Butter Board Wreath

Just like charcuterie boards have become super popular, butter boards are about to become the next trending appetizer. Serve grilled bread or crackers with a Butter Board Wreath to your guests this holiday season. With a Christmas-inspired flavour profile, everyone is going to love this fun and festive treat!

A new viral TikTok food trend is quickly gaining traction. That food trend is the butter board, or in my case, a Butter Board Wreath! In essence, a butter board is a layered appetizer where softened butter is generously spread on a board or plate and topped with various items to enhance the flavour and texture of the butter. Depending on the flavour profile you prefer, toppings can include roasted garlic, shaved red onion, chopped toasted nuts, flaked sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a good drizzle of honey. Doesn’t that sound delicious?

These food trends of late can all be blamed on TikTok personalities. Do you remember the feta and tomato-baked pasta recipe from last year? That recipe was showing up everywhere and to be honest, I have yet to try it! When I saw the idea of a butter board though, I had to jump on it! I had a few edible wreath options for this spot, but could not make a final decision. But, as soon as I saw the butter board on TikTok, I knew I wanted to create this holiday version. And, I’m so glad I did; it’s so delicious!

Of course, in my case, I wanted to top the butter with flavours associated with Christmas. You can certainly change these to reflect the flavours you associate with Christmas, but for me, those flavours are fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary, toasted walnuts, cranberry compote, pomegranates, and lots of really good honey. We loved this Butter Board Wreath and I cannot wait to experiment with more flavour combinations!

My Butter Board Wreath is the seventh in my 12 Edible Wreaths of Christmas Series. If you have not done so already, please join me for 12 consecutive days – yes, even Saturday and Sunday! – while I share one new edible wreath with you every day. If you cannot wait until tomorrow, you can always check out a series from Christmases past. Find the links for each series below. So, let’s just get into it!

EDIBLE WREATHS ARE THE CHARCUTERIE OF CHRISTMAS!

Charcuterie boards are everywhere these days, and it seems that there’s a theme for just about everything. With that in mind, why not create wreath-shaped charcuterie boards for Christmastime!? I started out with a few varieties in mind, but the more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea and before long, I had a list of twenty themes. Narrowing it down to 12 was hard, but I managed to put some of the themes aside until next year!

With my latest obsession being the newest foodie TikTok trend, I put together this Butter Board Wreath quite quickly and easily. Everything you see in the wreath is available at most larger chain stores, which means all you have to do is assemble it. Christmastime is busy enough as it is! Putting out a nice spread for friends and family shouldn’t add to your holiday stress!

Most charcuterie boards will include thinly sliced meats and cheese too. And, you can certainly add those things to your wreath if you’re putting it out before dinner as an appetizer. But, in this case, I’m keeping these wreaths simple and very on-theme.

WHAT IS A BUTTER BOARD ANYWAY?

Over the past few years, we’ve had cheese boards, charcuterie boards, breakfast boards, and even dessert boards. Now, we have the butter board which is all about aesthetically and visually pleasing spreads that can be shared with family and friends. So, here’s the thing, with all the foods you can put on a board, what’s so exciting about butter?

According to USA Today, a butter board is built by spreading softened butter on a board and topping it with various flavour enhancements. This butter is then served with toasted or grilled bread. The butter can be plain or gussied up with flavours such as bacon, lemon, herbs, spices, honey, and even fruits. The flavoured butter is dotted with jam, honey, salt, nuts, fruit, etc. 

Brooklyn-based cook Justine Doiron posted a short video online last month where she created a butter board. Five days after sharing the video, it had accumulated more than 8 million views. In the video, she credits Joshua McFadden as the butter board’s creator.

The whole idea of a butter board might seem simple enough, but Justine shared some tips to make them easier and better. She said the butter should be softened but not melty. And, she says that using crusty bread works with the creaminess of the butter quite well. Joshua added that playing with texture was the best way to assemble the boards. He suggests varying salts or grains can be added to create different textures within the butter.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE:

The following is a list of the items needed to prepare a Butter Board Wreath. Please keep in mind that the number of items you will need will greatly depend on how many people you are preparing the wreath for. Also, these items are suggestions only. Feel free to switch it up with things that you love, or things that you can find in your local area.

• Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter here. Keep in mind that one of the toppings is flaked sea salt, so adjust accordingly for your personal tastes. I used salted butter and applied flaked sea salt as well, but sparingly so that it wasn’t over-seasoned. Make sure your butter is completely softened, but not melted!
• Cranberry Compote – This is just 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries, 1/2 cup of sugar, the zest and juice from one orange. Get them all into a saucepan and simmer until reduced and thickened. You can use jams or marmalades instead.
• Walnuts – I’m using roughly chopped walnuts that have been toasted and cooled. You can use other nuts too, like pecans, cashews, pistachios, etc.
• Pomegranate – These pretty jewel-like seeds are slightly tart and sweet. They pop when you bite into them and add so much colour and texture to the butter board.
• Fresh Herbs – In my case, I used fresh lemon thyme leaves and some fresh chopped rosemary. I love the lemon thyme with the honey and butter! You can also use summer savoury!
• Honey – Use your favourite honey here, because it’s essentially all about how you want this appetizer to taste. I opted for a jar of honey complete with a little bit of honeycomb.
• Flaked Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Bread – A baguette sliced 1/3 of an inch thick and grilled on both sides is perfect! You can skip the grilling part and use really good firm bread like sourdough or rye too.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE A BUTTER BOARD WREATH

CREATE A BASE

The first thing you want to do is to source a board. The number of people you are serving and the number of items you have to place on the board will help to determine the size you will need. You can use a cutting board, a charcuterie board, a marble slab, or an old silver-plated tray. Since butter is greasy and can stain, I did not want to use any of my wooden boards, so I opted for a clear glass platter. I arranged clean cedar branches underneath the platter so that they were not touching any of the ingredients.

SPREAD THE BUTTER

Again, depending on how many people you are serving, you will want to base how much butter you’ll need on this. The platter you see in the photos will serve about 12-15 people – that’s assuming that everyone has two or three pieces. For that amount, I used 3/4 cup of butter. The butter should not be melted but should be really soft. The easiest way to accomplish this is to add the butter to a bowl and mash it with a fork. You can also place the butter in a mixing bowl and beat it until smooth and creamy with your mixer.

Once the butter is very smooth and soft, it’s time to apply it to the platter or board. I like to use a spreader to do this. Scoop up portions of the butter and smear it onto your platter in an airy fashion. Turn the platter as you go, because to create the wreath, we are creating a circle of butter in the center of the plate, keeping the outer 2-inch perimeter free of any toppings.

When you smear the butter onto the platter, create a swirling effect so that you have what looks like miniature waves on an ocean. These valleys, crevices, and peaks will help to keep things like cranberry compote and honey in place. Creating wells for those to sit in will ensure that your Butter Board Wreath is visually appealing. Once you’re happy with the positioning of the butter, it’s time to move on.

LAYERING THE TOPPINGS

If you are following my recipe, you can layer the toppings as outlined here. If you have selected other topping options, remember to apply them so that jams and compotes are first. They will be spooned into the wells you created when swirling the butter. Next, add nuts. Be sure to toast the nuts first for optimal flavour. Follow that with any fruit or berries you are using. And lastly, top with fresh herbs and drizzled honey.

In my case, I used about 1/4 cup of cranberry compote. You can buy it in jars at cheese shops this time of year. Otherwise, you can use other spreads and jams like strawberry, lingonberry, or even apricot jam. Marmalade would be wonderful too! Apply the compote or jam with a teaspoon to the wells. Gently swirl it a bit to create dimension and texture. Next, sprinkle over the nuts. I’m using toasted walnuts because they just scream Christmas to me. You can use pecans, cashews, pistachios, etc.

Next, I added the pomegranates. I love pomegranates and I love how the ruby red seeds look like little jewels on the butter board! Don’t they look so festive!? You can use raspberries, strawberries, or even candied or maraschino cherries. The key is to cut them so that they are small enough to scoop up with the bread. Now it’s time to sprinkle over the fresh herbs. Please use fresh herbs here! Dried herbs are more potent and are not fresh and vibrantly coloured. I used fresh lemon thyme and rosemary from my garden.

Finally, the icing on the cake, so to speak, is the honey. You don’t need any fancy honey. Use the honey that you normally like to use in your home. John.e has honey in his tea every single day, but I only ever cook or bake with it. In this case, I wanted to add texture and interest, so I purchased a jar of wildflower honey complete with a piece of honeycomb in the jar. I removed the honeycomb and cut it into pieces and placed them onto the butter board. The amber colour is just beautiful, and the waxy honeycomb is completely edible! Top the whole thing with flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to finish.

FINISH WITH THE BREAD AND GARNISH

If the bread you have selected isn’t already sliced, go ahead and slice the bread about a third of an inch thick. If you slice it too thick, it won’t be crispy and if you slice it too thin, it will likely burn. Once sliced, lay the bread onto a 450 degrees F preheated grill. You can use an outdoor grill, a grill pan, or even an indoor electric grill.

Grill both sides of the bread until golden brown with nice grill marks. Remove the bread from the grill and once cool enough to touch, arrange the bread around the platter keeping within the 2-inch perimeter that you left clear of butter and toppings earlier. It is imperative that the bread has cooled down, otherwise, if it is still too warm, the outer edges of the butter may melt.

Now, you can go ahead and garnish the Butter Board Wreath. I had some extra sprigs of fresh rosemary, so I tucked them around the platter under the sliced bread. I also keep a few of the rosemary leaves aside to sprinkle over the bread for some added greenery. Once that is done, you’re ready to eat! Wasn’t that easy!?

DON’T BE INTIMIDATED BY THE WHOLE POMEGRANATE

A whole pomegranate can be intimidating to look at, but don’t let that put you off. Breaking through that tough skin to get to those juicy, ruby-red seeds (known as arils) is worth overcoming any hesitations. Those tart arils can help keep your body healthy and disease free. Plus, they may be just what you need to add a punch of flavour to everything from your salad to punch.

To get the seeds out, first, place the whole pomegranate onto a cutting board. (The juice will stain, so if you’re worried about that, don’t use one of your good cutting boards.) With a large, sharp knife, cut the pomegranate in half from top to bottom. Then half each half again so that you’re left with quarters.

Next, working with one-quarter at a time, dunk the entire thing into a large bowl of water. Use your thumbs to gently rub out the seeds. Think of the pomegranate as a really big orange or grapefruit. It has sections and those red seeds need to be extracted. The seeds will sink to the bottom, while the membrane pieces will float to the top. Skim those off and discard. Rinse the seeds under cold water again, and there you have it! Now, wasn’t that easy!?

MAKE IT AHEAD OF TIME

You can make this Butter Board Wreath earlier on the day you are serving it, however, I would not make it a day or two in advance. There most certainly will be some moisture from any fruit or berries, which will leak down onto the butter. This will certainly make the jam or compote watery. If you do make it ahead of time, I would not recommend any longer than 3-5 hours. Cover the board well and keep it refrigerated until about 30 minutes before serving. DO NOT prep the bread ahead of time. It will become hard and have a stale, rubbery texture.