Ah… More on Butter.

Another important tip on using butter wisely is knowing how to cream it. (This is typically the first step in your recipe.) Never melt your butter. Melted butter will NOT cream the way softened butter does. By the time it’s melted, it no longer has the properties necessary to bind and “fluff” the sugar.

If you know you’ll be baking later in the day, take the butter out first thing in the morning. Or the night before. Butter is extremely shelf-stable (think about how it safely sits in your butter dish in the cupboard) and can be left unrefrigerated for a reasonable amount of time. Obviously there’s an exception if you live in a hot climate and your August kitchen feels like the surface of the sun. In that case, pull your butter out of the fridge and use this microwave method: unwrap the butter, put it on a dish in your microwave, and set it to the lowest power setting (usually Power Level 1) for about 2 minutes. If it hasn’t softened at all after 2 minutes at Level 1, do 1 more minute at the next highest setting (Level 2). Continue this process in 30 second-1 minute intervals. Your butter is ready when your finger indents the top.

When creaming butter and sugar, you’re always better off letting it cream a little too long than not long enough. Be patient. It can take anywhere between 3-6 minutes to cream butter appropriately. In a warmer kitchen, the butter will cream faster. In a cold January kitchen, creaming times often double. When done, it should look like the picture at right.

Happy Butter Creaming!