite, Dennis and I couldn’t resist having several slices because of the wonderful brown butter flavor. (If you’ve ever had browned butter in a dessert, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t–then you haven’t fully lived!)

While the remainder of the pound cake lies in the freezer, awaiting it’s transformation into a creative bread pudding, I found the link to a similar recipe waiting for me in my inbox yesterday, compliments of my good friend, Krista. The recipe is, in fact, based upon that brown butter pound cake, but with the addition of pumpkin and dulce de leche.

Krista knows me too well. Cake, brown butter, pumpkin and caramel? Oh yeah, I’m there, baby!

After baking it and diving in (I only had a tiny slice…times five), I discovered that the texture isn’t dense like pound cake, but lighter like regular cake and very moist. But since it doesn’t look like cake, I’m calling it bread. Which kind of makes the name sound a little more wholesome, even with the mention of brown butter and caramel and the fact that the only wholesome thing in there makes up a very small part of the cake bread.

Whatever you want to call it, this stuff is awesome–bake a loaf and see for yourself!

Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread with Caramel Swirls

Slightly adapted from “Pumpkin Pound Cake with Dulce de Leche Swirls” at browniesfordinner.com, which was adapted from the Brown Butter Pound Cake in Gourmet, October 2009

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp rum (optional)
about 1/2 – 3/4 cup dulce de leche (recipe here)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch (or 9 by 5-inch) loaf pan.

Heat the butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until the milk solids on the bottom are a dark chocolate brown. Transfer to a pie plate or shallow bowl and put it in the freezer just until it congealed, about 15 minutes.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Cream the brown butter with the sugars with mixer until it is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin, vanilla & rum. On a low speed, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Transfer about half of the batter to the loaf pan and smooth it around so that it covers the bottom of the pan and forms an even layer. Place small grape-sized dollops of dulce de leche on the surface. Swirl by running the tip of a knife through one or two times to create a swirly pattern. Cover with the rest of the batter, smooth the surface. Use the rest of the dulce de leche on top, also in small grape-sized dollops and swirled with the tip of a knife.

Bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours (75 to 90 minutes). Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then invert onto a rack (right side up) to cool completely, about one hour.

Veronica’s Notes: If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & ginger. I used 1/4 t cinnamon, 1/8 t nutmeg, a couple sprinkles of cloves and the rest ginger.