Butter. I love butter. I’ve made my own, I’ve bought every kind known to man in at least two different countries, and for my money, I always go back to Kerrygold. No one’s asked me to say that, and it’s not going to help my case for this recipe contest I’m attempting to win – I just want you to know that when it comes to butter, these guys are the tops.
I’ve long bought Kerrygold Butter for baking. But I still purchased easily spreadable butter plus canola oil concoctions for spreading on bread straight from the fridge. The convenience plus the need to save the good stuff for my next baked good always won out, and I ended up putting inferior butter on mah toast.
Not anymore! Kerrygold has just released two new products that I’m pretty much in love with. What I love most is that there’s no added oil to make these two new butters spreadable from the refrigerator.
Kerrygold figured out that milk from their cows in the Summer month has a naturally softer milkfat, so they created Naturally Softer Pure Irish Butter by slowly churning it to get a softer, creamy butter that spreads on toast straight from the depths of the butter compartment in your fridge.
Kerrygold has also created a reduced fat butter with 25% less fat than traditional butter, and 50% less sodium without using chemicals or additives. Instead, they understand the science of how their cows eat, and produce the butter at optimal times to ensure less fat. I’ve tasted both, and God’s truth – I can’t taste a difference. They’re both delicious.
Here’s where the fun comes in. Spreadable Kerrygold butter is fantastic on its own. And even more fantastic when you make compound butters with it.
What’s a compound butter, you ask? A compound butter is simply butter that has additional flavors or ingredients added to it. Most of us have them in restaurants all the time (Texas Road House serves cinnamon butter with their rolls), but how come we never think to make them at home? They’re so simple, so easy to make, and downright amazing!
I’ve made four compound butters using Kerrygold Naturally Softer Irish Butter and Reduced Fat Irish Butter that I think you’re going to love. By the end of my recipe testing, I was literally holding myself back from eating these with a spoon right of the tub. My favorite? Texas Gold.
I called it Texas Gold because us Texans love our saltines. And a lot of times, at a barbecue restaurant, you’ll be served saltines and butter as, well, an aperitif! For Texas Gold, I combined all my favorite savory flavors: salt, pepper, onion, garlic, paprika and cheddar cheese into one fantastic butter. Spread it on saltines or make garlic bread with it. Heck, eat it out of the tub with a spoon.
Texas Gold Compound Butter
Ingredients
1 tub Kerrygold Naturally Softer Irish Butter
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
1/4 cup freshly shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Directions
Let butter rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes to become slightly less cold. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip butter slightly in a medium bowl, until just creamy enough to easily mix ingredients in.
Add all additional ingredients straight to bowl and mix again. Scrape sides of bowl down and stir by hand to completely mix in. Return butter to original container and store in the refrigerator for a delicious treat!
Early in the morning, I like to start my day with a simple piece of toast or even a toaster waffle. Plain butter is delicious, but breakfast takes on a whole new spin when you have three sweet butters to choose from to add variety and spice to your breakfast (or afternoon snack!).
Maple Honey Nut Butter
Maple Honey Nut Butter has an additional crunch with the addition of pecans, which lends itself especially well to waffles and pancakes. Also delicious on a freshly baked biscuit.
Ingredients
1 tub Kerrygold Naturally Softer Irish Butter
1/8 cup Honey
1/8 cup Maple Sugar
1/4 cup chopped Pecans
Directions
Let butter rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes to become slightly less cold. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip butter slightly in a medium bowl, until just creamy enough to easily mix ingredients in.
Add all additional ingredients straight to bowl and mix again. Scrape sides of bowl down and stir by hand to completely mix in. Return butter to original container and store in the refrigerator for a delicious treat!
Mexican Hot Chocolate Butter
Discs of Mexican Chocolate can be found at most stores in the Ethnic foods section. I found my discs at Whole Foods. Cinnamon and Chocolate are a common pairing where I come from. By micro-grating the chocolate into the butter, it stays whole but melts with the butter when spread on hot food. I especially love this butter on crumpets and english muffins – it’s like my marriage – Texas meets England!
Ingredients
1 tub Kerrygold Reduced Fat Irish Butter
1/2 disc Mexican Chocolate, micrograted
1/2 teaspoon Saigon Cinnamon
Directions
Let butter rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes to become slightly less cold. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip butter slightly in a medium bowl, until just creamy enough to easily mix ingredients in.
Add all additional ingredients straight to bowl and mix again. Scrape sides of bowl down and stir by hand to completely mix in. Return butter to original container and store in the refrigerator for a delicious treat!
Pumpkin Spice Brown Sugar Butter
Autumn directly inspired this butter. I love anything pumpkin spiced – coffee, pie, or in this case, butter. Perfect on a muffin, a pancake, or just plain homemade bread. The brown sugar adds a slight richness. This is a terrific update to the cinnamon sugar toast my mom made me as a kid.
Ingredients
1 tub Kerrygold Reduced Fat Irish Butter
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
Directions
Let butter rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes to become slightly less cold. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip butter slightly in a medium bowl, until just creamy enough to easily mix ingredients in.
Add all additional ingredients straight to bowl and mix again. Scrape sides of bowl down and stir by hand to completely mix in. Return butter to original container and store in the refrigerator for a delicious treat!
Disclaimer: Kerrygold Butter provided these tubs of butter to me free of charge for the purpose of entrance into a food blogger contest based on recipe development. All opinions expressed are my own, based on my personal use of the Kerrygold products. I have not been paid for my opinion, favorable or otherwise, or recipe development.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Your compound butters look to die for. Especially the pumpkin one at the end–mmmm!! Love your food photography too, by the way!
Jenna, thank you so much for your lovely words! That pumpkin one is definitely good, but I just had the maple honey nut butter on my toast, and I think it’s my favorite of the sweet ones.
I didn’t know KerryGold made spreadable butters. Drool. I have to start putting them on my grocery list. I also just wanted to say that your last photo reminds me of my grandma. She always used to give us snacks of butter on saltines when we were little. :-)
My Nanny did too, Tracy. Love it!
Do you know that I have never had KerryGold? I need to change that ASAP. All these compound butters sound fantastic.
Rachel, prepare for your world to change! :D
I have never seen that brand? I’m from AZ, are they only on the east coast? or did you have it in Texas too???
Mel,
We can find them at H.E.B. in South Texas. I did a quick check of KerryGold’s site (http://www.kerrygoldusa.com/where-to-buy) and it looks like the chain Food City carries some KerryGold. I don’t know if they’ve got these new butters quite yet, but it’s certainly something you can try to request? I hope you can find them – they’re spectacular.
See, I WOULD eat the pumpkin spice butter because there’s no pumpkin in it – just the lovely spices! Though I agree with you that Texas Gold is likely my fave too. And yes, I don’t mind eating it out of the tub with a spoon.
I knew you would! Come over here and eat butter with me.
Yum! I like the pumpkin spice idea!
Katrina, it’s really good, and so simple to do! Takes less than 5 minutes.
I could seriously eat ALL of these directly out of the tubs! I can’t pick a favorite, they are ALL absolutely perfect! Well done, Amber – I hope the lovely folks at Kerrygold think these are as amazing as I do! Good luck, girl!
I love compound butter, it’s something we often have in our house. I would have never thought of micro-grating the Mexican chocolate in butter, GENIUS! I can’t wait to try it!
Jenny, it’s so good. I love how it melts with the butter because it’s been micro-grated. Creates a rich breakfast spread without overwhelming. Yummy!
I love compound butter and all of these look incredible. Just pass me a spoon please!
Haha, Kulsum, we’ll sit around and eat them straight out of the tub together, hey?
Love all your compound butter ideas Amber. And I also know the joy of saltines slathered in butter. To this day, it’s one of my comfort foods.
It’s quickly reentering my world of comfort foods, Wendi! Thanks for the butterlove xx
Ooh my! These are just divine. I need to find that soft Kerrygold butter, and then I need to make every single one of these!
What a great selection of compound butters! Loving Kerrygold’s new products, but you’ve really made them shine!
you have so many good ideas in this post! love compound butters… so simple but yet so good!
So happy for you! Congrats!
Girl, You just turned compound butter into an art form! Love them all but I’m going to start of with Texas Gold this weekend.
Like the blog
I agree about Kerrygold being the best. Can you buy it in the US? By the way I discovered it in Germany. Love it!
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