Mother Butter: Nothing short of yum

For something done on a lark, a local baker has seen huge interest in the start up of her company, Mother Butter.
“It’s turned into something pretty big, pretty quickly,” said Jade Hansen.
The logo, the cheeky name and the captive audience of people hungry not only for a sweet treat but also interaction on social media, could all be reasons for the adoration.
Hansen said the online profile has allowed her a platform to share her true personality, even though in person she is reserved and shy.
Shortbread, she said, is something people usually make at Christmas but they love eating it all year round. For quite some time, it has been a favourite of her’s to give as a hostess gift or send to friends and family, regardless of the time of year.
Hansen worked as a professional baker before moving to Creemore. When some health issues and the pandemic caused her to be home for two years, and to be homeschooling her youngest daughter.
“I thought, you know what I gotta do something, I’m dying of boredom here,” said Hansen.
“I’ve always given my cookies away and I thought, maybe I’ll see if I can sell some of these babies, and the reception has been crazy.”
Mother Butter launched on Instagram in April and caught the attention of all those with a sweet tooth who appreciate some good pop culture tie-in branding.
The orders began pouring in for the many varieties of shortbread with fun flavours like Raspberry Beret (dark chocolate and raspberry), Salty B#tch (salted caramel chips), Ziggy Stardust (lemon and white chocolate) and Crunch Me Baby One More Time (handmade sponge toffee and Belgian chocolate chips), to name a few. Orders also started rolling in for Babka, cupcakes with shortbread cookie on top, tarts with shortbread crust and the savoury shortbreads on the menu – variations of cheddar cookies named for country music legends. The savoury ones go great on a charcuterie board and are best enjoyed with a pint of beer or a glass of wine, said Hansen.
She said she hears music when she looks at food, especially her own baking, and she attaches the song to the product. Although she says she is definitely a hip-hop girl, she was listening to old country when she was developing the savoury recipes, and it stuck.
“There’s no pressure because it’s just me doing this for myself to make me happy during the pandemic,” said Hansen. “I know that I’m creative, and an artist, but I didn’t know I was this kooky with putting it all together and it’s a whole bunch of fun.”
Hansen said she learned to bake as a child with her Nan and her mom, benefitting from their two different styles: Where her mom was a more precise baker, her Nan encouraged her to be more experimental.
Although Hansen admits it’s possible those early experiments weren’t always edible. She thinks that creativity, of being allowed to improvise recipes is what has made her the baker she is today.

Find Mother Butter on Instagram and order via e-mail at motherbutterordering@gmail.com. The cookies are also available at Creemore 100 Miles Store.