How to Soften Butter (2024)

FAQs

How to make butter at room temperature in the microwave? ›

To soften butter, we recommend leaving it on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes to an hour. Keep in mind that the speed at which your butter will soften depends on the temperature of your kitchen. If it's wintertime, you might need to leave your butter on the counter overnight to fully soften.

Butter needs to be chilled rapidly to turn solid — so all you need to do is mix a few ice cubes into a bowl of melted butter and stir. In less than a minute, the butter should turn into the soft yet solid state that's perfect for your baking needs.

There are several common ways to soften butter: leaving whole sticks or cubed butter out on the counter, relying on a microwave to handle the task, or using a stand mixer to beat the butter until it's pliable.

Place butter in the microwave. Immediately close the microwave door to trap hot air inside. The radiant heat will soften the butter in about 10 minutes.

The problem with microwaving butter is that the microwave can heat the butter unevenly, and tends to over-soften or even melt the butter in places. A New York Times article on butter in baking says, "Never use a microwave: it will melt it, even though it will look solid.

The easiest way to melt butter without a mess is to lower the power setting on your microwave (microwaves that have a "melt butter" function automatically do this). By heating it for a limited time at low power, the butter will heat slower and you're less likely to have an explosion.

Fill a tall glass with boiling water. Let it sit for a minute or two to get the glass really warm, then pour the water out. Stand a stick of butter on its end and place the tall glass down over the top. Allow the butter to soften under its own “heat lamp” for 5-10 minutes.

Pour hot water into a ceramic or glass cup or bowl (something that can fit over your butter). After a few minutes, dump the water out of the vessel and quickly cover your butter. The heat from the cup will soften your butter in just a few minutes.

Boil water. Pour the water into a glass and let it sit for five minutes. Pour the water out and set it the glass upside down over the butter stick creating a miniature sauna of sorts. Let that sit for another fifteen minutes and you're supposed to have perfectly softened butter.

Should you keep butter in the fridge? ›

The USDA's FoodKeeper app offers this guidance for storing butter: "May be left at room temperature for one to two days; one to two months when stored in refrigerator; six to nine months if stored frozen." After that, the taste can turn rancid or sour, says the USDA.

TRICK: Freeze cream before churning to speed the process.

Normally, fresh cream takes 10 minutes to “break” into butter. Frozen and thawed cream takes under 2 minutes. If we only have small amounts of extra cream, I'll add to the jar in the freezer and wait until the jar is full to thaw the cream for churning.

Use a Fork and Spoon to Cream Butter by Hand

(If you can't find one, look for any sturdy silicone spatula or plastic mixing spoon.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically, and keep on beating until the butter is fluffy and lighter in color. This may take five minutes or more.

Simply place the over-softened butter into a bowl with a few ice cubes and stir. Your butter will quickly begin to cool and solidify to a soft texture. Once it's back to a usable soft texture, just remove the ice cubes and your butter is good to go.