All the leaves have tumbled off of the trees. I can see billows of moist, white breath cascading from my mouth and floating into the chilly atmosphere. Yesterday a little boy scampered by me, down the street, so bundled up he could hardly bring his arms to rest at his sides. And it snowed Wednesday night– my first real snow. It is definitely winter. And along with winter, comes winter produce. But rather than get depressed at the market by the dearth of stone fruit, and lugging home yet another hard, butternut squash for my nightly veg, I instead choose to revel in the winter produce.

There are Meyer lemons– just tart enough. Or my favorite, the Cara Cara orange with its pinky flesh, and mild citrus flavor. There are tangelos, satsumas, blood oranges, each calling out to be rescued from the cold New York weather and brought home to rest in the fruit basket on my kitchen table. And then there are kumquats, diminutive, and egg-shaped with a their sweet, almost delicate peel, and their puckery, seed-filled flesh. It is the the perfect fruit to make a marmalade with, and this marmalade, ideal to blend into a buttery spread.

Sometimes in the winter I need something sweet and bright, to perk up my breakfast; and this kumquat marmalade butter did just the trick. I was inspired by Suzanne Goin, and her fabulous book Sunday Suppers at Lucques, where she includes this recipe as part of a dessert. The pain d’epice, a sort of sweet bread, looked like a bit much to take on for a Monday night. But the accompanying kumquat marmalade butter, looked like the perfect accompaniment to make for my morning toast.

I simply simmered slowly for 25-30 minutes, a 1/2 pound of kumquats, in a saucepan with one cup of sugar, and two cups of water. The kumquats softened, turning shiny and translucent. I drained and reserved the liquid, which was now a rosy, pale peach color, and set the kumquats to cool. I deseeded, and sliced the cooled fruit into narrow batons, about 1/8 inch thick. I whipped 2 sticks of softened butter, sweetened with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, until light, and fluffy. Finally I added the marmalade strands, and a bit of the poaching liquid, and mixed completely.

The next morning, as the butter melted, leaving behind chunks of sweet kumquat marmalade on my breakfast toast, I savored this little bit of sunshine on a bleak winter’s day. Even with store-bought toast, this butter makes breakfast more special.

p.s. If you’re feeling you too could use a little something special along with your morning toast, I’m sure this butter would be great (and much easier to make) with a store-bought marmalade as well.