Butter is a key ingredient in baking that goes beyond just adding flavor! In this quick guide to baking with butter you’ll learn about how the different types of butter, butter temperature, and mixing techniques can affect the outcome of your baked goods.

cubed butter in a bowl with dry ingredients and pastry blender

Perhaps this is more than you ever needed to know about baking with butter. But baking is a science, and understanding butter’s important role in cookies, cakes, pie dough, and more is so important!

  • Did you know that the type of butter you use matters, but maybe not as much as you think?
  • Did you know that the using the correct temperature of butter for the butter-mixing method is perhaps the biggest factor in how your recipe turns out?
  • Did you know that “room temperature” butter is actually quite cool?

Keep reading and I’ll tell you everything you need to know about baking with butter!

Table of Contents

This funfetti cake made with light and buttery vanilla cake layers studded with rainbow sprinkles and fluffy vanilla buttercream frosting is such a fun and cheerful dessert!

Types of butter

When should you bake with salted vs. unsalted butter? Conventional baking wisdom says to use unsalted butter because you have more control over the amount of salt in a recipe, and salt amounts in salted butter vary from brand to brand. It’s like a blank slate!

While this may be true, I have personally found that salted butter works just fine without a noticeable difference most of the time. In fact I actually prefer to use it in recipes where I want a little boost of extra flavor and sweet and salty-ness— like cookies, caramel and rice krispie treats.

The bottom line? Use what you already have! And if you’re unsure about using salted butter in a recipe that specifically requires unsalted butter, play it safe and reduce the salt amount in the recipe by one half if you like.

What is European-Style Butter? Traditional butter in American has a fat content around 80%, but European-style butter from brands such as Kerrygold have a higher fat content, 82% or more. That might not sound like much, but 2% can make a big difference! In recipes where butter is the star, this can have a big impact on flavor, richness and texture. 

All of my recipes are tested with American-style butter with great results, but if you want an extra oomph, consider upgrading to European-style butter! Try my brown butter shortbread, classic fudge brownies, or buttermilk pie crust recipes and see if you can taste a difference.

Butter’s role in baking recipes

So exactly what is butter’s job in recipes, and why it is such a widely-used and important ingredient? Butter has 3 main purposes:

  • It brings big flavor to desserts and other baked treats
  • It creates texture and affects rise
  • It helps with browning and caramelization

Enhances flavor

It should come as no surprise that butter is all about flavor! Yes, butter brings a lot of richness, but it also has a unique flavor that enhances sweetness and lends itself to all sorts of desserts and baked goods. Think about butter in comparison to using olive oil— olive oil has a strong flavor that can overpower some recipes. Or, butter in comparison to vegetable shortening or vegetable oil— it simply tastes so much better!

Butter’s low melting point means it softens right at body temperature, creating a rich, velvety and flavorful “mouthfeel”. It’s satisfying and pleasing, and not at all greasy or waxy like with some other fats.

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits fresh out of the oven

Creates texture

How butter is incorporated into a recipe has a big impact on the overall texture and rise of the end result. Creaming room temperature butter together with sugar creates tiny bubbles of air that creates lift in cakes and cookies. Whereas cold butter into flour creates pockets of air that produces flaky layers in biscuits and pastry. (More on the science behind butter temperature below!)

Helps with caramelization

Butter plays a special role in browning because it’s not just fat—it also contains milk solids (which are made up of proteins and sugars). When you bake with butter, those milk solids caramelize and deepen the color and flavor, creating that perfect golden crust.

Other fats don’t brown like this because they’re pure fat, so they can add richness but won’t give you that deliciously complex, toasted flavor. 

Sugar, Brown sugar, and cubes of butter in a mixing bowl together

The science of butter temperature and why it matters

Butter’s temperature can make or break a recipe! Chilled butter is a must for pastries like pies and biscuits. When it’s cold, butter stays solid as you mix it into the dough, creating pockets that turn into flaky layers in the oven. If you use softened or room temperature butter, it will incorporate into the dough and you won’t end up with any flaky layers.

On the other hand, room-temperature butter is key for other recipes like soft, chewy cookies and tender cakes. It blends smoothly with sugar and flour, giving baked goods a softer crumb. But if your recipe calls for room temperature butter and your butter is too soft, it can melt sooner in the oven and your cookies may spread.

Mixing cookie dough batter and fresh baked cookies

“Room temperature” butter is probably cooler than you think; it should actually be between 65-68°F. It should still feel cool to the touch and leave a slight indent when pressed with your finger, but your finger shouldn’t be able to press all the way through. If it’s shiny or melted at all in any spots, it’s too soft. (This is why in my recipes I indicate “room temperature” butter in the ingredients, and not “softened” butter as it’s a little misleading.)

But melted butter does play a role in some recipes and you’ll see it in certain types of cookies, brownies, cakes, muffins and quick bread. It adds moisture and a denser texture to the baked goods, and it also contributes to a chewier consistency.

The bottom line? Pay attention to what the recipe calls for and stick to it! The overall texture of your baked good depends on it.

Pouring melted butter into brown sugar, heavy cream and vanilla in a bowl

How to bring butter to room temperature

Obviously, to get butter to room temperature, the easiest thing to do is to let it sit at room temperature. If I know I’ll be doing some baking, I pull what I need out of the fridge an hour or so before I need it. How warm your kitchen is will play a factor, and you’ll need less time on a warm day vs. if your kitchen is colder.

cubed butter

If you need to bring butter to room temperature more quickly, here are some suggestions:

  • Cube butter: This increases the surface area, which will speed up the process. The smaller the cubes, the less time required.
  • Place butter in a warm place: For example, you can fill a glass bowl with warm water, then dump out the water and invert it over your butter, creating a nice warm environment for the butter to soften in. You can also set it near a warm oven, rotating it as needed. 
  • Microwave in short bursts: This is always a last resort for me, as butter can go from cold to melted real quick if you’re not careful. Microwave in 5 second bursts, rotating the butter around each time to each side gets equal exposure. 

With all of these methods, be careful to not over-soften your butter! It should still feel cool to the touch and leave only a slight indent, and not look shiny or melted at all. If it does, you’re likely better off starting over with cold butter than proceeding with too-soft butter.

How to store butter

  • In the fridge: If stored in its original wrapper or an airtight container to prevent it from picking up other fridge odors, butter will keep for up to 3 months.
  • In the freezer: Butter should be well-wrapped for storage in the freezer too (I just put the boxes of unopened butter right in as-is) and will keep for 9 months to a year.

Butter does go bad eventually, and it can affect the overall flavor of your baked goods if you use butter that has gone rancid or has freezer burn from being in the freezer too long.

Butter substitutes

If you are looking for alternatives to butter for dietary reasons or preference, there are options! Many recipes use oils such as coconut oil, applesauce, greek yogurt, vegan butter, etc. and produce fabulous, delicious results. However, I am not an expert in using any of these substitutions, and unless stated otherwise, I have not tested my recipes to accommodate them.

If you’d like to use a butter substitute and feel pretty baking-savvy, feel free to try that with my recipes. But when in doubt, try searching for another recipe that was created specifically using another option. For example, google “chocolate chip cookies with coconut oil” or “vegan vanilla cake”.

More resources and tips