Small batch, BIG flavor! Brown butter seriously takes these muffins over the edge in terms of flavor and color. They're perfectly tender with big and bold muffin tops. This recipe yields 6 muffins - making it easy to tweak to suit your serving needs!
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We've got another installment of amazing recipes suggested by a lovely follower on Instagram!
These brown butter muffins are the. best. The brown butter adds the most amazing nutty and slightly toasty flavor to an already delicious dessert.
I decided to make this a small batch recipe because a) I realized we don't have a lot of small batch recipes on here! and b) I wanted it to be different from our chocolate chip muffin recipe that I posted a while back.
This recipe is slightly different in that it uses more butter (because you're going to lose some volume to evaporation when you brown the butter) and it's browned to add another depth of flavor. Buuuut I still wanted to make it a bit more unique aside from that! Soooo that's how we got to small batch muffins!
what is brown butter?
Brown butter is regular ole' butter that's been melted and simmered until it turns brown and produces a nutty aroma. A lot of fancy schmancy restaurants will serve it as a sauce beside savory dishes, but it's outrageously popular to use in baking! It's super easy to make, so it's not uncommon for home bakers to use.
how to brown butter:
If you want to make brown butter for a recipe that already calls for melted butter, start with slightly more butter than the recipe calls for. A good rule of thumb is that for every 4 tablespoons (¼ cup or 60g) of butter that a recipe calls for, add an extra 2 tablespoons (30g) of butter. The reason you need more butter is because some of the volume is lost as you brown the butter and the water evaporates.
Before you start: Slice up your butter into tablespoon sized portions so it melts evenly. Prepare a heat safe bowl so that once the butter is ready, you can transfer it right away. Leaving the butter in the pan (even if it's off the heat) can cause it to burn because of the residual heat from the pan.
Choose your pan: The best pan to make brown butter in is a skillet - high sided pans can take longer to brown and create unnecessary steam. It's also important to keep in mind that darker colored pans will cause the butter to appear darker than it actually is.
If using a light colored pan (like a white ceramic glazed skillet), it's easy to see when the butter has browned perfectly - it'll be a light golden brown color - kind of like light brown sugar). If using a darker colored pan (like a stainless steel pan), you'll need to brown the butter slightly past the point you're comfortable with. It will look more like dark brown sugar.
Brown the butter: Add the butter pieces into your skillet, and place onto a stove burner set to medium heat. Don't try to speed it up by using high heat (believe me, I've tried lol). Medium heat is more manageable and is less likely to burn.
Cook, stirring regularly, until the butter melts and browns. The butter will bubble and foam in the early stages, but then it will settle down and the butter will start to brown. The amount of time this takes will depend on the amount of butter you're browning (less butter will take less time). For this recipe, it should take you about 5 to 8 minutes to brown the butter.
After: Transfer the brown butter to a heat safe bowl AS SOON as it reaches a golden brown color. Cool down to whatever your recipe calls for. This recipe just needs the butter to cool for about 10 minutes so it's not piping hot, but other recipes may call for it to be warm, room temperature, or chilled until firm.
brown butter chocolate chip muffins ingredients:
• butter
• flour
• baking powder + baking soda
• egg
• sugar
• buttermilk
• vanilla extract
• chocolate chips or chunks
how to make brown butter chocolate chip muffins:
1. Brown butter. Let the butter cool for 10 minutes before adding your other wet ingredients.
2. Whisk together dry ingredients.
3. Whisk together wet ingredients.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients + fold in chocolate chips / chunks.
5. Portion and bake!
6. Cool. For about 10 minutes in the muffin tin, then transfer onto a wire rack and set aside to cool enough to handle. Serve warm or room temperature!
muffin storage:
These muffins will keep for around 3 to 5 days at room temperature, or up to 1 week in the fridge. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap or keep in a large, sealed plastic bag for maximum freshness!
You can also freeze these muffins for up to 3 months. Cool the baked muffins completely, then transfer to a freezer bag. Push the air out of the bag, seal, then freeze!
To thaw, set the muffins out at room temperature for a few hours, or defrost in your fridge overnight. You can also reheat them for 5 minutes in a preheated 350°F oven if you like them warm!
Check out these other recipes!
• Apple Crumb Muffins
• Oatmeal Muffins
• Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Quick and Easy Carrot Muffins
Small Batch Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (90g) unsalted butter, cut into 6 slices
- 1 & ¼ cups (150g) all-purpose flour, spoon and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- ½ cup (120mL) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (3oz / 85g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a muffin tin with 6 paper liners, and set aside.
- Brown the butter: Ready a medium sized, heat safe bowl to pour the butter into after it's done browning. Set aside.
- Add your slices of butter to a medium sized skillet, and place onto a stove burner set to medium heat. Heat, stirring frequently, until the butter melts and turns a light golden brown color. It will foam quite a bit, but it should settle down once the butter is ready to take off the heat. This will take about 5 to 8 minutes from start to finish. * Note: darker colored pans will cause the butter to seem darker than it actually is, so continue browning the butter until it's just darker than golden brown.
- Immediately pour the browned butter into your heat safe bowl to keep it from burning due to the residual heat of the pan. If you have any darker / burnt pieces at the bottom of your skillet, leave them behind and discard them later (once it's cooled).
- Set the browned butter aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly before adding in any other ingredients.
- Make the muffin batter: In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine, and set aside to prep the wet ingredients.
- Add you egg, granulated and brown sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla to the slightly cooled brown butter, and whisk to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix together until just combined. Fold in your chocolate chips or chunks. Take care not to over mix!
- Portion the muffin batter into your prepared tin. Bake the muffins for 10 minutes at 400°F. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake the muffins for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean of any batter (some chocolate on the skewer is fine).
- Cool the muffins for 10 minutes in the tin, then transfer onto a wire rack and set aside to cool enough to handle. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
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