Alright. It’s the morning of Christmas Eve. You’re getting ready for your annual holiday party later tonight. The tree is fully decked out, the stockings have been hung, and your gifts are all wrapped and tucked nicely under the tree. You’re running through your mental checklist of things that were supposed to be done by today, when you realize…shit. Forgot to buy/make a present for [insert name here]. What to do, what to do? No time to run to the mall, no time to order something online, no time to make a few bottles of DIY flavored extracts. You are screwed big time. But wait! You have all those cute little bottles/jars you bought at the flea market a while back that you didn’t really have a use for but just couldn’t pass up. And you have butter. And herbs. And bacon. And honey. You have…a solution to all your problems.
DIY Flavored Butters. Unbelievably easy to make – easier than extracts, even, and with far more instant gratification. Just let a few sticks of butter get to room temperature on your kitchen counter (perfect time to tidy up around the house while you wait), chop some herbs, zest some lemons, maybe saute some shallots in a little red wine…then mix your flavorings of choice into your softened butter, chill until ready to eat (or gift), and voila – instant delicious condiment for anything and everything. And, if you do in fact find yourself in a Christmas Eve gift bind, scoop all that yummy flavored butter into a few cute jars, tie a ribbon around it, and you’ve got yourself a present worth giving (and receiving – give me all the butters, please).
Thankfully I’m not actually in a gift-bind this year. I just made these flavored butters ‘cuz I felt like it. Buzzfeed had an article about flavored butters a few weeks ago and I was all WHAT IS BACON BOURBON BUTTER I MUST HAVE IT NOW NOW NOW. So of course I had to give the recipe a try (FYI, it’s spoon-lickin’-good…why have I not thought to combine bacon drippings and butter before?), and then I thought “why not try some other recipes?”, followed by “holy crap, these would make the best Christmas presents!” And the rest is history. So on this day, the eve of Christmas, I wish you all a very very happy holiday and gift you these fabulously awesome and totally necessary butter recipes. Merry Christmas, y’all!
And before you ask:
- Jars – 4oz Hexagon Glass Jars from Specialty Bottle
- Labels – Avery Removable Multi-Use Labels, Kraft Brown, 1.125 x 2.25 Inches, Pack of 24 (40151)
- Ribbon – Offray Spoolo Ribbon (White) from Michael’s
- 1 slice uncooked bacon, finely chopped
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp bourbon
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- Salt
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅛ cup fresh dill, washed & dried, tough stems removed
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 8 oz butter (2 sticks), room temperature
- 1 handful of flat parsley, finely chopped
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cook bacon in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 6 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.
- Reserve 1 tsp. bacon drippings.
- Put reserved bacon and drippings in a small bowl, along with butter, bourbon, maple syrup, and sugar.
- Season mixture with salt to taste.
- Using a fork, vigorously whisk until well combined.
- Transfer butter mixture to a 4oz jar, and seal tightly.
- Chill until you're ready to use.
- Put honey in a small bowl, along with softened butter.
- Using a fork, vigorously whisk until well combined.
- Transfer butter mixture to a 4oz jar, and seal tightly. (If you don't have jars on hand, transfer butter to a sheet of parchment paper, wax paper, or plastic wrap, placing on edge closest to you. Fold paper over and roll into a cylinder, twisting the ends; wrap airtight in foil. Chill until solid.)
- Chill until you're ready to use.
- On a large chopping board, roughly chop dill.
- Transfer chopped dill to a small bowl with garlic and butter, and whisk vigorously with a fork to combine.
- Add lemon zest & juice, using a butter knife to fold the lemon juice into butter.
- Season with salt and pepper taste
- Transfer butter mixture to a 4oz jar, and seal tightly.
- Chill until you're ready to use.
- In a small pot combine the wine and shallot and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the wine has almost completely evaporated, taking care not to let the shallots burn.
- Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl and let cool.
- Add softened butter to your bowl with the shallot-wine mixture, along with the parsley.
- Whisk vigorously with a fork to mix.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
- Divide butter mixture between two 4oz jars, and seal tightly.
- Chill until you're ready to use.
(2) Butter will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.
(Bacon-Bourbon Butter from Bon Appetit; Lemon-Dill Butter slightly adapted from Simple Bites; Red Wine Butter from Simple Bites)
The bacon bourbon butter sounds amazing. Thanks for the recipe. I can’t believe it only keeps 2 weeks in fridge 🙁 Do you think it can hold longer?
You know, I’m definitely one of those people who tends to use things beyond their “use by” date, so I would personally that yes, I think it would last longer than 3 weeks. But, since I don’t want to poison any of my blog readers, I always tend to go a little more conservative with my recipe storage instructions. I think you could definitely get at least a month out of the butter in the fridge, though. Although…you could just toss the whole thing in the freezer (then you can have it for months), and just let it defrost a few hours before you want to use it. Hope that helps!
These all look AMAZING! Will definitely be making lemon-dill and red wine butters.
What font did you use for the labels? Thanks! Merry Christmas!
Thank you! I actually wrote the labels out by hand! Just my regular handwriting, with dots on the edges of all the letters 🙂
These look AMAZING! Can’t wait to make the lemon-dill and red wine butters.
What font did you use on the labels? Thanks! Merry Christmas!
Thank you! I actually wrote the labels out by hand! Just my regular handwriting, with dots on the edges of all the letters 🙂