The guy who comes over and cooks butter for usWe have been gifted with a truly remarkable discovery. There is a taste, a flavor, a powerful undercurrent in store bought baked goods that makes them difficult to eat in moderation. I speak in shady particulars of those paper bags of cookies that are produced by the folks with the vaguely Orwellian boast about their recall abilities, but that taste shows up in other product as well. I have been aware of it, but never able to define it, or even speak articulately about it. I have been shown the way of it now, and it is this:
Toast the butter.
I have been noticing that, more often than not, the good food that tends to linger in the memory does so because of a specific technique that is neither labor nor time saving. This is one of those joyful cases. Toasting butter is very easy: melt butter over low heat, bring heat to high and stir, stir until the solids fall out and begin to brown a little. Remove from heat immediately (the carry over will deepen the browning). Because it is an extra step, this might be seen as a pain in the ass, but it's very, very worth it (just don't burn the butter). Use the browned butter in cookies or cakes or frosting or on toast or whatever. The results are astonishing.
An associate of mine sees the world of food in terms of 'yum': butter generally yields 'yum', as do Maillard reactions yield 'yum'. Butter done in this way is most powerful yum.
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