A Few Flavored BUTTER Recipes

The first three flavored butters are thanks to my cousin Bonnie. She says, “Flavored butters make great hostess gifts. It’s so easy to flavor your own. Here are three simple recipes, but feel free to alter proportions and add additional herbs or spices on hand.

“To fancy it up a little, use an ice cream scoop or melon ball scooper to form shapes or be on the lookout for vintage butter or chocolate molds at estate sales and antique shops. Silicone molds and candy molds are available at specialty retail shops, too.

“I prefer using an ice cream scoop to form balls that can harden in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve individually on bread and butter plates or passed around the table for guests to take one from a soup bowl with a layer of crushed ice on the bottom to hold butter firm until serving.”

 
 

GARLIC BUTTER

2 cups (1 pound) BUTTER, softened (not melted; allow to soften naturally – otherwise texture is affected)
4 garlic cloves
1 pinch of salt
½ teaspoon sugar or powdered sugar

Directions:

  • Process or whip until smooth and form desired shape(s). Refrigerate.

  • Good on meat, breads, and vegetables

 

BASIL BUTTER

2 cups BUTTER, softened
2 cloves or 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
6-8 leaves fresh basil or 1-2 tablespoons dried basil

Directions:

  • Process or whip until smooth and form into desired shape(s).

  • Refrigerate.

Good on just about anything

THANK YOU, BONNIE!

And yet, we can’t leave out chocolate, so I’d like to add one more flavored butter I discovered:

 

SWEET BUTTER

2 cups BUTTER, softened
2 tablespoons preserves of your choice (strawberry, orange marmalade, pear, etc.)

Directions:

  • Blend in food processor and form into balls. More intricate shapes may not set up as well.

Good on toast or English muffins, waffles, and pancakes.

 

CHOCOLATE BUTTER:

It’s a toss-up whether regular butter or chocolate butter, slathered over Bonnie’s melt-in-your-mouth Sour Cream Muffins, is the better choice. Not only do the Butter Babes love many varieties of plain ole’ butter, here we step it up a notch, for some chocolate butter. Knowing my affinity (read addiction) to chocolate, this was a phenomenal discovery. Even better, it’s simple! Give this a try:

½ cup unsalted BUTTER, room temperature
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted (I use Nestle’s tollhouse chips, but use whatever is your favorite.)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Dash of salt

Directions:

  • Beat BUTTER, melted chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until nice and smooth—about a minute.

  • Serve at room temperature. Spread on Bonnie’s muffins, or toast for breakfast, or on a whim, go for broke and spread this on croissants! C’est tres magnifique!