Homemade Flavored Butter Recipes. Sweet and Savory
What is inspiring me to post about Flavored Butter Recipes is a wonderful event I attended with my daughter yesterday, the Bikkur Cholim Crown Heights Annual Brunch.
The talented ladies in charge put out a wonderful spread, and I heard lots of raves about some flavored butters my daughter and I prepared. In response to all requests to share our Flavored Butter Recipes, I am including here several flavored butter recipes I have developed over the years, both savory and sweet. Since I made my flavored butter recipes quite often for catering, I used to present them shaped into logs rolled in nuts or herbs, but since we are most often cooking at home, I will focus on a much simpler presentation: Flavored Butter in a Mason Jar.
For all Flavored Butter Recipes, be sure to work with butter at room temperature, so it is much easier to work with. Also, start with unsalted butter, so you can control the amount of salt, as sweet butters only need a little pinch of salt.
For all Flavored butter recipes given, no need to use exact amounts, or even exact ingredients; these amounts and these ingredients are tried and true and come out great, but they are just a guide. Use your creativity, and what you find at shopping time, to decide what flavored butter you will be making.
Dairy-Free Flavored Butter: For the times you must serve a dairy-free (pareve) Flavored Butter, no problem using coconut oil, or natural “Buttery” spread (dairy-free), both easy to find in better supermarkets and health food stores. Although they are not as intensely tasty by themselves as butter, once you add your flavors, the end flavored butter result will be quite delicious. Whatever you do, don’t use margarine, that would be very not OK.
All of them using 1 cup whipped unsalted butter at room temperature (or 1 cup coconut oil, or 1 cup natural Dairy-free “buttery” spread).
Serving: Be sure your flavored butter is at room temperature. Serve flavored butter on the side, both savory and sweet, with your favorite dishes: Roast (in this case, dairy-free), fish, Roast vegetables, omelets, pasta, toast, dessert crepes, etc… Don’t be too alarmed at serving flavored butter: Mixing it with other ingredients stretches it, so a little flavored butter goes a long way, and makes for a much more interesting flavored butter.
Mix the following mixtures thoroughly into the butter. Do all your grinding in a food processor, all fine grinding, unless otherwise instructed.
Instructions
SAVORY FLAVOR BUTTERS. For 1 cup whipped butter:
- Garlic and Herb Flavored Butter: 4 cloves garlic, 1 bunch flat parsley (stems and leaves), 1 bunch chives, sea salt and ground pepper to taste. You might want to throw in some capers and/or pitted green olives. In this case, rinse the capers and olives, and do not add any salt.
- Rosemary and Thyme Flavored Butter: 4-5 sprigs rosemary and 6-7 sprigs thyme, leaves only, 1 tablespoon dry oregano, sea salt and ground pepper to taste.
- Dill Flavored Butter: 1 large bunch dill, fronds and stems, 1 tablespoon anise or fennel seeds, sea salt and pepper to taste
- Roquefort Flavored Butter: 1/2 cup crumbled (just use your hands) roquefort, sharp cheddar, kashkeval or blue cheese at room temperature, and 2-3 tablespoons port wine (not cooking wine). No salt added.
- Basil and Sun-Dried Tomato Flavored Butter: 1 large bunch basil, leaves only, and 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and thoroughly dry.
- Wild Mushroom Flavored Butter: 3-4 cups wild mushrooms, any selection you can find, saute in olive oil (you will end up with a little more than a cup saute mushrooms), sea salt and ground pepper to taste.
- Anchovy Flavored Butter or Smoked Salmon Flavored Butter: 6-8 anchovies, rinsed and chopped fine by hand. Or 1 cup smoked salmon or canned sardines, finely chopped by hand.
- Citrus Flavored Butter: Juice and zest of 1 lemon, juice and zest or 1 orange, sea salt and Ground pepper to taste.
- Roasted Red Pepper Flavored Butter: 3-4 roasted red peppers, bottled OK, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1-2 good pinches red pepper flakes, sea salt and ground pepper to taste
SWEET FLAVORED BUTTERS. For 1 cup whipped butter:
- Walnut, Maple and Cinnamon Flavored Butter: 2 cups toasted and finely chopped (not completely ground, you want texture), 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, 2-3 tablespoons cinnamon, good pinch salt.
- Date Flavored Butter: 1 cup dates, packed, ground fine, 2-3 tablespoons orange flower water, good pinch salt
- Apricot Flavored Butter: 1 cup dried apricots, packed, ground fine, 2-3 tablespoons apricot brandy (liquor stores), good pinch salt
- Blueberry and all other Dried Fruit Flavored Butter: Proceed just as for Apricot flavored butter, substituting any other dried fruit you want for the dried apricots (blueberries, cherries, cranberries, strawberries etc.....). In this case, substitute Creme de Cassis for the Apricot Brandy (liquor stores).
The recipes sound awesome. I am planning to try some for Thanksgiving for my family. Can they be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator? How long will the whipped butters maintain their consistency?
Margie yes of course. A good few days!