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March 13: James Oseland of Saveur magazine makes tasty dishes like asparagus with Hollandaise and sweet raspberry shortbread.

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updated 10:38 a.m. ET March 13, 2008

Raspberry shortbread
Saveur magazine

Serves 8–10

The light, crumbly texture of this shortbread owes to a clever technique: freezing the dough and grating it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour, plus more as needed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. fine salt
1/2 lb. unsalted, uncultured butter, plus more for pan, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup raspberry jam

Recipe continues below ↓
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DIRECTIONS

1. Using a sieve over a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Cream butter in a large bowl, using a hand mixer on high speed, until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and egg yolks; mix until sugar is dissolved and mixture is light, about 4 minutes. With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture; mix until dough just begins to come together, about 1 minute.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; bring it together with your hands. Divide dough in half and form 2 balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap; freeze for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

3. Arrange an oven rack in center of oven; heat to 350°. Grease a 10” springform pan with butter. Remove a ball of dough from freezer, unwrap, and grate, using the large holes of a box grater, directly into prepared pan. Gently pat grated dough to even it out. Spread jam evenly over dough, leaving about a 1/2” border around edges. Grate remaining dough over jam layer; pat gently until surface is even. Bake until light golden brown, about 25–30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, on a rack, before cutting into wedges.

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Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce
Saveur magazine

Serves 6

In traditional recipes, egg yolks are cooked until thick in a bowl, with a wine reduction, over simmering water before clarified butter is whisked into them. In this streamlined version, nearly all the ingredients are cooked together at once to make a luscious, full-flavored sauce.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine
10 black peppercorns
1 large shallot, finely chopped
8 egg yolks, beaten
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Kosher salt, to taste
Tabasco sauce, to taste
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs. asparagus, woody ends removed

DIRECTIONS

1. Put vinegar, wine, peppercorns, and shallots into a large skillet over medium-high heat; simmer until reduced to about 2 tbsp., 5–6 minutes. Strain reduction through a fine-meshed sieve and let cool.

2. Pour water into a medium pot so that it reaches a depth of 2”; bring to a simmer over medium heat. In a large bowl, whisk together reduction, yolks, butter, salt, and Tabasco. Set bowl over pot; the bottom shouldn’t touch water. Whisk mixture until thick, 4–5 minutes. (Don’t be alarmed if it looks curdled.) Remove bowl from heat; add lemon juice and 1/4 cup warm water; whisk until sauce is smooth; keep warm.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add asparagus; cook until just crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving platter. Pour sauce over asparagus and serve.

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Butter pound cake
Saveur magazine

10 to 12 servings

Over the years, the formula for pound cake has evolved, making for a lighter cake. This recipe is testament to that delicious transformation.

INGREDIENTS

12 oz. butter plus more for the pan, at room temperature
2 tbsp. plus 3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1⁄2 tsp. fine salt
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure almond extract
1 tsp. pure lemon extract
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 325°. Generously grease a light-colored 10” tube pan with butter. Add 2 tbsp. flour; turn the pan to coat it evenly with flour, tap out any excess, and set aside. (The inside of the pan should be smoothly and evenly coated with butter and flour, with no clumps or gaps.)

2. Using a sieve set over a bowl, sift together remaining flour, baking powder, and salt. Repeat 2 more times. In a measuring vessel with a pourable spout, combine milk and the almond, lemon, and vanilla extracts. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, cream butter at medium-low speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar, 1⁄4 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and beat until satiny smooth, about 3 minutes.

3. Add 1 egg at a time to the butter mixture, beating for 15 seconds before adding another, and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternately add the flour and milk mixtures in 3 batches, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down sides of the bowl; beat just until the batter is smooth and silky but no more.

4. Scrape batter into prepared pan and firmly tap on a counter to allow batter to settle evenly. Bake until light golden and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out moist but clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on a rack for 30 minutes. Invert cake onto rack; let cool completely before slicing.

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