Garlic Butter Candle
Make an edible Garlic Butter Candle with garlic and herbs! This fun holiday appetizer melts into bread for easy dipping and is so delicious and fun!
A FUN WAY TO SERVE GARLIC BUTTER AND BREAD
Want a fun conversation starter at your next gathering? Then this delicious and unique appetizer is the way to go! They also make great gifts for foodie friends and family. Made with real butter, roasted garlic, and Italian herbs, this edible butter candle melts as it is warmed by the flame, creating a warm, flavorful dip for all your crusty bread. It’s surprisingly easy to make, completely customizable, and guaranteed to be a huge hit for the upcoming holidays!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
To make roasted garlic, just follow these instructions.
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Peel off any loose outer paper-like layers of a whole garlic bulb, keeping it intact as best as possible (you don’t have to peel them all off, just the loose stuff.)
Slice about ¼ inch off the top, exposing the tops of the cloves.
Place the bulb on a square of foil.
Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Wrap the foil tightly around the bulb.
Place the wrapped garlic directly on the oven rack or on a baking sheet.
Roast for 35-45 minutes, or until the cloves are very soft and lightly golden.
Let the garlic cool slightly, then squeeze from the base to pop the cloves out of their skins.
Transfer the roasted cloves to a cutting board and finely mince or pop them in your garlic press.
I feel like this provides the most flavor and is a better option than biting into raw garlic.
You can make more than two candles if you have a longer loaf of bread. Or this recipe can be adapted to make more. For example, if you want four candles, just double the recipe.
For this, I used the 6-ounces cups, but depending on what you can find, you can use smaller ones if needed. They should be smaller, disposable cups (affiliate link) that are short and wide as opposed to the tall and thin ones.
I used clothes pins when making these, but anything that will help hold the wick in place should work. You could use a chip clip if needed or even a fork would hold it in place. Just put the wick in between the fork tines and balance the fork on top of the cup (it make take two forks to get it balanced properly.
This Garlic Butter candle can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator.
You can freeze this garlic butter candle for up to a month in a freezer-safe container.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- loaf of uncut bread– use any of your favorite breads. Some popular breads would be sourdough, rye, French, or white. You want a thick, sturdy bread to hold the candles well. You can even use Homemade Dutch Oven Bread.
- salted butter– you can use unsalted. It needs to be real butter here, not margarine.
- roasted garlic– you could use 2 teaspoons of garlic powder instead. See above Frequently Asked Questions section on how to roast garlic. I know someone will ask about jarred garlic and I am not totally against it but if you are going through all this trouble to make this homemade, I think the garlic should be the best flavor and you won’t get that with the jarred stuff.
- Italian seasoning– feel free to make your own with fresh herbs. I have a Homemade Italian Seasoning recipe if you want something more homemade.
- rosemary sprigs – these are optional. I just think they really make the presentation look nicer as they fill in any gaps around your candles.
- candle wicks– I prefer to use beeswax wicks, but hemp is another great option. These are all food safe options that I prefer. You can purchase these at craft stores like Michael’s or you can order them online at Amazon (affiliate link) or other places. They’re pretty cheap, thankfully.
- disposable cups– I used 2 (6 ounce) plastic cups.
- clothes pins – use any kind of clips you might have to hold the wick in place. you could probably even balance it in between fork tines and place that on top of the cup to hold it in place.
HOW TO MAKE GARLIC BUTTER CANDLES:
In a small saucepan, melt the butter gently with the garlic and Italian seasoning over medium heat and stir until hot and fragrant. Set it aside to cool slightly but not enough to harden.
While the butter is cooling, prepare the disposable cups with a food safe candle wick. Use clothes pins or twine at the top to secure the wick in the center of the cup. Pour the melted butter into the cup making sure not to cover the wick. You’ll be putting about ½ cup melted butter in each cup so it will not go all the way to the top of the cup. Place the butter cup in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (up to overnight) to harden.
Once hardened, you can gently squeeze the cup from the bottom to pop the solid butter out of it, or, if that isn’t working, you can cut the side of the cup down to remove the butter candle. Place the disposable cups over your bread in the place you’d like to serve the candles.
Using a sharp bread knife, cut around the cups into the bread and pull out the middle of the circle to create a round cup-sized hole in the bread. Make sure not to cut down to the bottom of the bread, leave a layer to soak up melted butter. Place the butter candle into the hole you made in your bread and surround the candle with rosemary sprigs to take up any extra space. If the wick seems too long, you can trim it up a bit.
Light the candles, allow the butter to begin to melt then tear off pieces of bread to dip into the melted garlic butter. enjoy!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Garlic Butter Candle
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
- 2 Tablespoons minced roasted garlic (see above post on how to roast)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 (6-inch) beeswax candle wicks (see above post for more info.)
- 2 (6 ounce) disposable cups (see above post for more info.)
- 4 clothes pins (see above post for alternatives)
- 1 whole loaf bread (I used Italian – any rustic style bread works)
- 5-6 rosemary sprigs
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter with 2 Tablespoons minced roasted garlic and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning over medium heat and stir until hot and fragrant. Set it aside to cool slightly but not enough to harden.
- While the butter is cooling, prepare 2 (6 ounce) disposable cups with 2 (6-inch) beeswax candle wicks. Use clothes pins (or similar object) at the top to secure the wick in the center of the cup.
- Pour the melted butter into each cup making sure not to cover the wick. You’ll be putting about ½ cup melted butter in each cup so it will not go all the way to the top of the cup.
- Place the butter cup in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (up to overnight) to harden.
- Once hardened, you can gently squeeze the cup from the bottom to pop the solid butter out of it, or, if that isn’t working, you can cut the side of the cup down to remove the butter candle.
- Place the disposable cups over 1 whole loaf bread in the place you'd like to serve the candles.
- Using a sharp bread knife, cut around the cups into the bread and pull out the middle of the circle to create a round cup-sized hole in the bread. Make sure not to cut down to the bottom of the bread, leave a layer to soak up melted butter.
- Place the butter candle into the hole you made in your bread and surround the candles with rosemary sprigs to take up any extra space. If the wick seems too long, you can trim it up a bit.
- Light the candles, allow the butter to begin to melt then tear off pieces of bread to dip into the melted garlic butter. Enjoy!
Notes
- COOK’S NOTE: Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions. You will more than likely find the answer to your question in the post. Please scroll up!
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Haven’t yet tried this but just saved it for future dinner parties! Love the beautiful display this creates and could see this being the perfect addition for a holiday shepherds feast too. Thank you!
So delicious and looked fantastic! Everyone enjoyed this so much!