Butter is a necessity for cooking and especially baking. I was in the process of making brownies last week and softening butter to room temperature was part of the instructions. Sadly, I'd forgotten to take it out of the fridge and I had to wait hours for the butter to soften. I tried microwaving it for a few seconds, but the butter started to get uneven and looked more like mush than softened. To help you avoid future setbacks like mine, here's how to soften butter quickly three different ways.
1. Use an Empty Glass to Heat up Butter
Heat up a glass of hot water. Dump out the water and invert the hot empty glass over a chunk of butter. Let the glass and butter sit for about a minute or two. You don't have to worry about hard butter, because you'll have magnificent softened butter in minutes.
2. Make a Double Boiler
Fill up a saucepan with a few cups water and let it heat up. Wait until the water starts to boil. Once the water is boiling, take it off the stove. Put a glass bowl over the steaming water and put the stick of butter inside the bowl. You have the option of leaving the butter wrapping on or not. Leave the butter in the saucepan for a few minutes, but keep an eye on it before it gets too soft.
3. Beat the Butter
If you're in a hurry and need to bake or cook, this is the best method for you. First, you need to cut up the butter into small chunks and put them in a mixing bowl. Beat the butter with an electric mixer and mix until the butter softens.
There's no need to be impatiently waiting for hours for cold butter to soften. Knowing how to soften butter quickly will shorten your time in the kitchen and will get those brownies to your mouth much faster.