Caroline here...I use my box grater. What did you have trouble with ? I hold the butter with the paper frozen around it. Works like I charm . I toss the flour and butter while grating to get the mix going. By the time I am through all is mixed in. I then place it back in the freezer and also the buttermilk in its measure cup. When I am ready to complete the mix it all comes out and is tossed and patted very very lightly on a floured board and I cut squares with a very sharp knife and place on ungreased pan and bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Most important to not use anything but a very sharp knife and no waste with squares. Also don't over handle. Hope this helps. c

I LOVE my microplaner. Apparently they make several different types. I've only had and used the one my husband gave me for Christmas so I don't know the model/type.

I do swear by microplane though. IMHO, they are the best graters, hands down

I've used it to grate cheese, butter, lemon rinds, zucchini and it has worked excellently for all of that.

Here is a link that might be useful: microplane grater

using the box grater, holding the butter in the paper, I had to watch very carefully to not grate the paper - was continually stopping to 'rearrange' . I mix up six batches at a time (which is apparently what a pck of self rising flour will make (I do very little baking of anything else). So once I have all these batches bagged, I freeze everything until ready to complete (adding liquid), re-chilling, baking. And I use my pizza cutter to slice the dough into squares.

Great idea about freezing the batches to have some on hand!

I second the microplane idea, I have several different sizes and love them all. I can't get the link to copy but if you google "Microplane Gourmet Ribbon Grater" you'll see one I like for soft foods like butter.

No matter which grater you use you'll always have that paper issue. How about holding the frozen butter with something stronger like one of those silicone pot holders. When you get to the bottom of the stick you'll still have to mince the last bit of butter by hand.

I love my microplanes, but used one for frozen butter for pastry and the globules were too small. Might be fine for biscuits, but the box grater is better for pie.

I have an easier time grating butter with the kind, below, where there's a bowl and a grater lid. You can put it on a silicone potholder or lock the solid lid on the bottom, to make it non-slip. That's a big help with butter. :) If you're having trouble holding on with the paper, try unwrapping it, and using a Ziploc bag instead. One of the thicker ones, not the sandwich bag. Whether the paper is hard to hold depends on what the paper is like.

Another alternative, if you happen to be in the market for an immersion blender, is that they nowadays have models with a mini food processor. Ann T. in Cooking Forum posted about hers. If the feeder tube will take a stick of butter, it might be perfect. ;)

I avoid the Cuisinart for pie crust and biscuits, but yesterday I put the butter in the freezer for half an hour and used the chopping blade to mix it with the flour. Don't over-process. Transfer to a bowl and use your fingers to rub any large floured butter bits flat. That's a tip I read in a dessert cookbook--fingers only, no forks or pastry blenders. I usually start with grated butter though.

OXO makes a rotary grater that I use almost every week to grate nuts or chocolate (link attached). It's about $16, is easy to clean, and much sturdier than any other rotary grater I've ever owned (used to beg relatives in Europe to send these to me every other year or so, because they were tough to find here in the States).

I imagine that if you cut a stick of butter into thirds before you freeze it, you could just plop them into this grater one at a time and have lovely grated butter without getting your warm hands involved in the process!

Here is a link that might be useful: OXO Good Grips Rotary Grater

thanks for the suggestions (I just bought a new immersion blender so that idea isn't practical financially) - wondering if the OXO grater will be too difficult to turn with the frozen butter (and my 75 yr old hands)

I could not live without the grater attachment for my KA mixer.