What Happens If You Bake With Butter That's Too Soft

Whether you're an expert baker or just getting started, the term "softened butter" is one that you'll see in many, many baking recipes. Softened butter is important in baking because it helps to produce a light and fluffy result. This is because it's capable of being whipped, meaning that it can hold air during the creaming stage which aerates the batter. But have you ever wondered if butter can ever be too soft? Turns out, it can.

Using butter that's too soft can result in a greasy batter that will produce a dense result. This happens because butter that's too soft produces frothy air bubbles that will eventually collapse. You can tell your butter is too soft if, when you go to press on it with your finger, you sink right into it. Also, if you notice any sort of melty parts around your butter, it's gone too far. In fact, properly softened butter is colder than you might imagine, typically 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

To test your butter, do that same trick of pressing on it with your finger; you'll only want to see a small indentation. If you accidentally overdo it, try Carla Hall's simple hack for rescuing over-softened butter by rolling it in flour until it firms up again. Another trick is to add the butter to a bowl with a couple of ice cubes and stir until it's firm. Once ready, just remove the ice cubes and you're good to go.

When getting ready to bake a recipe that calls for softened butter — like tamarind and lime thumbprint cookies — it's a good idea to have some tactics up your sleeve. In general, it's advised to let butter sit out at room temperature for one to two hours. While this method always works, sometimes you may forget to take your butter out that far in advance. Luckily, there are faster ways to help speed the process along. 

One method is to soften butter with your oven's residual heat. This means that after you've already baked another dish or treat, you turn off the appliance and let it get to around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (an oven thermometer will help you here). Once the temperature is reached, lay the cold butter on a baking sheet and let sit in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Another way to soften butter quickly is by using a hot glass. To do this, boil some water and pour it into a heat-safe container (we like to use a mason jar). Let that sit for about five minutes, then dump the water out and flip the glass upside down to place over your stick of butter. Let that hang out for about 15 minutes. The hot glass will work to perfectly soften the stick.