I was making cookies this past holiday season and needed to ‘soften’ some butter. Being basically lazy, and it being December in Oregon where ‘softening’ isn’t going to happen naturally, I stuck two cubes in a warmed oven and let them be. An hour or so later, I returned to find perfectly clarified butter! While my cookie recipe didn’t call for that, I knew I’d stumbled onto a great way to clarify butter, without fear of over browning or scalding. All I needed to do was whisk the liquid and solids back together, add my sugar, and I was on my way. The cookies turned out exceptionally well this time, too!

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Place butter in a bowl. (I used glass.)
3. Let cool.

Discovered: 12-17-2012