Sweet cream butter (Recipe: lemon currant jonnycake biscotti)

First published in September 2006, this updated pantry ingredient post features new photos and links, and tweaks to the recipe. There's just enough lemon in these biscotti to brighten the gloomiest of winter days and celebrate the arrival of Spring.

A dairy cow weighs more than 1,000 pounds.

A butter cow — specifically, the Iowa State Fair's famous Butter Cow — weighs 600 pounds, enough butter to coat 19,200 slices of toast.

I know what you're thinking.

Salted butter, or unsalted?

(Are you really thinking that, or are you wondering, like I am, what happens to all of that butter at the end of the fair? Does the cow melt in the heat? Do cow birds eat butter? Does the Butter Cow sleep in a barn at night? Does it moo?)

Good questions. The Butter Cow is made from pure cream butter. If the cream is pasteurized, the result is called sweet cream butter, also known in my house as regular butter. If the cream is not pasteurized, the product is called raw cream butter. To both kinds, salt is added for taste, and as a bit of a preservative.

Everyone remembers, from grade-school visits to the the local farm, that butter is churned from cream. What we think of as butter comes from cow's milk, which produces the sweetest butter; in other parts of the world, butter also comes from water buffalo, camel, goat, sheep, llama, reindeer and yak. In fact, in Tibet, a host may place a bit of yak butter on the head of a guest as a gift for a happy new year.

Today's ingredient makes me wonder about how easily I'm seduced by packaging. Yes, the box is beautiful, and that's probably why Kate's Homemade Butter caught my eye in the local supermarket a few years ago, but I promise you that it's the taste that keeps me buying this particular item for my pantry.

Made by the Patry family in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Kate's contains only sea salt and fresh pasteurized cream from cows that are not treated with growth hormones, and it's churned in small batches. The butter is a lovely pale yellow, lacking that supernatural glow that comes from artificial food coloring. It also lacks the harsh salty taste of many commercial brands; the sea salt provides a gentle enhancement to the inherent flavor of the sweet butter.

Many supermarkets carry Kate's here in New England. If you can't find it, look for farm-fresh, small-batch butters in your supermarket. They cost more, but they're worth it.

Lemon currant jonnycake biscotti

I named these after the local Rhode Island stoneground cornmeal used to make jonnycakes, which are a kind of thin pancake. (They're also spelled johnnycakes, but that's a story for another day.) You can substitute any white, or even yellow, stoneground cornmeal.

From the pantry, you'll need: butter, granulated sugar, eggs, pure vanilla extract, lemon, unbleached all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, kosher salt.

Makes 20 cookies.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Zest of 2 large lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Kenyon’s stoneground (white) cornmeal
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup currants

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice, and beat until combined. Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt, and beat until combined. Stir in the currants.

Turn the dough onto a very lightly floured countertop and bring together in a ball. The dough will be sticky, but carry on! Divide dough in half, and place each half on the baking sheet, a few inches apart. Pat each half into a log approximately 10 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 1 inch high. (You may need to wet your hands to keep the dough from sticking.)

Bake at 325F for 30 minutes, or until the logs start to turn slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and, with a wide spatula, transfer logs to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.

Using a very sharp non-serrated knife, slice each log into 3/4-inch slices, and place slices on their side on the baking sheet. They will not expand, so the slices can be placed 1/4 inch apart. There will be some crumbling, because of the cornmeal in the dough. Don’t worry – let them crumble!

Return biscotti to the oven and bake at 325F until golden brown on top, about 18-20 minutes. Turn the biscotti over, and bake an additional 15 minutes, until the biscotti are brown and crisp.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More biscotti:
Whole wheat walnut-raisin biscotti, from The Perfect Pantry
Pumpkin chocolate chip biscotti, from The Perfect Pantry
Traditional Italian almond biscotti, from Food Blogga
Chocolate biscotti, from David Lebovitz

Good questions. The Butter Cow is made from pure cream butter. If the cream is pasteurized, the result is called sweet cream butter, also known in my house as regular butter. If the cream is not pasteurized, the product is called raw cream butter. To both kinds, salt is added for taste, and as a bit of a preservative.

Everyone remembers, from grade-school visits to the the local farm, that butter is churned from cream. What we think of as butter comes from cow's milk, which produces the sweetest butter; in other parts of the world, butter also comes from water buffalo, camel, goat, sheep, llama, reindeer and yak. In fact, in Tibet, a host may place a bit of yak butter on the head of a guest as a gift for a happy new year.

Today's ingredient makes me wonder about how easily I'm seduced by packaging. Yes, the box is beautiful, and that's probably why Kate's Homemade Butter caught my eye in the local supermarket a few years ago, but I promise you that it's the taste that keeps me buying this particular item for my pantry.

Made by the Patry family in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Kate's contains only sea salt and fresh pasteurized cream from cows that are not treated with growth hormones, and it's churned in small batches. The butter is a lovely pale yellow, lacking that supernatural glow that comes from artificial food coloring. It also lacks the harsh salty taste of many commercial brands; the sea salt provides a gentle enhancement to the inherent flavor of the sweet butter.

Many supermarkets carry Kate's here in New England. If you can't find it, look for farm-fresh, small-batch butters in your supermarket. They cost more, but they're worth it.

Lemon currant jonnycake biscotti

I named these after the local Rhode Island stoneground cornmeal used to make jonnycakes, which are a kind of thin pancake. (They're also spelled johnnycakes, but that's a story for another day.) You can substitute any white, or even yellow, stoneground cornmeal.

From the pantry, you'll need: butter, granulated sugar, eggs, pure vanilla extract, lemon, unbleached all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, kosher salt.

Makes 20 cookies.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Zest of 2 large lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Kenyon’s stoneground (white) cornmeal
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup currants

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice, and beat until combined. Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt, and beat until combined. Stir in the currants.

Turn the dough onto a very lightly floured countertop and bring together in a ball. The dough will be sticky, but carry on! Divide dough in half, and place each half on the baking sheet, a few inches apart. Pat each half into a log approximately 10 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 1 inch high. (You may need to wet your hands to keep the dough from sticking.)

Bake at 325F for 30 minutes, or until the logs start to turn slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and, with a wide spatula, transfer logs to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.

Using a very sharp non-serrated knife, slice each log into 3/4-inch slices, and place slices on their side on the baking sheet. They will not expand, so the slices can be placed 1/4 inch apart. There will be some crumbling, because of the cornmeal in the dough. Don’t worry – let them crumble!

Return biscotti to the oven and bake at 325F until golden brown on top, about 18-20 minutes. Turn the biscotti over, and bake an additional 15 minutes, until the biscotti are brown and crisp.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More biscotti:
Whole wheat walnut-raisin biscotti, from The Perfect Pantry
Pumpkin chocolate chip biscotti, from The Perfect Pantry
Traditional Italian almond biscotti, from Food Blogga
Chocolate biscotti, from David Lebovitz

Comments

Lydia,
These look like they'd go great dunked in a cup of tea.

I'd never seen a butter cow until we moved to Ohio and checked out the dairy pavilion at the Ohio state fair. Giant things carved out of butter are a sight to see, especially while enjoying ice cream on a hot day!

Thanks!

I'm always ready to try baked goods with cornmeal. These look great!

Kirsten, I can only imagine the sight! Of course, the thought of a butter cow on a hot day is a bit, well, frightening, too!

Susan, I'd forgotten how good these are. And at this time of year, I crave that taste of lemon. It makes me feel like summer is close at hand.

butter is my favorite "fat" for sure! I do enjoy Kate's but usually go with Cabot! Sorry kate!