A DIY butter lamb on your Easter table will be such an adorable addition!
A few years ago I was introduced to a charming tradition of having a butter lamb on the Easter table, and I’ve been enamored with the idea since then. Butter lambs can be purchased from some grocery stores, mostly in the Midwest, however I decided to try making my own this year, and hopefully, it will inspire you to start a new tradition of adding a butter lamb to your Easter table!
An Easter butter lamb is simply butter molded into the shape of a lamb. Introduced to the United States by Eastern European Catholic immigrants, the tradition can be traced back to Poland (as well as Slovenia and Russia).
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The butter lamb was very easy to make using a lamb candy mold that I found on Amazon.
I filled both halves of the lamb mold, using a wide blade knife, pushing and smoothing to get the cavity filled. I used 1 1/2 sticks of butter for each side of the mold.
Tip: Before filling the mold, let your butter sit out to room temperature so that it’s soft and pliable.
Once both sides of the mold is filled, use a flat edge to smooth the butter, then place the mold in the refrigerator to chill.
I chilled the butter in the refrigerator for several hours to make sure that it was nice and solid.
Removing the butter from the mold wasn’t as easy as I was expecting, but with strong pushing on the mold, the lamb finally came free, and I joined both sides together.
Tip: Use your finger to smooth the joint between the two halves to create one solid piece.
The final step was creating the “wooly coat” on the lamb. To do this, I used a cheese grater and a stick of very cold butter, simply grating the butter and then gently placing it on the lamb wherever it would have it’s wooly coat.
I added peppercorns for the eyes, and then dressed him in the traditional red ribbon around the neck, and a tiny red flag with cross (drawn with a gold paint pen).
The traditional butter lamb has distinctive details of religious meaning for the holiday. The lamb itself represents Jesus (referred to as the Lamb of God). The red ribbon around the neck represents his death. There is an accompanying little banner that says “Alleluia” (a nod to Jesus’ resurrection). In the case of my little butter lamb, I just painted a gold cross on the flag.
You might also enjoy these Easter posts:
Faux Chocolate Bunny Centerpiece
In the old traditions, families would mold their own lamb out of butter and take it to church on Holy Saturday to be blessed at Swieconka (“the blessing of the Easter baskets”). The butter lamb would be carried in a basket along with rye bread, ham, colored eggs, kielbasa, chocolate and other food items to be eaten during the Easter feast.
Butter lambs are very popular and readily available to purchase in grocery stores, usually found in the Midwest. Unfortunately, they aren’t commonly found in my area, but perhaps they are in yours. If not available in your local grocery store, making one yourself is the next best thing!
In many families, Easter means a special visitor at the dinner table…..no, not the Easter bunny, but a butter lamb! My DIY butter lamb is imperfect, but I still think he’s the perfect new tradition for our Easter table!
The lamb mold also comes in a miniature size, so if you’re feeling really ambitious, you could make a tiny butter lamb for each place setting!
To learn more about the history of this Easter tradition, see our previous post on Butter Lambs.
I hope I’ve inspired you to create your own butter lamb for your Easter table!
Cheers, Cindy
Happy Easter Cindy! This is so lovely I’ve seen them on tables when I was young but didn’t realize the significance until now. I always look so forward to your posts
Cindy, I made mine last night with the same mold that you have. Instead of placing in the refrigerator, I placed it in the freezer overnight covered by the waxed paper from the butter sticks. This morning I ran a little hot water over the plastic of the mold and it popped out immediately. I used softened butter to adhere the front to the back and spread a little over the seams and areas that didn’t fill in and used my finger to smooth it out. Since it was frozen, it sealed immediately. I put the whole lamb back into the freezer until Sunday morning. I will use this method now. Hope this helps you and your readers. (PS – In the past, I too, purchased the lambs. For less than the cost of the premade lamb, I purchased the mold and am now making them at home and don’t have to go from supermarket to supermarket looking for lambs. They are available in our area but still hard to find.) The mold makes a much larger lamb for much less money. Carol
Thank you, Carol for the great tips!
I have been making lamb butter molds since I was a preteen and yours is a wonderful first attempt! Thank you for your accurate research and explaining the meaning behind having the lamb at the Easter table. It has great meaning for the Slavic nations and my Polish family has many memories surrounding the creation and eating! of these butter molds.
Some tips:
If you are eager to keep the coat of the lamb as smooth as possible use a toothpick to pop the air bubbles on what would be the surface of the lamb after the mold is filled. Push the tip of the toothpick through the butter and wiggle it around until the air bubble area is covered with butter. This, of course, only works if your mold is clear plastic. =) If you intend to add the grated butter as a fluffy wool coat you would only need to smooth out the air bubbles on the face and snout areas.
One could also cut the plastic mold in two and chill it with the two sides put together, clipped with two paper or binder clips, one on either side of the lamb’s body. The seam can be smoothed after chilling with a butter knife or your warm finger.
Since we would make up to five or more of these lambs to use during the Easter season, my siblings and I sometimes found ourselves short and scrambling at the 11th hour (so to speak) on Good Friday. Needing the lambs to be in the baskets for blessing the following morning we began chilling the filled molds in the freezer. This not only sped up the process it also made them easy to pop out once the butter solidified.
We decorated our lambs with whole allspice for eyes, red curling ribbon around the neck and a red banner with Allelujah written on it.
Thank you , Cindy, for sharing our tradition and making it your own while honoring its origins in our faith.
Your butter lamb is absolutely precious, and I love the tradition! Have a wonderful Easter, Cindy!
Thank you so much, Debra! Happy Easter!
Oh, this lamb is so adorable and thanks for the inspiration! I have been searching for a vintage lamb butter mold to no avail. You have solved my butter mold dilemma; and I appreciate the historical background – thank you Cindy!!!
Wonderful! Happy Easter!
Love it! I’ve made butter molds for years of many different shapes, but never a lamb. How totally sweet. What a great idea and I think your lamb is beautiful. – happy Easter to you!
Thank you so much, Leslie Anne! Happy Easter!
OK, that is adorable!! I live in Ohio and at our state fair they always have a butter sculpture…a giant cow, and then a themed sculpture. One year it was Ralphie from A Christmas Story in the bunny suit!My kids loved that. Thanks for this great post!! Love all of your creativity, you are truly inspiring!!
Thank you, Beth! Happy Easter!
Cindy, that is adorable! I have a cast iron lamb mold that was my grandmother’s. I love how you grated the butter, it’s the perfect touch. I’m going to order one from good ole Amazon to go with my lamb cake. So very clever of you, but not a surprise. I was wondering, do you sleep at night or is your mind in a constant frenzy with absolutely adorable ideas? Thank you for your creativity. MaryJo
Lol, sometimes my brain works overtime! Happy Easter, MaryJo!
Love this. Thank you for the history behind it as well. Your lamb is the perfect addition for Easter. As the Lamb of God who died for all mankind.
Amen! Happy Easter, Cherry!
Cindy, that is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen! You continue to amaze and inspire me!
Thank you so much, Jacki! ❤️