Cookbook author Anna Stockwell has published The Butter Book, a celebration of butter amid rising popularity in the US. The volume combines history, recipes, and design, shaped like a stick of butter. It arrives as Americans hit record butter consumption in 2024.
In 2024, Americans set a new record for butter consumption, according to reports. This surge coincides with trends like butter molds and sculptures at dinner parties, butter yellow in fashion and decor, butter skin beauty goals, and the 'churn and burn' running fad where participants carry heavy cream and salt to make butter on the go. Responding to this enthusiasm, Anna Stockwell, formerly of Bon Appétit and Epicurious, released The Butter Book in 2026, published by Chronicle Books with photography by Kate Jordan and design by Lizzie Vaughn. The book resembles a stick of butter, featuring a cloudy wax paper jacket, and serves as a historical overview, recipe collection, and decorative item. It includes inventive compound butters such as smoky garlic, miso-orange, and puttanesca varieties, alongside a guide to selecting butter for various uses and Stockwell's preferred recipes. 'I wanted each recipe to be an example of a different thing that butter can do for you in the kitchen,' Stockwell said. She shared a recipe for cultured butter oat shortbread, highlighting butter's role in creating tender, crumbly texture by limiting gluten development. The recipe uses rolled oats ground into flour, cultured unsalted butter, sugar, all-purpose flour, and salt, baked in an 8-inch tart pan at 325°F for 35-40 minutes. Stockwell noted conducting many butter experiments on friends and family recently. 'Over the past couple of years, my friends and family have been subjected to a lot of butter experiments,' she told Vogue, laughing.
