Chocolate Compound Butter Is The Decadent Way To Level Up Breakfast

You'd be hard pressed to name a breakfast food that isn't made better with butter. From pancakes to biscuits, scones to servings of piping hot oatmeal, crispy pieces of toast in classic or French form. Which is why, if you've ever wondered what compound butter is and what to use it for, the first meal of the day is an excellent place to start.

Given how many of these breakfast dishes skew to the sweet side, it's also easy to see why chocolate has a place on the morning table, too. So what if we told you that you can combine these two indispensable A.M. ingredients to create a single element that can turn any classic into an irresistible chocolatey creation?

Chocolate compound butter is exactly that ingredient. With just a handful of basic baking staples and a few minutes of your time, you can transform standard issue (yet already delicious) golden butter into something even better — and totally breakfast-ready — for the chocolate-lovers in your life.

Butter (as a fat), has the natural ability to be a flavor carrier, and can extend the enjoyment of every bite of your food by releasing those tasty and aromatic compounds gradually and with great intensity. With this recipe, you're infusing your dairy with decadent chocolate throughout, which means that as it melts or is spread over your favorite food, that goodness will reach every nook and cranny in your morning dish. And as the butter warms, the flavor and aromas bloom (much the way they do with toasted spices), creating a multi-sensory chocolate experience that can seriously blow some minds.

To make this masterpiece, all you have to do is melt some chocolate (a microwave or double boiler will do the trick), allow it cool a bit before combining with cocoa powder, a little powder sugar, and a stick of softened butter. You can customize how chocolatey you like your butter to be, but a good starting point is about a ½ cup of chopped up chocolate (your choice of percentage) and 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, along with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar to make it sweet and creamy. Once you have an evenly distributed blend (the mixture will be solidly chocolate-colored throughout, without streakiness), you can roll it up into a log using a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap, and pop it in the fridge for later use.

Once you have your log of chocolate compound butter, some easy applications are to top your short stack of classic pancakes or pile of caramelized French toast with a pat of chocolate butter on top. These can be classic versions, or variations with fruit like bananas or berries. You can use this flavored butter as part of the pancake batter itself, creating a flapjack infused with chocolate in every bite.

Peanut butter and chocolate are always a powerhouse couple, so you can smear a bagel with this compound creation on one side, and protein-packed peanut butter on the other for a sustaining, and totally irresistible treat. Buttery oatmeal is a warm and comforting way to start the day, and you can mix up an apple cinnamon or banana version of your morning bowl with this chocolatey boost.

Biscuits, croissants, crepes, and scones are all great canvases for chocolate butter, too. You can even take your compound butter a step further by adding a little vanilla or toasted coconut extract to the mixture, or even stud it with sliced almonds or hazelnuts for texture. Sea salt will emphasize its already craveable flavors, too, and you can try a twist like smoked salt for a little moody depth (a microwave is the only tool you need to make this mouthwatering stuff). But no matter what you do with this new creation, trust us, your mornings will never be sweeter.