The butter board sensation is a viral TikTok trend that involves smearing creamy butter onto a cutting board and topping it with sauces, spices, fruit, nuts, herbs, etc. and serving it with bread to scoop it up. This holiday butter board recipe tops decadent swirls of butter with cranberry sauce, pecans, orange zest, and rosemary for a festive flavor profile that’s perfect for a holiday brunch or appetizer.
Add the butter to a large bowl and use a handheld electric mixer to beat until fluffy.
Spread the butter onto a 12-inch wooden, marble, or slate board. You can dollop it on decoratively any way you like.
Drizzle the cranberry sauce around on the butter, and then sprinkle around the pecans, orange zest, and rosemary. Drizzle on the honey. Sprinkle on the flaky sea salt.
Serve with sliced bread, or anything you like.
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Notes
Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This butter board recipe makes 8 servings and has 8 ounces of butter. Each serving is 1 ounce of butter, or about 2 tablespoons (not including toppings).
Nutrition Information: The nutritional information for this recipe was calculated without the optional serving suggestions.
What Kind of Butter to Use: I like to use a European butter for this, such as Kerrygold. It's very important that the butter is at room temperature, not chilled and not melted.
Do You Have to Whip the Butter for a Butter Board? Technically, no. But I recommend it! Whipping just a couple minutes is fine. However, if you go a full 10 minutes, the butter will turn a lighter color as it aerates, resulting in the most intense flavor and velvety mouthfeel.
Make Ahead: Once the butter is spread on the board (before you add any toppings), you can refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. Get the board out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you want to serve it (so the butter can soften), and then add the toppings. After the toppings are added, serve the board (you can leave it at room temperature for up to 2 hours).
Storage: Because of the communal nature of a butter board, I generally don’t save leftovers. Even if you serve it with a small knife to smear the butter, you never know if people accidentally dipped their fingers in it.