How to Soften Butter in 5 Minutes

Softened butter on a plate

There have been countless times when I’ve planned to bake something (like holiday cookies), but as soon as I scan through the recipe, I realize that it calls for softened butter and all I have is rock-hard butter that I just took out of the fridge.

In the past, I was often indifferent about a recipe calling for softened butter. I would just throw a stick of cold butter in the stand mixer bowl and hope for the best. But now that I'm a bit older and wiser, I have finally accepted that recipes usually specify using softened butter for a reason. Imagine that!

But just because I know better doesn't mean that I plan ahead, which means that I really need a reliable way to soften butter quickly. I'm happy to say that I've found a great method. Read on for everything you need to know when you need perfectly softened butter in a hurry.

Related: The Secret Ingredient to the Best-Ever Sugar Cookies

Why Does Butter Temperature Matter in Baking?

Although softened butter is lovely for spreading on bread, the temperature of your butter really matters when it comes to baking, especially baking cookies. Room-temperature butter will mix together easily with sugar (aka "creaming"), which is the key to light and fluffy cookie. Cold butter usually translates to flaky layers, which makes it the best choice for pastries and pie crusts. Melted butter is helpful for making chewy cookies and if the dough is baked right away will create cookies that bake up thin and spread quite a lot.

Related: 10 Fancy Butter Brands That Are Worth the Monday

How Not to Soften Butter

There are several methods out there for softening your butter quickly. For many people, the most obvious method is microwaving your butter, but microwave temperatures and settings vary widely, which makes this an unreliable method. I've also found that butter doesn't soften evenly in the microwave. It often softens mostly on the outside of the stick, while the center can still be quite hard or it melts in spots, which is also not ideal. It’s also incredibly easy to accidentally melt your butter to the point of no return when using the microwave.

How to Soften Butter Quickly (in 5 Minutes)

For me, when it comes to softening butter quickly, Natasha Kravchuk, the recipe developer behind the popular food blog, Natasha Says, has the smartest trick ever. Here's what to do:

1. Fill a tall glass with boiling hot water and line a small plate with a paper towel.

2. Stand a stick of butter vertically on the plate, then pour the hot water from the glass.

3. Immediately place the hot glass over the stick of butter. Leave the butter there for 5 to 7 minutes—and just like that you’ve got perfectly softened butter.

This is such a smart trick because the hot glass radiates a gentle heat, which is perfect for softening butter because it doesn’t melt the outside before the center of the stick has a chance to soften. And don’t skip the paper towel! It helps absorb excess moisture that sometimes forms on the inside of the glass and helps keep the hot air locked in.

I couldn’t believe how well Natasha’s butter trick worked when I gave it a try. The butter was evenly softened and a knife glided through it with ease. I don’t think I’ll ever soften my butter any other way when I’m in a baking-induced panic.