320 butters topping recipes

A lattice-topped mincemeat tart for Christmas: spiced fruit mincemeat baked in a crisp butter-and-lard shortcrust under a delicate woven lattice, dusted with icing sugar. One big tart instead of fiddly individual pies.

Traditional sweet potato muffins loaded with raisins, walnuts, and butter. Rich, bakery-style muffins with cinnamon-sugar topping that bake to golden perfection.

Mashed sweet potatoes whipped with bourbon, butter, and vanilla, then baked under a golden marshmallow topping. The Thanksgiving side dish everyone fights over.

Quick 15-minute apple raisin sauce with applesauce, apple butter, and maple syrup for a naturally sweet topping over pancakes, pork, or oatmeal.

Three-ingredient cheese crumb topping made with sharp cheddar, butter, and bread crumbs. A quick, savory sprinkle for casseroles, gratins, and baked vegetables.

Layered bar cookies with a butter shortbread base, apricot jam, and a cocoa-coconut-peanut meringue topping. Three distinct layers in every square.

Low-fat fudgy chocolate cake made with buttermilk, strong coffee, and cocoa powder, topped with a glossy cooked chocolate icing. No butter needed.

Soft banana cookies with brown butter penuche frosting: mashed ripe bananas in a cake-like dough, topped with a boiled brown sugar icing that hardens into a shiny, fudgy shell.

Hot fudge pudding cake that makes its own chocolate sauce as it bakes. Bisquick, cocoa, sugar, and hot water create a cakey top over a pool of gooey fudge. No eggs, no butter needed.

Low-cal cheesecake made with cottage cheese, skim milk, whipped egg whites, and gelatin instead of cream cheese and butter. A light, no-bake cheesecake with graham cracker crumb topping.

Moist chocolate cupcakes piped with creamy peanut butter filling, then topped with swirls of the same sweet cream cheese frosting for spooky Halloween treats.

Baked banana halves brushed with butter and lemon juice, topped with shredded coconut until golden. A warm 4-ingredient dessert ready in 20 minutes.

Turn frozen bread dough into warm, garlic butter breadsticks topped with Parmesan in under 30 minutes. Just slice, bake, brush, and dip into marinara.

Butter-seared filet mignon topped with mango chutney and cracked black pepper, then flambéed with Armagnac. Five ingredients, restaurant-caliber steak in 30 minutes.

Caramelized pears cooked in butter, sugar, brandy, and lemon juice until golden and tender. An elegant French-style dessert topping ready in 30 minutes.

Baked apples and pears layered with buttered cake and topped with a peaked meringue. A classic British fruit dessert with warm spice and lemon.