Turn Your Extra Strawberries Into A Fruity Butter

Come strawberry season, which can be anywhere from January to June depending on what part of the country you live in, you may be snapping up baskets of these red juicy fruits at grocery stores and farmers markets. But if you end up with more strawberries than you know what to do with, don't toss them out — instead, make a delicious pink butter. All you need are two ingredients: strawberries and butter. You can also add in a little powdered sugar, granulated sugar, or honey if you want more sweetness.

So how can you whip up this delicious spring spread? First, mash or dice your strawberries after washing them and removing the tops. (But don't throw away those tops, as they can be used to infuse refreshing spring beverages.) You could combine all your ingredients by hand, but to spare your arm muscles and get a fluffy butter, mix them in a stand mixer or food processor — and don't forget to throw in a little of the strawberries' juices. Stop when everything is soft, pink, and fully incorporated.

While fresh strawberries may yield the juiciest and freshest-tasting butter, you can also use jam or preserves. This may be the simplest method since all you need to do is mix jam with butter, and you can omit any sweetener. If you're using fresh, however, you can enhance the fruits' flavor with a dash of lemon juice and a pinch of salt or cinnamon. But make sure to use unsalted butter so you can control the salt content — preferably at room temperature for easy mixing. If your end result is too thick, throw in a splash of milk (almond or oat milk works great too) or water and mix until combined.

Make sure you store your finished butter in an airtight container in the fridge. For aesthetically-pleasing bonus points, form it into a log shape and wrap it up in pretty parchment paper or plastic wrap. And if you can resist simply eating it by the spoonful, feel free to use your imagination when it comes to food pairings. Strawberry butter is delicious on bread, pancakes, and waffles, of course, but you can also spread it on popovers, muffins, bagels, cornbread, and biscuits. Mix and match with other flavors to create your perfect combo — for instance, use a part of the spread on a matcha muffin or oven-baked blueberry pancakes. 

You may never go back to using regular butter.