Hi Happy Scrappers!
Well, Spring is technically here but in Massachusetts it still very much looks like winter with more than a foot of snow still on the ground! Oh well, for many of us, Easter is next Sunday so that’s something, right? In our family, Easter always meant a big homemade brunch and a fun egg hunt. Every year since I was little, my Mom would make a butter lamb centerpiece by hand. When I was a teenager, she taught me how to make it and I’ve been making it every Easter ever since. It’s always a hit at brunch and it’s not as difficult as it looks. So, let’s get going, shall we?
You’re going to need two quarter sticks of butter plus a few extra pieces, a fine strainer, a few toothpicks, a small thin knife, four coffee beans, two black peppercorns, a small piece of red thread, two caraway seeds and two pieces of grass or chives.
First, cut one of the quarter sticks in half and stick it to the top of the other stick, as shown. Cut up the other stick into rectangles and cubes and add the pieces as shown.
Next, carve the top cube into a face shape. Note: it’s helpful to use the melting quality of the butter here. After carving it a bit, just use your warm fingers to melt it into a good face shape. You will want to refrigerate it for about 10 minutes after this step so it doesn’t get too soft.
Push a few pats of butter through the strainer to create the wool. The pats should be about a quarter inch thick.
Then, carefully scrape off some of the “wool” with a toothpick and lay it on the lamb.
Keep adding the wool to the lamb in various places, except the face and hind legs.
Add four coffee beans for hooves.
Add peppercorns for eyes, caraway seeds for nostrils, grass tips for ears and a piece of red thread for the smile. Take your time and use the toothpick. If you don’t like the way it looks, gently pull it off, re-melt the face, refrigerate and try again!
Hope you’ll give this lamb a try. It’s fun to watch your guests try to butter their bread without destroying it. (Then again, we’ve always had a rascally kid go right for the face!) :)
Have a lovely weekend!
p.s. make sure to check our our Retirement Sale, wrapping up soon! Hundreds of never-sold-again products at 50% off!
Christa says
Absolutely Adorable!!! This should be in a craft magazine or a foodie magazine.. what a cute idea!!