Give Basic Pancakes Rich Flavor With One Extra Step

As a big pancake enjoyer, I'm always looking for ways to spruce my pancakes up, take them to the next level, or just try something brand new with them. (Lemon-lime soda pancakes, anyone?) At this point in my storied pancake journey, I've tried more pancakes than many people eat over the course of multiple years. Sweet with fruits and berries or chocolate and caramel, savory with garlic and chili crisp and little baby shrimp — it sometimes feels like I've tried it all. But one thing that I keep coming back to over and over again is a surprisingly simple, easy addition. Brown butter.

Brown butter is, in my opinion, one of the building block basic skills a good baker needs under their belt. To make brown butter, you just cook butter over medium to medium-low heat. This breaks down the milk solids in the butter, giving you brown butter liquid and solids that have a deliciously nutty and toasty flavor with similar notes to caramel or toffee. You can then add this butter to any baked good that calls for normal butter, and it instantly infuses your treats with that rich and toasted taste. I love it in just about any baked good, but if you haven't tried it in pancakes yet, you're about to have your whole world rocked.

Browning butter isn't hard; it's just a little time consuming since you have to babysit the pan and make sure your butter doesn't burn. This is why you want to use a light-colored pan; it'll help you see the color of your cooking butter much more clearly. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to brown your butter depending on your desired doneness and the heat of your burner. You're looking for a deep golden brown color and a nutty smell to tell you the butter's all done. Substituting your brown butter into your pancake batter is a breeze too, since you just replace the normal butter in a 1:1 ratio. Brown butter does have a bit less moisture than regular butter thanks to the cooking process, so you might want to add an extra splash of milk in. Just eyeball the batter consistency and adapt as needed.

You can make brown butter solids with any leftovers you have, which keeps well in the fridge for a few days on top of being easy to chuck into any recipe you want, sweet or savory alike. I love using these on lazy pancake days when all I want to do is whip up a quick batch and eat it in under 15 minutes. Trust me, once you start adding brown butter into your pancakes, you'll always want some on hand, so get your cooking and storage methods down to help future you out.