Homemade Butter

Homemade butter adds a special touch to your Thanksgiving spread. It’s soft and creamy and delicious.

I know. You’re wondering, “who has time to make homemade butter??” And I’m here to let you know that you can have homemade butter on your table,  because you’re going to let your friends and family help you make it.

This activity keeps everyone occupied and busy while you finish the final preparations. It requires just one ingredient. And you most likely have alllll the equipment you’ll need already! Yay.

Start with a jar that has a tight fitting lid. Now, pour some heavy cream into the jar, filling it half way full.  If you use a pint jar, you’ll fill with a cup of cream. If you use a quart jar, you’ll fill with two cups of cream. You can also use smaller jars, which a perfect for smaller hands. Just fill them half way full, allowing the cream plenty of room to shake in the jar.

A note about the cream – better cream makes better tasting butter. We prefer the Darigold brand, if it is available! Also the warmer the cream, the quicker it will turn into butter. So, fill your jar and leave on the counter for 30-45 minutes before you start making the butter.

Once your jar is filled, place a tight-fitting lid on the top. And shake! This could take anywhere from 10-30 minutes, depending on how big your jar is, how warm your cream is, and how vigorously you’re shaking the jar.

As you shake the jar, it will start to thicken and become whipped cream. Keep shaking! Eventually it will start to separate as the solids start to form a clump in the jar. Keep shaking until there a a solid mass of light yellow butter and a milky liquid. This liquid is buttermilk and the mass is the butter!

Now, pour the contents of the jar through a strainer over a mixing bowl. Save the buttermilk liquid to add to your next batch of pancakes or pie crust! Place the butter in small dish. Now you can run the butter under a cold stream of water to remove the rest of the buttermilk. You can also pat the butter with a cheese cloth to remove the buttermilk.

Now, decide how you’d like to season the butter. We recommend adding half a teaspoon of kosher salt for every cup of cream you used. Simply stir the salt into the butter! You can also add other sweetener and spices for other butter variations. We love a whipped honey butter. But also, an herbed butter goes deliciously with your Thanksgiving meal.

Once the seasonings are added, it’s ready to eat. At this point it is a very soft and spreadable texture, which is perfect for spreading on rolls or bread. You can leave it looking rustic in a bowl or dish. Or you can place it in a piping bag and create a lovely butter dish.

If you’re making the butter in advance, place the butter in the fridge to cool.  You can roll your butter in a sheet of parchment paper and place it in the fridge until dinner time. This will make a lovely formed butter.

Either way, homemade butter is fun addition to any meal.

Print Recipe

Homemade Butter

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Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• HONEY BUTTER
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• HERBED BUTTER
• 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sage, chopped
• 1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1

Pour heavy cream into a pint mason jar. Place lid on tightly and let sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.

2

When cream has warmed to room temperature, begin shaking. Shake until the butter forms into a solid mass in the jar.

3

Pour contents of jar into a strainer over a bowl. Reserve the liquid (buttermilk) for future use.

4

Place the butter into a small dish. Run cold water over the butter to remove the rest of the buttermilk. Then pat gently with a piece of cheesecloth.

5

If your marking plain butter, add 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Stir together.

6

If you are making a flavored butter, add ingredients and whisk together.

7

Serve now for a soft, spreadable butter. Alternatively, put into a serving dish or wrap in parchment paper. Place in the fridge and allow to cool. Remove from fridge 20 minutes before serving to allow to return to room temperature.

8

Enjoy homemade butter for 2-3 weeks after it has been prepared.