If you love baking sweet treats from scratch, you’ve probably creamed a lot of butter and sugar. This oh-so important step is one of the most prevalent and versatile actions in the baking world, creating a light and airy texture in a wide range of recipes, from buttery sugar cookies to glazed mini baked donuts. Baking is an exact science, and sometimes a small mistake might leave your butter over-creamed. For example, maybe you missed the visual cues for properly creamed butter and sugar, or you might have left your stand mixer unattended for a little while. Now, instead of being light and fluffy, the butter is far too airy and quite greasy. When incorporated into a recipe, over-creamed creates a final product that collapses after baking, or has far more dense texture. The worst part? It can’t be undone.
Thankfully, there’s a solution to this culinary conundrum. Instead of tossing your over-creamed butter in the bin, this mixture makes for a straightforward, yet delightfully-rich spread that can be used on just about anything. Not unlike a whipped butter topping, this spread can be smeared on toast, warm biscuits, freshly-baked muffins, and more. Before you get to enjoying your spread, stir in a pinch of salt into the mixture to help ground the richness of the butter and the sugar’s powerful sweetness. While this simple spread is great on its own, there’s no shortage of add-ons to enhance this spread’s flavors.
How to customize your over-creamed butter and sugar spread
A butter and sugar mixture might just be the ultimate blank canvas in terms of flavor. If you’re a fan of sweet, indulgent flavors, you can easily transform your over-creamed butter into a Texas Roadhouse-inspired honey-cinnamon butter spread. To do this, just mix some ground cinnamon, honey, and a splash of vanilla extract into your over-creamed butter mixture and enjoy. It’s the perfect addition to fresh-out-the-oven dinner rolls, and your guests won’t have a clue that it stemmed from a baking mishap.
For an English tea-time-inspired flavor, you can also stir in your favorite flavor of jam or preserves into your over-creamed butter mixture. Smeared onto an English muffin, its a delicate and incredibly satisfying topping.
For a truly sophisticated spread, try adding some fresh herbs. You can fold in some fresh chopped rosemary, mint, lavender, sage, or whatever herbs your heart desires. When incorporated, this adds a nuanced, floral aroma to your butter spread that, when paired with the sugar’s natural sweetness, offers a unique, yet balanced flavor profile. Try spreading this sweet, herby butter onto some homemade shortbread cookies, or smearing them atop a stack of buttermilk pancakes. Similarly, a little bit of citrus zest can add an extra zing to your butter, which provides a bright contrast to the heavy richness from the butter. It’s a beautiful pairing for a slice of homemade lemon loaf or on top of a lemon poppy seed muffin.
