Brown butter is a trending fall flavor this year, and that is sure to carry over into the holiday season and throughout winter. Ann Kirk, pastry chef at Los Angeles Italian restaurant Little Dom’s and its seaside sister restaurant, Little Dom’s Seafood in Carpinteria, has incorporated brown butter in her recipes for years.

Over the years, Chef Ann has rotated between her favorite brown butter confections, showcasing different use occasions and ways to make the flavor shine. Two recent examples of her brown butter confections are her Brown Butter Tart served with roasted peaches, fresh raspberries and a peach-raspberry sauce and her Brown Sugar Icebox Pie, served with peach bourbon jam, roasted peaches and fresh raspberries. As we move into the holidays, her beloved Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie will be returning to menus.

Year-round, Chef Ann rotates her Brown Butter Sea Salt Gelato onto the gelato menus of both restaurants and her Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie with Sea Salt is available at both locations, both baked and as dough to-go.

Chef Ann talked to us about what makes brown butter so special in recipes.

Why is brown butter trending in recipes? 

Ann Kirk: It’s a simple and really delicious way to change up the classics.

Why does brown butter work so well in so many different foods? 

A lot of recipes use butter as the fat component. Browning that butter adds a more nutty complex flavor and aroma that works for both sweet and savory dishes.

What are your favorite recipes to include brown butter?  

My very favorite use is in my Brown Butter Sea Salt gelato. It dresses up a basic gelato base and the final result tastes like salty toffee. Plus, the brown butter adds an extra creamy, almost chewy texture that’s quite addictive. Brown butter also takes chocolate chip cookies to next level goodness. Not that this classic cookie needs any help but for a change, the brown butter really deepens the flavor and enhances the dark chocolate chunks.

What are some of the ways chefs/bakers can utilize this trending ingredient this holiday season? 

So many! Use brown butter to add extra nutty notes to a Linzer cookie, deepen the flavor of your brownies, or make a brown butter frosting for holiday cupcakes. Trifle is a particularly pretty holiday dessert and brown butter pound cake would be a great addition. Sky’s the limit, really!