Top your favorite desserts off with this sweet brown sugar glaze. It goes so well with cakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls and more.
This glaze will take your baked goods and give them a nice warm hug. The nuttiness that comes out when you brown butter is really apparent when you use it for something simple like this glaze.
It makes it feel so much warmer and it is really simple! It was a perfect finish to this brown sugar nectarine sheet cake.
It just takes about 10 minutes to get the butter to a nice golden-brown color. Then you stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk to get your desired consistency.
It really is that easy. This is a perfect glaze for oatmeal cookies.
MiMi made something similar for a get together we had a few years ago. She brought a three or four dozen cookies to a get together with probably 15 people in attendance.
She didn’t leave with any. People could not help themselves. The cookies were good, but the glaze put them over the top!
What is brown butter?
Brown butter is butter that has been gently cooked until some of the milk solids are toasted and browned. It has a nutty aroma and a deeper flavor. Due to the cooking process, some of the moisture is evaporated so it has a lower moisture content than regular butter.
A couple of more icing favorites
Fudgy sweetened condensed milk icing is made quickly in a saucepan and with only three ingredients, this icing is hard to beat! It is so fudgy and has a nice sheen.
Maple brown butter glaze combines the depth of flavor of brown butter with the warmth of maple syrup. It’s perfect for topping cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, bundt cakes and more!
Smooth, sweet and creamy, this caramel frosting is easy to make and is a perfect topper to butter cake, chocolate cake, banana cake and more!
Did you make this great recipe? Please leave a review in the recipe card below!
Brown Butter Glaze
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- In thick bottomed sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 Tablespoons of milk. Continue to add milk until you reach your desired consistency.
- Drizzle over cake or cookies and allow to set before stacking.
Video
Nutrition
Donna Grabowski
Monday 18th of September 2023
Wow! I never made a brown butter icing but this was perfect for an apple cake. I added a little mor milk
Carlee
Tuesday 19th of September 2023
I am so glad you liked it!
Anna
Monday 26th of December 2022
Wow, this was so good. The brown butter flavor comes through so well! I did cut the sugar a little bit, and still found it plenty sweet. I used it to top a spiced apple cake, it was phenomenal. Everyone had seconds. This is my new secret weapon, it's going on everything.
Carlee
Monday 26th of December 2022
Yay! That makes me so happy!
Christine
Thursday 10th of November 2022
I was looking for a brown butter glaze for a pound cake and happened upon your recipe, I decided to make it, I already had everything, I'm glad I did, this turned out beautifully and the flavor is wonderful, I will make again
Carlee
Friday 11th of November 2022
I am so glad you liked it!
maryann westfall
Monday 12th of September 2022
Found that 1/2 cup butter to 2 cups powdered sugar left a lot of butter separation. Needed to almost double the powdered sugar in order for it to absorb all the butter! But once I did that and adjusted the liquid (used heavy cream instead of milk) it was pretty good!
NewMrsAdventures
Monday 14th of September 2015
This looks amazing!!