Had a total butter meltdown on a hot day last July

I was making a batch of shortbread cookies in my home kitchen, and it was one of those days where the AC just couldn't keep up. I had measured out a pound of butter to cream with the sugar, but I left it on the counter a bit too long while I got the pans ready. When I went to mix it, the butter was basically soup. I tried to salvage it by sticking the whole mixing bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes, but that just made the outside hard and the inside still runny. The dough came out greasy and wouldn't hold shape at all. I ended up having to chuck that batch, clean everything, and start over in the evening when it was cooler. I learned my lesson about watching the kitchen temp with high-fat doughs. What do you all do to keep things cool when you have to bake in the heat?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahlane1d ago

Honestly, the freezer trick should have worked! When you said it made the outside hard and inside runny, that means you just needed to mix it. You take that bowl out and beat it hard for a minute. The cold outside part mixes with the runny center and brings the whole thing back together. I never start over, I just fight with it for a bit. Sometimes I'll even add a couple ice cubes to the mixing bowl while beating to cool it down faster.

foster.patricia1d ago

Okay that freezer tip is actually genius. I always thought once butter got that soupy it was a lost cause, but the ice cube trick makes total sense. My stubborn self would have just kept the bowl in longer and ended up with a butter brick. Beating it hard to mix the cold outside with the warm middle is way smarter. You just saved me from a future meltdown.