O, brownies – truly, you are the easiest of the desserts. You toss dry ingredients together, you melt some butter, you mix, you bake, you eat. So simple – why would anyone want to change who you are?

Oh that’s right – TO MAKE THEM EVEN BETTER! It’s time to bring back brown butter, guys…and add a little red food coloring for extra festivity!

It’s the time of year for red velvet, and as tired as you might be of seeing post after post of red and pink themed desserts, I feel like it’d be simply irresponsible to not add something for this February. The good news is that, adorably-red or not, these brownies are delicious and definitely worth your time. This is mostly due to the magical powers of brown butter.

A couple years ago I went on a browned butter kick, and I was delighted to be reminded of it again for this recipe. Brown butter takes normal brownies and gives them a nutty, richer flavor. Fun fact, in french brown butter is “beurre noisette“, which literally translates to “hazelnut butter”. The more you know!

Brown Butter in Phases:

 
What’s even better about brown butter is how easy it is to make. If you have the patience to stir melted butter until it smells nutty and delicious, you officially have the patience to make your baked goods a little bit better. It’s another one of those easy techniques to have in your bag of tricks that make you look fancy, but in reality isn’t that hard to accomplish.

But let me stop before I get too far off on a brown butter tangent – I’ll get to that in another post! These brownies have a rich texture and taste due to the relatively large amount of butter in them. They’re not super thick or anything, but they’re definitely filling (which is to say, one piece is probably enough!), and the tops are lovely and cracked while the insides stay moist and buttery.

 
So whether you’re into red velvet for Valentine’s Day or any other day, this recipe is definitely a keeper. They look good, taste good, and are perfect for a million different variations – mix in chocolate chips or nuts, whip up some frosting or even just add a dollop of whipped cream on top. Just make sure you bring a glass of milk along for the ride – you’re going to need it.
 

Browned Butter Red Velvet Brownies

Adapted from Something Swanky
Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp red food coloring

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Grease or use parchment paper to line a 9×9 pan.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
4. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, continue heating at the same temperature and stir continuously until brown flecks appear (for “browned butter”). Allow the flecks to continue forming, but remove from heat before they blacken. The butter should smell nutty and delicious.
5. Add eggs, vanilla, and water to the dry ingredients and mix.
6. Add butter and food coloring and mix. Mixture should become velvety and smooth!
7. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a sharp knife poked into the center comes out clean.
8. CONSUME!!!