Orange-Apricot Butter

Moving right along with “orange” month.  I’m not in any hurry for this month to end as my oldest daughter will hit the quarter century mark near the end of January.  I simply do not understand how time breezes by so quickly.  All the more reason to make the most of every breath we take and day we spend living our lives.  Creating all these “orange” recipes in my kitchen has definitely kept a smile on my face and you know smile lines are much prettier than frown lines.

A few weeks ago I baked a loaf of Zucchini bread for a friend celebrating her birthday, didn’t blog about it though.  While searching for just the right recipe for the bread, I’d  come across a little recipe for orange butter.  I say little as its such a little, aka easy, thing to make but let me tell you it has a mouth-watering  impact on what ever it’s spread on.  In the photo I spread it on walnut-zucchini muffins.  Delicious on those.  Today I spread it on thick, toasted english muffins.  Tasty, tasty.  I can’t wait to try it on waffles, biscuits and pancakes.  Not all at the same time!  I’m sure it would melt nicely over carrots, acorn squash, or sweet potatoes….the possibilities are endless.  It’s a bit sweet, but not overly so.  I hope you’ll give it a try.

In case you were wondering about those muffins, I didn’t bake them.  “Miss T” treats us regularly with Starbucks baked goodies.  Nice perk for employees of the famous coffee-house.  I thought they made a nice stand-in for a homemade muffin, which I did not have on hand!

“Orange” month continues for another eleven days.  Good stuff comin’ up…stay tuned.

Enjoy!
 Orange-Apricot Butter

1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1/2 tsp confectioners sugar
grated zest of one orange

Cream all ingredients together, transfer to a small crock and chill.  The butter keeps several days in the refrigerator or freezer for several weeks.  Return to room temp before serving.

Recipe adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook