could you substitute for butter to make it healthier? if so, what?

Whoops, Maedl! It's HalfPint's recipe. In developing it, she tried 8 tablespoons and then reduced to 4 before submitting it to the contest.

You can try to reduce the butter by half and add more olive oil. A nice fruity extra virgin oil would work here. But don't attempt to remove the fat in this recipe. It keeps the spread moist and the texture smooth. I originally made this with 1 stick of butter and felt that it was too much butter, even though it was really good, so I reduced the butter by half and added in the olive oil from the sardines. A little does go a long way.

Go for the butter. First, if you get real, good quality butter, why would you think it is unhealthy? Spring butters from grass-fed cattle grazing of plants and blossoms contains good phytochemicals that are good for you. Secondly, replacing butter with some artificial oil will destroy the taste. Make it according to the recipe and enjoy it in moderation.