Back in the kitchen with my lovely Mother-in-Law Linda, as well as my little lion to bring you another wonderful family recipe that is perfect for Christmas! Butter ball soup – a German/Prussian dish – is like so many heritage recipes. It has primarily the same components no matter who you ask – but there are subtle differences between families and regions. This recipe was passed down along my mother-in-law’s side of the family – and was for years made without a written recipe. Today we are lucky enough to have both Linda and a written recipe to ensure this family favorite continues to be passed down!

Butter balls are served in a slow simmered chicken broth along with thin egg noodles, an extra dash of allspice over the top right before serving, and (if you like) tender chunks of chicken. It is rich and warming making it perfect for cold winter nights. My husbands family traditionally served this as a special soup on Christmas Eve, but over the last few years we have begun making extra large batches so we have butter balls ready in the freezer for any time we are feeling like comfort food, feeling a bit under the weather, or simply feeling like a lovely soup on a cold day.

Butter Ball Recipe:

• 15oz toasted bread crumbs (store bought works well if you don’t have any day old bread)
• 1 cup heavy cream warmed
• 3/4 cup clarified butter (1 cup regular butter = roughly 3/4 cup clarified)
• 3 tsp Allspice
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 eggs (start with 4 – then check packing consistency – add 5th if needed)

Toast day old bread or ends of bread you have saved over the weeks/months. Once toasted crush toasted pieces into fine bread crumbs (I like using my food processor for this – but a rolling pin and food bag works well if you don’t have access to a processor/if you need to work out a bit of energy).

Add warmed cream to bread crumbs and combine well. Cover bowl and allow to stand for 20 min. In the mean time add 1 cup of butter to a small sauce pan and gently heat butter to clarify. Allow milk fats to separate, skimming excess fats off the top as needed. Once most of the fats have rendered out poor clarified butter into a measuring cup (use a spoon to hold back any additional fats as you poor) set aside.

Once bread crumbs have sat for 20 min – remove towel, fluff crumbs, add all spice and salt, and mix through. To this add 4 of the 5 eggs and most of the clarified butter. Once well mixed pull out a small amount and try to squeeze it together in your hand to make a tight ball. If the structure doesn’t hold well add the 5th egg. – According to Linda, the ladies used to say if you didn’t have butter dripping between your fingers when you were making your balls you didn’t have enough butter. With this in mind – make sure to add enough of your clarified butter to ensure your hands are thoroughly coated – I always add the full 3/4 cup 🙂

Place rolled butter balls (you can make large or small butter balls according to your liking – in our video we make pretty large balls – but you can easily make smaller spheres as well) on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper and then place in a freezer until firm. Then store in a freezer bag or freezer container until needed.

These are best if made in advance, however you can make them same day. If you do choose to make them same day make sure to still place them in the freezer to fully firm up! If you place them directly into the broth they will fall apart. If your butter balls do fall apart, never fear, while it won’t be quite the same it will still taste delicious!

Butter Ball Soup Base

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 onion quartered with outer dry skin removed
• thin egg noodles (optional)
• salt to taste

In a large pot simmer the chicken and onion over medium low heat until the chicken is tender and falls off the bone. I usually let the chicken simmer on the stove top most of the day to ensure a nice rich broth. Remove chicken and set aside (reserve a portion of the meat for the soup and the rest for other delicious recipes that call for pre-cooked chicken such as chicken salad). Strain the broth to remove all the onion pieces and any bits of fat or skin which may remain. Rinse/clean original pot or poor strained broth into a clean pot and bring back up to temp. Add salt to taste and chicken (if adding back in – I must admit sometimes we just have butterballs and broth). Check cooking time on egg noodles if using them and if needed add them per package instructions.

25 min before serving add your frozen butter balls gently into the soup and resist the urge to stir aggressively as this will break up your butter balls. Gently stir/agitate if needed. Allow butter balls to cook 12-22min until they are light, fluffy, and float gently to the top of your soup.

Serve immediately with an extra dash of all spice and salt over the top of your hot bowl of soup.

**We had a wonderful time making this video (albeit the editing is a bit rough around the edges), and we hope you’ll give this delicious recipe a try. With love from all of us here at the Wee Lairds Kitchen – happy cooking.