Butter Boards for Thanksgiving

Butter boards are the newest trend in dinner party hosting, and it’s not hard to see why. This beautiful presentation breaks the mold (or the butter dish) and invites both creativity and presentation panache. In our opinion, if there’s ever an occasion to top, well, everything with butter, it’s Thanksgiving. 

We tried out two different boards for our occasion: one savory, one sweet, all inspired by traditional fall flavors. These are essentially compound butters, handy for infusing flavor in your cooking, and presented gracefully spread across a small cutting or charcuterie board. It’s easier than you think! Now, it’s time to get your dinner rolls, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and anything else that could use a creamy, flavorful dollop. 

Sweet Thanksgiving Butter Board

For this board, we were inspired by our favorite Thanksgiving treats. We whipped softened butter, incorporating honey, cinnamon, and a touch of pumpkin pie spice. The measurements are all yours! This board took about 5 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon of honey, and ½ tsp of spices. For the presentation, we drizzled our favorite cranberry sauce and added bits of pecan and pomegranate. Garnish to your heart’s content!

Savory Thanksgiving Butter Board

For this board, we went with more classic flavors, focusing on garlic and herbs. Fresh roasted garlic is a requirement to get the perfect flavor. We roasted a whole head in the oven and pureed it into our butter, along with fresh rosemary and thyme and a sprinkle of kosher salt (if using unsalted butter). Like our sweet board, we used about 5 tablespoons of butter for this spread. We garnished with fresh sprigs of rosemary, dried herbs, and a few cloves of our roasted garlic. 

If you want to do more than traditional dinner rolls, a sliced baguette makes a great companion for a butter board. Don’t forget to choose some classy butter knives, and make sure to serve your boards straight out of the refrigerator.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!