How To Make Delicious Flavored Butter

I love butter and use it in my cooking and will make no excuses for loving the real deal. When I sauté vegetables, which is almost every single night…I combine olive oil with butter because my palette can really taste the difference that a bit of butter makes! Today I’m sharing some of my favorite ways to flavor your store bought butter if you want to add some kick to it.

How To Make Flavored Compound Butter

If you’ve never tried making compound butter, it’s so easy (I’m all about easy in the kitchen…just like decorating:-) and doesn’t take much time. Use these butters as spreads too with a loaf of crusty French bread or a piece of toast.

Start with unsalted butter that you leave out of the fridge until it’s softened to room temperature, although not melted. I recently discovered that my favorite butter comes in these sweet half wrapped sticks, which are perfect for small batches!

 

I like to just mix my butters the old fashioned way with a fork, but you can use a wisk or blender if preferred. I sort of dislike to call this a “recipe” because compound butter takes literally no time and only a few ingredients to prepare. You can add as little or as much of each ingredient as you like.

Fresh Herb Butter

I had some fresh rosemary, basil and chives around and pretty much always have these in my fridge. I prefer cooking with fresh herbs over using spices or dried herbs and these three go with so many dishes and are simple flavors.

Mince up a small amount of your FRESH HERBS and add to your BUTTER…little by little. That’s how I do it as an instinctual cook.  Once I am satisfied with the flavor I add a very small amount of sea salt to taste.

Another favorite is CILANTRO LIME BUTTER. Mince up a small amount of cilantro and add it to your softened butter and give it a stir with your fork. Then squeeze some fresh lime, about a tablespoon should suffice for a stick of butter. Stir that in and add a small amount of grated LIME ZEST. This butter has a nice tangy flavor to use in cooking fish or chicken.

Strawberry Compound Butter

Simple, easy squeezy and sweet! Add your favorite jelly or jam to the softened butter to taste. Always start out with a scant amount and as you stir add more until desired flavor is achieved. I love strawberries, but you could add other fruit preserves.

Chopped nuts are delicious and nutritious, and in this FLAVORED BUTTER I opted to mix in some walnut pieces that I chopped up. Spread some of this on your morning toast for a real treat!

To store your FLAVORED BUTTER you can dollop it on to some wax paper and roll it, shaping as you would a jelly roll. Twist the ends to seal and there you have it!

 

The butter stores well in the fridge for several weeks, longer in the freezer.

 

 

Get creative and tie the ends with pretty ribbon, put a label on them and bring them as hostess gifts to that THANKSGIVING DINNER. Speaking of…the HERB BUTTERS are delicious in mashed potatoes or melted over a sweet potato and the herbs add no extra guilt to your meal. If you try them or have some other ideas, let me know what you think!