Secret Santa!!! A few girl friends and I hold an annual Christmas dinner party & Secret Santa gift exchange prior to our dispersion from New York City to respective hometowns across America. A $10 maximum spend lends itself to much creativity and some interesting and novel gift giving. Naturally, my first thought is to give a homemade food item. Exciting! Homemade gifts are budget-friendly, the options are endless and it is one of the best ways to personalize for the intended recipient.

One week out from the gathering, I flipped through my mental recipe catalog in search of an unexpected and fun idea for Tiffany, an avid home cook and food lover, much like myself. My first thought was to give her a pan of lasagna. Yes, a prepped pan of lasagna…sort of odd and quirky. A few afterthoughts came and went before, struck by a bolt of Christmas lightning, BUTTER!

Flavor-infused butters are always a welcomed treat at restaurants to slather on freshly baked bread or a sweet sticky bun. They can also be very handy at home for making garlic bread, sauces or as a standalone condiment. Strawberry or honey butter is the flavor that I have tasted most often. Here, I tried two sweet and two savory infusions using seasonal flavors and with a wide variety of uses.

Sticking within a $10 limit requires some strategic planning. Know what you have on hand vs. what needs purchased, and rely on outside (and free) resources to save in spending. Gifting the butters in individual ceramic ramekins or glass ingredient bowls with lids would make for great presentation, but also blow the budget. I instead asked my local Whole Foods prepared foods counter for four empty small clear plastic containers with lids. If never considering this gesture, it may surprise you how often people are willing to accommodate a friendly request. I covered the Whole Foods logo with cut-to-size white adhesive labels (that I had on hand) and wrote each butter flavor and ingredient list, giving it a real homemade look.

ESTIMATED RECEIPT
$6.00    2 lb unsalted butter
$1.80    Fresh basil
$0.80    Ginger root
$1.20    Whole berry cranberry sauce
FREE!    Clear plastic containers and lids
$9.80    TOTAL

Flavor-Infused Butter

Cranberry Butter
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c whole berry cranberry sauce
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 dash almond extract

1. Place butter, orange peel and almond extract in the bowl of a food processor. Process until ingredients are combined. Add cranberry sauce and process until smooth and blended.

Ginger-Maple Butter
1 c unsalted butter, softened
2 TBSP fresh ginger root, grated
3 TBSP maple syrup
1 tsp ground ginger

1. Heat about ¼ of the butter over low heat in a heavy skillet. Add grated fresh ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add maple syrup and ground ginger and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
2. Combine the fresh ginger/maple mixture and the remaining softened butter. Stir until smooth and blended.

Roasted Garlic & Fresh Basil Butter
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 head of garlic, roasted
2 cloves of garlic, minced
15 leaves fresh basil
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Peel away the outer layers of skin of the garlic bulb, leaving the cloves intact. Slice 1/2-inch off of the pointed end of the garlic bulb, exposing the individual cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Roast for about 40 min-1 hour until cloves are softened. Squeeze each clove gently and the roasted flesh should easily slide out.
2. Place roasted garlic, minced garlic, basil and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the ingredients are in small bits. Add the butter, and process until smooth and blended.

Sun-dried Tomato, Garlic & Herb Butter
1 c unsalted butter, softened
1 oz sun-dried tomato, chopped
2 TBSP dried parsley
2 TBSP dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the sun-dried tomato, and combine ingredients until smooth and blended.