Christmas Butter
Looking for a quick, last-minute recipe that instantly brings Christmas cheer to your table? This Christmas Butter is made with dried cranberries, fresh thyme and rosemary, and a hint of orange zest. It’s an easy way to make bread, cheese, or potatoes feel festive in just minutes.
In This Post
This Christmas Butter makes alson a wonderful homemade gift from the kitchen or a quick souvenir if you are spontaneously invited to an Advent dinner or Christmas get-together. Beautifully wrapped in baking paper or parchment, perhaps with a little bow, it makes an immediate impression and shows that you have put some thought into it – without any great effort.
3 Tips For The Perfect Christmas Butter
Before you start with the recipe, I have 3 tips for you on how to make your Christmas Butter perfect:
- Soft butter: Before you can start, you need to let the butter soften at room temperature. This allows you to mix the ingredients with the butter easily and evenly.
- Use fresh herbs: Use thyme and rosemary fresh instead of dried so that the aroma really comes into its own.
- Adjust the taste well: Add salt, orange zest and herbs gradually and taste in between. This keeps the butter balanced and aromatic.
Recipe card
Christmas Butter
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Ingredients
- 1 cup butter 250 g, room temperature
- ½ cup dried cranberries 50 g
- 4 springs fresh thyme
- 2 springs fresh rosemary
- 1½ tsp fleur de sel or fine sea salt
- 1 orange zest
Instructions
Instructions
- Finely chop the cranberries, crumbled thyme, and rosemary leaves.Place the butter in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and mix thoroughly with a fork until well combined.
- Quick version using a blender: Place the butter, cranberries, crumbled thyme, rosemary leaves, salt, and orange zest in a blender.
- Blend until the cranberries and rosemary are finely chopped and the butter is smooth and well whipped.
Shaping and storage
- Transfer the butter onto a sheet of parchment paper. Shape it into a log and wrap it carefully.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
What Can I Serve the Christmas Butter With?
You can serve this Christmas butter with just about everything! I love placing it right on the Christmas table so everyone can help themselves: spread on bread while waiting for the main dishes, melted over roasted vegetables, served with turkey (or chicken, if you’re not making a large bird), and even alongside a cheese board.
And the next day, I bring it out again for breakfast, spread on a still-warm brioche or sweet bread, it’s honestly irresistible.
3 More Variations for Your Flavored Butter
You can vary the ingredients in your Christmas Butter. Here are a few more ideas:
- Lemon butter: With a hint of lemon, you can use this butter to sauté vegetables, such as green asparagus, or to season white fish
- Herb butter: The classic flavored butter variation – perfect in summer with grilled food or simply on fresh bread.
- Tomato and chilli butter: A Mediterranean touch of tomato puree and chilli flakes gives this butter a special flavor. I like to serve this butter with potato or pasta dishes.
FAQ – Christmas Butter
Stored in the fridge, the Christmas butter stays fresh for around 1-2 weeks. It can also be frozen, in which case it will keep for up to 3 months.
Yes, the butter should be room temperature. This will allow the cranberries, herbs and spices to be incorporated evenly and the consistency will be creamy.
Yes, simply use a plant-based margarine or vegan butter as a base – the result is similarly aromatic.
Preparation is particularly quick in the blender and the butter becomes nice and creamy while the cranberries and herbs are finely chopped. By hand with a fork, a more rustic consistency is created in which the pieces of fruit and herbs are even more visible. Both versions taste equally delicious – so it’s a question of appearance and personal preference.
Shape the butter into a roll, wrap it in baking paper or parchment and tie a bow around it. Alternatively, you can spread it in a jar and wrap it up.
