Compound Butter 4 Ways

Here's the plan. For each flavor we make, the process is super simple. Start with softened butter. Add your flavorings. Whip them together with a hand mixer to get everything nice and fluffy. Roll them into the best looking log that you can in some plastic wrap. (My butter rolling skills need some work...) Then, let the logs solidify again. And, we're done! You can slice them into little rounds to freeze and save for later, or you can keep the log in tact and eat as you go. Freezing will extend the shelf life, or the fridge will keep your butters for about a week.

First up, we're going to make a Honey Garlic Butter. Grated garlic, honey, and a pinch of salt get mixed into our butter for a savory treat with a hint of sweetness. All of our butters are pretty versatile, and this one is no different. It's great on toast. It's great on roasted potatoes. It's great on seafood and meat. It's just plain great!.

Next, we're going to make a Blueberry Vanilla Bean Butter. This butter is the most labor intensive of the group, but it's soooo worth it!

We'll start by making a super quick blueberry compote by simmering some frozen blueberries, brown sugar, and a little water together. Once the blueberries are thick and syrupy, we remove them from the heat and let them cool completely. We don't want the blueberries to melt our butter, after all! So, you can't cheat on that step. Then, we add the blueberries to the butter with some vanilla bean paste and a pinch of salt. Give it a whip, and it's done!

I find the Blueberry Vanilla Bean Butter to be more of a breakfast butter based on it's natural sweetness. And, that's A ok. It's great on toast, muffins, pancakes, and biscuits. But, my favorite way to use this butter is on chicken and waffles. YUM!

Next up, we'll stick with the sweet butters and make an Old Bay Cinnamon Sugar Butter. You know that addictive cinnamon sugar butter that you can get at chain steakhouses? Well, this is very similar to that. But, with a little some extra that makes this butter a thousand times more special. We've seen my Old Bay cinnamon sugar mix a few times before, and it's truly one of my favorites of all time. So, it only made sense to let it shine in this butter.

To whip this one up, we need some cinnamon, some Old Bay, a little powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt to flavor up our butter. Whip them together, and try not to lick the spoon. I like to enjoy this butter in very similar ways as our blueberry butter. It's incredible on chicken and waffles. It's delicious on all the bready carbs. And, it transitions from breakfast to dinner rather easily. Sooo good!

For our last butter, we're going to make a Basil Parmesan Butter. To flavor this butter, we need some fresh basil, some freshly grated parmesan, and a little pinch of garlic powder and salt. Once these are whipped together, the possibilities are endless. This is great on a baked potato. This is great on a piece of salmon. This is great to finish a steak. Chicken, cheesy bread, eggs...I could go on all day.

Like I mentioned earlier, though I may be composed of 50% butter, I do not recommend eating 1 lb of butter over the course of a week (the shelf life of these butters in the fridge). If you portion these out into ½ tablespoon or tablespoon sized slices, lay them on some parchment or wax paper, and throw them in a freezer safe bag; they'll last you a good 6 months in the freezer.

And, I'm sure everyone's arteries would find that a little more acceptable.

Ok, everyone! I still have a ton of butter flavors bouncing around in my brain. So, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more compound butters some time in the (probably near) future.

Until then, I can't wait to hear about your favorite ways to use these.

Let's eat!