Is It Possible To Make Brown Butter In The Microwave?

If there's anything better than rich, creamy, makes-anything-better butter, it's got to be brown butter, the dairy staple's deeply-flavored cousin. Made by gently heating butter until its milk solids start to caramelize, brown butter tastes nutty and toasty (via Kitchn), and brings these qualities to anything it's stirred into, from gooey chocolate chip cookies to a tropical rum cocktail to moist, fragrant banana bread.

Beloved especially within French cuisine, where it's known as "beurre noisette," brown butter can be spooned over cooked fish, meat, and vegetables, and is often mixed with one part lemon juice to four parts butter to make a simple and flavorful sauce (via Delighted Cooking). And though it sounds fancy, brown butter is actually extremely simple to make, typically involving heating room temperature, unsalted butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-to-low heat until the milk solids appear golden brown and the mixture smells fragrant — but being careful to pull the butter before the milk solids burn. But if you're in the mood to incorporate this delicacy into some baked goods, ASAP, you might be wondering if you can make brown butter in the microwave.

Good news, brown butter fans: It's quick and easy to make this nectar of the gods in the microwave if you don't feel like standing over a hot pot. According to Epicurious, Christina Tosi, pastry wunderkind and owner of the modern sweets shop chain Milk Bar, pioneered the method after discovering that "browning butter in a saucepan on the stove makes you far more likely to burn yourself, or curse like a sailor while trying to scrub the bottom of a saucepan rich in burnt butter solids."

To do it, place a half stick to up to 2 sticks of butter in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with a microwave-safe lid — or, via Allrecipes, cover the bowl with a sheet of parchment paper and use a microwave-safe plate to hold it down. Place the bowl in the microwave and nuke it for three-and-a-half minutes to six-and-a-half minutes, depending on the amount of butter you chose to use, per Epicurious. Then, check its color and aroma and see how it's doing. If the butter is dark amber with brownish milk solids, and smells lightly nutty, it's ready to go. If it needs some more time, continue to microwave it at 30-second intervals, checking it each time to make sure it hasn't browned too much. And voila! You've got quick and easy brown butter, ready to perfume your cookies, enrich your cocktails, and add a touch of luxury to your savory dishes, too.