A savory and sweet compound cranberry butter recipe that is perfect for topping a variety of meats such as ham, chicken, salmon, and even dinner rolls and toasted bagels! It's also the perfect accompaniment for your Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter menu! You can even make a whipped version!
If you love that creamy whipped butter they serve at restaurants, then you'll be happy to know that you can make your own version at home. This cranberry butter recipe is so easy to make and can be made into either a compound butter or a whipped butter.
Just like my other compound butter recipes, this cranberry butter only takes minutes to prepare. Get ready to elevate the flavor of any dish this is added to. And, compound butter is beautiful and looks so elegant topped on many foods.
Why This Recipe Works
- This recipe can be made into a compound or whipped version,
- It's quick to prepare and is extremely versatile,
- Tastes amazing on anything it is added to!
Ingredients You’ll Need
You only need 4 ingredients to make this. I prefer dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar also works well. I also love adding fresh squeezed orange juice from a fresh cut orange. It adds a subtle citrus flavor that pairs extremely well with the cranberries.
Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
This recipe is really easy to make. To start, you’re going to add the fresh cranberries, a small amount of water, honey, and brown sugar into a small saucepan over medium heat. Expert Tip: If you want to use fresh orange juice to add to the flavor, add it here.
Use a handheld masher to start crushing the cranberries when the liquids start to boil so that the juice is released. If you don't have one, you can use a fork or a pastry blender. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to mix the ingredients together for another 1-2 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and place the mixture in a medium size bowl to allow the content to cool, about 7-10 minutes.
Next, add the softened butter to the bowl of cooled mixture. Using a handheld mixer on low speed, combine the ingredients until well combined. Expert Tip: You want the butter to be at room temperature, and not melted. If it’s melted, the consistency will be off and it will never form.
Using a spatula, remove the cranberry mixture from the bowl and place it onto a large piece of parchment paper.
Starting from one edge of the parchment paper, carefully roll the mixture, tucking the paper under the mixture as best you can and form into a log shape.
Using both hands, twist the ends on the parchment paper on both sides at the same time so it looks like a large tootsie roll. Place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to set.
Once the cranberry butter has chilled, slice and serve it on or alongside your your favorite foods.
Making Whipped Butter
If you want to make a whipped version instead of a compound, all you need to do is follow the steps I outlined above up to a certain point. Once the cranberry mixture has completely cooled, add the softened butter to a bowl. Expert Tip: When making whipped butter, I like the butter to be softened, but still have a little bit of firmness. It needs to be set on the counter for 30 minutes at room temperature. That's all it needs. This really helps ensure the right type of consistency.
Whip the mixture on low speed for 1 minute. Increase the speed to high for an additional 2-3 minutes until the butter is whipped and creamy. From there, add the whipped cranberry butter onto bread, pancakes, or fresh grilled asparagus.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- This cranberry butter is delicious both whipped or formed into a compound. Spread the whipped version onto a freshly toasted bagel or a piece of freshly baked bread.
- If you don't have a handheld mixer, you can use a wire whisk to combine the ingredients.
- Top a fresh baked sweet potato with slices of this compound or the whipped butter. Sliced cranberry butter is amazing as melted on this Smoked Ham recipe and mixed in with my Autumn Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
- When making this recipe, I recommend using an unsalted version. If you use salted and then add it to a salty dish, you run the risk of having over salted food.
- I highly recommend using a European or Irish butter when making this recipe. They tend to be more creamy and smooth in texture.
- For the cranberries, it doesn’t matter if your cranberries are fresh or frozen, just don’t use canned cranberries or dried cranberries when making this recipe. Fresh cranberries are best.
More Recipes To Serve With Cranberry Butter
Compound butters are so amazingly flavorful on so many foods and I personally love this served on top of this Maple-Chipotle Grilled Salmon. It's also really good melted on these Acorn Squash Muffins. And if you like flavored butters on vegetables, try it melted on Oven Roasted Vegetables.
I can’t wait to hear how this turned out for you! If you’ve tried this or any other recipe of mine on the website, make sure you rate the recipe. You can also leave a comment below! I love hearing from you!
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Cranberry Honey Compound Butter
Equipment
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- ¼ cup fresh cranberries
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 cup butter, unsalted
- 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 2 Tablespoons juice from a fresh orange, optional
Instructions
To Make Compound Butter
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the cranberries, water, honey, and brown sugar into a small saucepan over medium heat.
- When the liquids start to boil, use a hand held masher to start crushing the cranberries so the juice is released.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to mix the ingredients together for another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and place the mixture in a medium-size bowl to allow the content to cool, about 7-10 minutes.
- Once cooled, add the room temperature butter to the bowl of cranberry mixture. Using a handheld mixer on low speed, combine the ingredients until well combined.
- Using a spatula, remove the cranberry butter and place it onto a large piece of parchment paper.
- Starting from one edge of the parchment paper, carefully roll the cranberry mixture, tucking the paper under the mixture as best you can and form into a log shape.
- Using both hands, twist the ends on the parchment paper on both sides so it looks like a large tootsie roll.
- Place the compound butter in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to set.
- Once chilled, slice and serve alongside your favorite meats, breads, or vegetables.
To Make Whipped Butter
- Follow steps 1-4 as as outlined for making the compound butter.
- Once the cranberry mixture has completely cooled, add the softened butter to a bowl.
- Using a handheld mixture, whip the mixture on low speed for 1 minute and then increase the speed to high for an additional 2-3 minutes until the butter is whipped and creamy.
- From there, add the whipped cranberry butter onto bread, pancakes, or fresh grilled asparagus.
Notes
- This recipe is delicious both whipped or formed into a compound butter. Spread the whipped version onto a freshly toasted bagel or a piece of freshly baked bread.
- If you don't have a handheld mixer, you can use a wire whisk to combine the ingredients.
- Top a fresh baked sweet potato with slices of this compound or whipped butter.
- When making this, I recommend using an unsalted version so that whatever it is being paired with won't be too salty in taste.
- I highly recommend using a European or Irish version when making this recipe. They tend to be more creamy and smooth in texture.
- For the cranberries, it doesn’t matter if your cranberries are fresh or frozen, just don’t use canned cranberries or dried cranberries when making this recipe. Fresh cranberries are best.
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Aline
Had this for Thanksgiving dinner and they were so tasty - everyone loved it!! Thank you!
Amanda Mason
Hi Aline! I'm so glad everyone loved the compound butter!! Thanks for letting me know and I can't wait to hear what other recipes of mine you try!!