Nature’s Glow: A Guide to Making Homemade Herbal Butter Candles

On these days hugging the winter equinox, when Father Winter has settled in and the crisp winter air smells of woodsmoke, I find myself in the kitchen baking bread and pastries to fill the bellies of those I love most. It is during winter, after all, that we gravitate toward comfort and warmth as well as an opportunity to pause and appreciate all the season has to share. It is both the ending of one seasonal cycle as well as the beginning of another. A fresh start. An awakening. Baking is one of my love languages and when the sun shows herself, I venture out to share fresh baked goods with neighbors and friends. Lately, these herbal butter candles have been accompanying my still-warm sourdough boules and have been so well-received that I’ve chosen to share my recipe and tutorial so they might accompany your homemade baked goods too.

You Will Need:

• ½ cup salted butter (My favorite butter is Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter for its creamy texture, bold flavor, and rich gold color.)
• 3 tablespoons (28 g) fresh herbs of choice, chopped
• additional ingredients of choice (optional; suggestions provided below)
• ½ teaspoon (3 g) sea salt
• silicone mold, glass or ceramic jar, wooden or metal butter mold, other small food safe vessel
• food safe wick (wooden, cotton or hemp with beeswax are excellent options) *

*An alternative to a food safe wick is a pecan. You read that right! Pecans contain large amounts of oil that allow them to burn for several minutes at a time. (Just make sure your butter candle is room temperature when you light the pecan.)

To Make:

1. Melt butter on low heat and stir in the chopped herbs and other ingredients of choice.
2. Stand your wooden or hemp wick upright in the center of your jar/vessel and secure to a chopstick or skewer to hold it in place if it doesn’t come with an iron stand. (If using a mold, I recommend skipping this step and inserting a wooden wick directly into the solid butter after it’s been removed from the mold).
3. Carefully pour the melted butter mixture into the mold or vessel.
4. Freeze until butter returns to solid form (approximately 30 minutes).
5. If using a mold, pop it out and insert your wooden wick or walnut. (You can also add a cotton or hemp wick after the fact by simply creating a small tunnel using a wooden skewer through the candle and then feeding the wax-dipped wick through it.) Cut your wick to ½ inch (1.27 cm). Serve or gift your herbal butter candle with sourdough, toast, biscuits, or savory muffins or scones fresh out of the oven. 

Herbs to Complement This Recipe
chive, chive blossom petals, rosemary leaves and/or blossoms, sage, nasturtium blossom petals, shaved fennel bulb and/or leaves, parsley, viola heads, lavender buds, thyme, dill, bee balm blossom petals

Additional Ingredient Suggestions (to taste)

Sweet: honey (locally sourced when possible), brown sugar, cinnamon

Savory: roasted garlic clove**, freshly shaved or grated parmesan, zinnia petals

For an added kick: crushed red pepper flakes, spicy honey, pepper jelly

For added zest: lemon balm, lemon zest to taste

**To roast garlic cloves, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204.4 degree C). Slice off the top of an entire bulb of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and wrap in tin foil. Bake for 45 min. After the garlic has cooled back to room temperature, the cloves will slide out of their skins when squeezed. Drop them into the butter, mash in, and whip.

Gifting Herbal Butter Candles
Add a touch of whimsy or seasonal flair by gifting your herbal butter candle in a meaningful coffee mug or teacup.  To package, wrap molded butter pads in brown parchment paper (or brown kraft paper if using a jar, cup or mug,) tie with twine, and top with a sprig of the fresh herb(s) used in the butter. Access a free download of my herbal butter candle gift tag here:

Try These Herbal Butter Candle Flavor Combinations

• honey, shaved fennel, fennel leaves
• chive, chive blossom petals, thyme
• roasted garlic cloves, green onion, rosemary
• sage, spicy honey, lemon thyme, lavender buds
• roasted garlic cloves, crushed red pepper flakes, thyme
• lavender-infused honey, lavender buds
• parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme (Scarborough seasoning)

Herbal butter candles using fresh ingredients lasts a week in the refrigerator, especially if you added salt, or up to six months if wrapped tightly or jarred and frozen.

As you navigate through this winter season, I hope you’ll take time to enjoy the subtleties of small gatherings and fresh bread, complete with a homemade herbal butter candle to brighten the mood and warm the soul.

This article was originally published in Homegrown Sourcebook (Winter 2024).