Homemade Butter

So, I'll start by saying that I'm pretty disappointed with myself. I'm disappointed that one, I didn't realize how easy making butter was and two, it's way cheaper than buy the store bought. In fact, I saved a full dollar by adding a 20 minute process to my day.  With that being said, we have found a new source of home savings. We bake a lot, and with that comes a lot of butter. I love being able to remove the preservatives! I mean, seriously, have you ever checked out the ingredients in some butters? Making butter only requires one ingredient, heavy cream. You can add salt, like I did, as well (because who eats unsalted butter on toast...).

Now, we all know that I'm pretty much obsessed with my kitchen aid mixer, and that is what I used to separate my cream. I've also read that you can use a food processor or blender.  Even shaking it right in your glass jar would work. Not to mention the awesome workout it would be! (If you try one of these methods please let me know!) The concept will be the same regardless of which device you choose to use.

You will need at least a cup of heavy whipping cream. Pour it into your stand mixer, add about a 1/4 tsp of salt, cover it with a towel (trust me! It is a huge mess if you don't) and crank that baby up! First, you'll get whipped cream that will look pretty and shiny and you'll want to bake a pie to eat it with, but you must keep going. Next, you'll see the butter start to separate. Once the butter starts to form a clump and you see a whole ton of liquid in the bottom of the bowl, then it's ready to be squeezed. Pour out the buttermilk, or save it for your favorite recipe. Rinse the butter really well in ice cold water! I squeezed it over the sink a few times and the rinsed it some more, so on and so forth. Then, I placed it inside a paper towel and squeezed it really tight so all the remaining liquid absorbed into the paper towel. Place it in a glass jar and voila! You've got fresh, tasty, butter!