Recipes

Bu Bo ds

he u c oo t en ou ee this holi a seaso

by Allyson Mattingly

ou e hear o arcut ie oar s ut ha e ou hear o the e est s acki a e the utt oar utt oar is aestheticall leasi alt ati e to the ell lo e arcut ie oar is a eat o tio o a elicious eti his t en a se si listic co are to its eat eese cousi s ut it c taste look ust as ulous ou c ess ou utt oar u ith ust out to i i clu i h s uit ho e e i le lo s hate ou i a atio c e u a a uette i i

Bu MeUp t e he utt

The fi rst step in creating a beautiful butter board is the star of the show: the butter! You can use any butter of your choice but bear in mind that not all butter is created equal. Salted tends to taste better than unsalted – even with sweet applications. We enjoy using Kerrygold Irish butter for a creamy, decadent fl avor; this is due to its higher fat content, but don't tell your guests that. Set the butter out and allow it to get to room temperature. Use a butter knife or offset spatula to spread it onto your board. Get creative with shapes! If you'd like to make a Christmas tree, use an offset spatula to put down a straight line of dollops of butter across the bottom of your board. Use the spatula to smear each dollop upward, creating a line of teardrop shapes. For the next line, place the dollops slightly overlapping the previous row, centering each dollop between two on the last row. Smear those upward. Keep repeating; you should create an adorable tree! (Messed up a little? It's fi ne; just make a triangle and everyone will get what you were going for!)

Passion for Savings

t o he o i s

The beauty of the butter board is that you can really do just about anything you like. For a taste of garlicky goodness, use garlic confi t, lemon zest, chili salt, fresh basil, and fresh rosemary. If you'd like a sweeter board, top it with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts and candied oranges, then pair it with a loaf of brioche. Olives, olive oil, dried fruits, balsamic vinegarette, vegetables, meats, cheeses, fruits... the only limit is your imagination! For more topping inspo, you "butter" believe you can fi nd more mouth-watering combinations on Pinterest, Instagram, and Tik Tok.

Aubrey's Kitchen

Beautiful Eats & Things Spoon Fork Bacon

Justine Snacks/The Pioneer Woman FoodDolls

C C e

For a fun brunch option, rather than a butter board, you can concoct a cream cheese board. It's the same concept as the butter board; spread cream cheese and top it. A cream cheese board can be dressed with any topping you’d want to have on your morning bagel. Next time you brunch with the gals, bond over some shared capers and cream cheese… and a mimosa, of course!

t e he C e Cheese

Like a butter board, making a cream cheese board is pretty simple. Let your favorite cream cheese reach room temperature, then use an icing spatula or offset spatula to spread it all over your board. One way to customize this would be to use fl avored cream cheese. Herbed, veggie, honey walnut, pumpkin, strawberry... the options are endless! We recommend adding a sprinkle of salt over your cream cheese before adding your toppings; this will help prevent it from becoming too sweet (if there even is such a thing.)

t o he o i s

Top your cream cheese with your favorite sweet or savory garnishes. Apples, honey, fi gs, and jam would be a lovely combo for bread, crackers or biscuits. For something savory, smoked salmon, diced red onions, capers, pepper jelly and everything bagel seasoning would be fun, served up with bagel pieces. For a more dessert-inspired board, how about chocolate chips, marshmallows and graham crackers?

hen o e

If you haven't caught the drift, just about any spreadable condiment could be a board. Peanut butter, nutella, cake frosting, mustard, guacamole... get wild with it! •

Weekend Craft Savory Experiments