Welcome to the Butter Witch kitchen!
Hey there, I’m Karie — a lifelong baker, sourdough lover, and dessert-obsessed food nerd. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a food person. I’ve spent my entire career working in restaurants, on farms, and in the marketing & design side of the food world. It’s truly my passion.
Now, I love bringing my tried and true recipes to you, straight from my kitchen in the food-loving city of Portland, Oregon. This site is full of from-scratch baking recipes with fun seasonal flavors. I hope to inspire you with creative ideas and build your baking confidence with proven tips and techniques. I’m so glad you’re here!
From pastry kitchens to farm fields
For over 15 years, I worked as a professional baker and pastry cook — designing wedding cakes, creating perfect plated desserts, and laminating buttery croissants.
It all started when I conned my way into a pastry job at a fine dining restaurant in Seattle that I was seriously under-qualified for (honestly, I didn’t even know what crème brûlée was yet). I fell for the romantic life of those early-morning shifts: waking before dawn, pulling on my apron, and watching the sun peek over the water while a tray of chocolate soufflé cakes baked.
Just before my 21st birthday, I moved to Northern California and got a job at a brand new farm-to-table bakery. Surrounded by sunshine, glorious redwoods, and a strong local farming community, I realized it wasn’t just about sugar and butter, but the story behind the ingredients. I felt a real connection with the farmers who brought fresh strawberries and peaches in from their fields. It was the process of turning that fresh produce into the most delicious pastries that I really fell in love with from-scratch, seasonal baking.
This reverence for ingredients inspired me to work seven seasons on organic farms: tending vegetables, growing medicinal herbs, saving seeds, and learning the rhythms of sustainability.
My food obsession also led me to become a Master Food Preserver, when I learned the art of proper canning and preserving techniques. And later, when I was eventually worn down by the early mornings of professional baking jobs and the intense manual labor of farming, I took my food love into the digital world. I started a blog (that would eventually become THIS blog!), learned food photography, and designed websites for food bloggers.
Let’s get wild
I grew up playing in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Those early days made an impression on me, and I’ve never lost my sense of awe and wonder for nature.
Of course, this love for nature also comes through in my recipe development. Nothing brings me more joy than combining these passions! I’m an avid forager, and here in the Oregon, we’re blessed to have an abundance of edible and medicinal plants growing all around us. If you’re a forager, too, you’ll find lots of fun recipes for using wild edibles.
Why Butter Witch?
Butter Witch is where my two biggest loves collide: old-school pastry (full of butter) meets wild, seasonal foraging (the witchy stuff). This blog is my kitchen, my studio, and my garden, where I bake rustic sourdough breads, dreamy sweets, and desserts infused with ingredients from the forest and the field.
I want you to feel inspired, empowered, and a little magical when you visit. Whether you’re here for sourdough projects, farm-style desserts, or a flavor you’ve never tried before, I hope you find a recipe that gets you excited to be in the kitchen.
What you can expect here
Here’s what you’ll find on Butter Witch:
- Homemade, from-scratch recipes
- Baked goods based on 15+ years of acquired professional recipes
- Fun flavors, seasonal ideas, and unique pairings to inspire creativity
- Lightly sweet, rustic farm-style desserts and baked goods enhanced with sourdough
And what you won’t find:
- Artificial flavors, colors, pre-made items, and processed ingredients
- Allergy-friendly and diet-specific baked goods (there are other people doing this well, but it’s NOT my forte)
- The same basic dessert recipes you can find anywhere
- Overly decadent or super sweet desserts
My food philosophy
Life is way too short to not enjoy food. Food connects us, comforts us, nourishes us, tells stories about who we are, where we came from, and what’s important to us. I believe that cooking for ourselves and others is a meaningful act and that there’s great value in making things from scratch.
“Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, moribund.”
– Anthony Bourdain
My favorite recipes
A few little tidbits about me…
- I once lived on a permaculture farm in Costa Rica, where I milked goats, built houses with manure and old tires, and milled flour from sun-dried yuca using a bicycle-powdered grinder. (True story.)
- My favorite flavors? Fig leaves, candy caps, dark chocolate, and sourdough discard.
- A perfect baking day for me looks like: gentle music in the kitchen (or maybe hiphop), a cup of very dark black coffee, a simple lazy bake, then cozying up in my favorite chair with something warm and fresh out of the oven.
- I’m a sucker for cute dogs, physical maps, nature books, edible flowers, 80s movie montages, and bitter ingredients like radicchio and Campari.
Let’s be friends
If you’ve made it this far, we must have a lot in common! I invite you to join this culinary adventure with me. Find dessert ideas, get inspired by what’s in season, and reconnect with nature!
Thank you for being here, my friend. I truly appreciate every comment, question, share and email subscribe. Please don’t be shy, hit me up if you have any questions, recipe recommendations, or just want to share your love of food. I love hearing from you.
Until then, happy baking!
