The Best Christmas Butter Board For the Holidays!
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Kick off your holiday season with an irresistible Christmas Butter Board! This tantalizing trend, a new twist on traditional charcuterie boards, has taken social media by storm.
Our butter board combines creamy butter with a medley of fresh herbs, roasted garlic, and sweet accents—a treat for the palate and a feast for the eyes!
This easy-to-make, visually stunning, festive Christmas butter board is more than just a delicious spread; it’s a conversation starter and a delightful addition to any holiday table.
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While you may prefer to skip to the recipe card, we suggest reading the entire blog post to avoid missing valuable tips and substitution suggestions and to ensure you have the necessary ingredients, equipment, and understanding of the steps and timings.
Christmas Butter Board
Charcuterie boards have become a catchall for any kind of food served on a wooden cutting board, and we’re not mad about it at all – we LOVE making charcuterie boards!
Butter boards are the new charcuterie board trend, popularized by the TikTok user and food influencer Justine Doiron. However, the original idea is said to be by chef Joshua McFadden, documented in his book Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables.
So naturally, like other trends (we’re looking at you, Hot Cocoa Bombs), we had to hop on the new butter board trend!
What Is A Butter Board?
It’s simply a board topped with soft butter and a variety of toppings. It’s a fun way to elevate your holiday party, transforming a simple ingredient like butter into an edible art piece.
This board is perfect for dinner parties or as a unique appetizer at your next party. Instead of smearing a boring pat of butter onto a piece of crusty bread, place a butter board down and wow your guests!
How To Create a Christmas Butter Board Step-By-Step
If you want the quick printable recipe card, scroll to the bottom of this post to print it out. But for all the tips, keep reading!
Number of Servings: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: n/a | Total Time: 10 minutes
Step 1 – Gather Your Ingredients
The ingredients and tools in this recipe are conveniently linked to online retailers like Amazon or Amazon Fresh.
You, of course, need butter to create your festive butter board. We like to use unsalted or lightly salted butter to season with as much (or as little) sea salt or kosher salt as desired.
TIP! Use the best quality butter you can afford. In the UK, Lurpak is top-tier (in our opinion!), and Kerrygold Irish Butter is also fabulous in this recipe.
Fresh produce needed for this recipe are thyme, rosemary, pomegranate seeds, and oranges—only the zest. Use the flesh and juice to make Christmas Mojitos!
The only thing you have to prepare in advance for this recipe is roasted garlic. Roasting garlic gives it a delicious, mellow flavor and is easy to make. We’ve got the instructions below if you’ve never roasted a whole garlic bulb.
A couple of specialty ingredients are added to the butter:
- Dried Figs
- Hot Honey – This is the hottest condiment in town! It is simply honey that has been infused with chilies. If you can’t find it ready-made, you can make it yourself.
And you will also need a selection of fresh bread—focaccia, herbed bread, French bread, rustic bread, whole wheat, ciabatta, and sourdough are all good choices. You could also provide an array of crackers too.
The complete list of ingredients with measurements is on the recipe card at the end of this post.
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Step 2 – Kitchen Tools
You will need a few standard kitchen tools to prepare your butter board, including a Sharp Knife for chopping all the toppings on a Chopping/Cutting Board and a Zester for the orange zest.
When it comes to serving food on a wooden board, you should invest in a good quality, non-porous Hardwood Board or Bamboo Board. Hardwoods like olive, black walnut, teak, and acacia are best.
Softwoods like oak or ash are not good to use as a charcuterie as they’re too porous, and the oils and aromas will leak into the wood.
And you don’t have to use a wooden board – slate, marble, ceramic, or glass are all suitable.
There are no hard and fast rules—use what you have, or invest in a good quality non-porous hardwood or bamboo board for charcuterie.
TIP! No matter what shape or material it is—square, rectangle, round, or otherwise—reserve the board you’ll use to serve charcuterie solely for that use. Don’t chop food on it!
If you have to use a board you’ve already chopped on, lay a piece of parchment paper down first so that butter and oils don’t seep into the cracks.
To spread the butter onto the board, use a butter knife, the back of a spoon, or a spatula.
For serving, place some Butter Spreaders and some small spoons next to the board for guests to use.
TIP! If the idea of a butter board and cross-contamination worries you, you could make mini butter boards as individual servings, meaning no worries about double dipping.
How Do I Roast A Whole Garlic Bulb?
Before continuing with the step-by-step guide, here is how you can make roasted garlic for this holiday butter board:
- Cut the top off the head of a garlic bulb and place it on a small square of foil.
- Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Scrunch the foil to cover the garlic bulb and place it in a baking dish in a 350°F/180°C/Gas 4 oven to roast for 25-30 minutes.
- When the garlic is soft and the papery casing is golden, remove it from the oven and cool slightly before squeezing out the garlic cloves.
- Use in recipes as desired.
Step 3 – Spread The Butter
Spread the softened butter onto your wooden serving board. Follow the shape of your board, leaving about an inch of edge around the butter. Sprinkle the butter with sea salt to taste.
TIP! For an even spread, ensure your butter is at room temperature. For a festive twist, spread the butter into the shape of a Christmas tree.
Step 4 – Adding Toppings
Sprinkle the chopped roasted garlic and dried figs evenly over the butter.
TIP! Adjust the amount of roasted garlic if you prefer a more intense flavor.
Step 5 – Drizzle Honey
Drizzle the hot honey over the butter, being as generous or as scant as you like.
TIP! Experiment with different types of honey for unique flavor profiles.
Step 6 – Add Herbs and Flavorings
Sprinkle the thyme leaves, chopped rosemary, and orange zest over the butter.
TIP! Ensure the toppings are spread evenly across the butter.
Step 7 – Finish The Board
Scatter the pomegranate seeds evenly over the top, and your butter board is complete.
Serve with slices of bread, and enjoy!
Can I Make A Butter Board In Advance?
Butter boards are a quick and easy appetizer to put together. As long as you use room temperature butter, it can be assembled in mere minutes.
However, if you need to make it in advance, simply cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Remove 30 minutes before serving so the butter can soften again for easy spreading.
When serving, be mindful of how long the board is out for, especially if it is hot and humid! The last thing you want is melted butter oozing everywhere (other than on a slice of warm bread!).
Storing Leftovers and Freezing
- Wrap the board in plastic wrap or scrape the butter into a large, airtight container for storage in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- For freezing, portion the butter mixture onto a piece of parchment paper, wrap it tightly, and freeze.
Seasonal Variations
When you see how easy it is to set up a butter board, you’ll want to make it in different ways for all kinds of seasons and celebrations!
- Spring: Sprinkle with lemon zest, fresh chopped parsley, and flaky salt. Add some edible flowers for a pretty springtime finish.
- Fall: Add chopped apples and fresh blackberries and drizzle with maple syrup. Sprinkle some nutmeg and cinnamon on top—perfection on some warm bread!
- Summer: Top with chopped strawberries, blobs of strawberry jam, lemon zest, and chopped mint. This combo would work well with cream cheese, too.
- Seasonal Holidays: Spread the butter into shapes: a heart for Valentine’s Day, a clover or shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day, an egg for Easter, and a pumpkin or ghost for Halloween,
Printable Christmas Butter Board Recipe Card
Below is the printable recipe card. To save ink, any demonstration photos on the recipe card are not printed out.
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Christmas Butter Board
Step up your holiday entertaining with our Christmas Butter Board! This appetizer is a beautiful combination of butter, herbs, and festive toppings, perfect for the holiday season.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (225g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup roasted garlic, chopped
- ½ cup dried figs, minced
- ⅛ cup hot honey
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary
- Zest of 2 oranges
- ¼ cup fresh pomegranate seeds
For Serving
- A selection of sliced breads:
- Focaccia
- Ciabatta
- Herbed
- French
- Rustic
- Whole Wheat
- Sourdough
Instructions
- Spread the unsalted butter to ⅛-inch (3mm) thick onto a 10-inch wooden board using a knife or the back of a spoon.
- Sprinkle the butter with sea salt.
- Sprinkle the chopped roasted garlic and dried figs evenly over the butter.
- Drizzle the hot honey over the butter
- Sprinkle the thyme, rosemary, and orange zest over the butter.
- Add the pomegranate seeds evenly over the top.
- Serve with slices of bread, and enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 427Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 234mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 5gSugar: 12gProtein: 8g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Festive Dinner Party Menu Suggestions
You’ve made the starter/appetizer, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a dinner party or special meal:
- Soup: Creamy Ginger Carrot Soup Recipe
- Salad: Roasted Pear and Blue Cheese Salad With Balsamic Glaze
- Main Dish: White Wine Coq Au Vin
- Side Dish: Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Beverage: Fresh Plum Margaritas
- Dessert: Pumpkin Pie Mousse Parfaits
More Appetizers Recipes
Want to make more appetizers for your gathering? Check out these recipes next:
- Recipe for Baked Brie with Cranberries and Walnuts
- 30-Minute Turkey Stuffed Mushroom Appetizer
- Brie and Pear Puff Pastry Tart
You’ll find all our Appetizer Recipes here.
The Create the Holidays series on The Purple Pumpkin Blog features free printables, crafts, recipes, and more for Christmas and the Winter Holidays. Check out Create the Holidays (formerly Create Christmas) from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.
