Small Batch Butter

Homemade butter is a great way to use up left over heavy cream. Plus, it's delicious schmeared on bread or your favorite baked good.

Ingredients

• Heavy whipping cream

• Salt

Note that ¼ cup cream yields ~2 Tbsp. butter

Method

1. Find a jar with a lid that will hold at least 4 times the amount of cream you plan to use.

2. Pour cream into jar and cap the lid tightly. Shake the jar until the cream becomes thick and slightly lumpy, like over-beaten whipped cream.

3. Add a pinch of salt for every ¼ cup of cream used. Shake the jar until cream comes together in a solid lump and the liquid whey separates from the solid butter. Drain whey from the jar as needed. (You don't want too much whey to collect in the jar at a time because the goal here is to remove the liquid to form the butter.)

4. Once the butter solid has mostly come together, drain all the whey from the jar. The butter should be soft and malleable at this point. It can now be served as a spread or molded into the desired shaped and refrigerated. Enjoy!

I do not always like to eat butter on my bread, but when it's homemade butter... Well that's another story. Butter made from cream has a fresher taste. It tastes creamier and richer (more like its cream counterpart) than "actual" butter. The flavor of your butter will depend on the quality of cream used, so if you're making butter for a ~fancy~ occasion it might be worth the splurge to buy higher quality cream.

This simple spread pairs wonderfully with jam on bread (as pictured above) or as a finishing touch to round out other dishes. It does not keep as well as store-bought butter, so be careful not to make too much more than you actually need. I usually only make about 2 tbsp. to ¼ cup of cream into butter at a time. It will keep for about 1 week in the fridge.

And remember, friends, you're amazing, and wonderful, and doing your best! Have I buttered you up enough yet? No? Ok, ok, ok. How about a reminder that some high school students designed a stick for applying butter that functions like a glue stick, and that BTS's song, Butter, would be a great bop to play while making butter. Let it roll!