Blueberry Butter

I feel guilt about butter. Using it. Eating it.

I’ve been a vegetarian for most of my life. No meat, no fish, no fowl, no eggs. I’ve never missed any of these things, though baking without eggs is and will always be a challenge (I use Ener-G Egg Replacer—a miracle product if ever there was one—for those recipes that absolutely have to have eggs, but mostly stick to those that require few if any eggs or that can be rejiggered to avoid them). I do eat and bake with dairy, though for various reasons (lactose intolerance being only one) I’ve been trying to edge closer to the vegan side of things. There are a number of excellent substitutes for cow’s milk out there now; my latest favorite being coconut milk which has a pleasing taste, weight and creaminess. And while there really aren’t any decent substitutes for cheese (oh, the deliciousness of cheese!), I don’t feel bad about those (increasingly rare) times when I eat, bake, or cook with it.

But butter…

One can bake without butter, sure, but it’s never the same. It’s like buying an impressive designer knock-off. No matter how authentic it looks or feels, it’s never quite right. I have made delicious pies using Earth Balance’s “Buttery Vegan Sticks,” a relatively new but impressive entry into the dairy-free baking products pantheon. But they are pricey. And they also aren’t butter. Butter has a rich golden taste, texture, and chemistry that cannot be duplicated. There is a reason that when someone describes anything as “buttery,” it pings several senses at once.

But back to the guilt. My English childhood has made me a lifelong lover of toast, which I never eat with butter. There is a certain animal quality to it as it settles on my lips and tongue (and later, of course, on other body parts) that I find unsettling. Butter is loaded with fat and cholesterol. It is heavy as well as rich. Nobody has ever recommended big sticks of butter as part of a balanced healthful diet. And yet.

Sometimes you just have to have butter.

Also—blueberries.

And so yesterday I made blueberry butter.

I put a stick of softened (unsalted) butter in the stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, combined it with ¼ teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar. Then I used a fork to mash in about ½ cup of fresh blueberries until the butter turned a most excellent shade of pink. So few things in life are this easy and satisfying.

All that’s left now is to bake something upon which I can spread this delightful blueberry butter.

I’m thinking blackberry scones. Perhaps made with buttermilk.