Everyone has a guilty pleasure. Mine is butter. I like it salty, sweet, herby, garlicy, with a bit of cinnamon and honey perhaps on some warm bread. I have a butter keeper that I love and it sits on my counter and I look for excuses to scoop out of it. I love the grass-fed butter that is bright yellow. It’s not always easy to come by, but it’s out there. Kerry Gold is a nice one that never disappoints. But why not make your own from time to time? Especially when you can get your hands on some grass-fed milk at the farmers market or regular grocery market. So today I thought I’d show you how to make 15-Minute Homemade Butter because… BUTTER people, BUTTER! It is everything.
15-Minute Homemade Butter:
Making butter from scratch is something you can do while getting ready in the morning, checking your e-mail, or watching your favorite evening TV show. You just need heavy cream and an electric stand mixer. It is especially worth making when you have access to high-quality cream from a local farm.
For a really special butter, find a farmer who will sell you cream from grass-fed cows. In the summertime, when the cows have been snacking on green grass, the butter will be an especially bright-yellow color. You don’t need a farmer’s market or a stand mixer to make your own butter, though. Heavy cream from the store will work, and you can separate the cream by adding it to a mason jar with a tight-fitting lid and shaking it well for a little while.
This is a fun activity for kids to do, since they can watch the cream change right before their eyes. This butter would also make a wonderful hostess gift along with an armload of croissants. And save the leftover buttermilk to use for baking scones or lightening your coffee. Fresh buttermilk is not thick and sour like store-bought but rather is very sweet and thin.
Have you ever made butter before? Tell me in the comments or share pictures with me on Instagram by tagging @GeorgiaPellegrini. XOX Yay Butter!
“15-Minute Homemade Butter”
Ingredients
- 2 cups 1 pint heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- Minced garlic chopped fresh herbs, cinnamon, and/or honey (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the cream into the bowl of a stand mixer, and stir it with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed. Churn the cream until it separates into butterfat and buttermilk, scraping down the sides of the bowl once about halfway through. The time will vary depending on the temperature (colder cream will turn more quickly), but it will take approximately 15 minutes, and will sound like water sloshing when it is done.
- Once the buttermilk has separated from the butterfat, place the chunks of solidified butterfat into a colander and rinse it thoroughly with very cold water, squeezing it gently with your hands to release any excess buttermilk. The less buttermilk it has in it, the longer it will store.
- Separate the butterfat into desired portions. Add salt if you wish and knead it into butter. You can also create a compound butter by mixing in minced garlic and chopped herbs or cinnamon and honey or any other flavorings that you like.
- Use a piece of parchment paper to roll the butter into a log, shape it into blocks with your hands or press it into a ramekin with a spoon. Once you have formed it into your desired shape, carve a decoration into the top with the tip of a paring knife. To help the butter last longer, you can also wrap it tightly in several layers of plastic and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
