More butter . . .

So, I had a hankering for some homemade butter to go with the bread I made yesterday...so I whipped some up!  (Quite literally this time too!)  I had a quart of heavy whipping cream in my fridge, and instead of leaving it out to ripen (like I did last time I made butter) I just threw it, well poured it, into my Kitchenaid bowl and whipped it on high until it was butter!  It made pretty quick (and easy!) work of it too!  :)

Tip:  To prevent splattering your entire kitchen, place a moist tea towel over the entire mixer while running.

Once the butter has formed (like above pic) just pour out the milk that is left.  You can either save this milk (it's basically non-fat milk at this point) or you could toss it.  Then start rinsing out the butter. . .

Continue to rinse the butter with cold water until the water comes out clean.  (The above pic was almost there.)

Then form into whatever shapes you'd like!  I did half of this batch as a large stick of butter, and the rest as teaspoon scoops. (Courtesy of my cookie scooper.)

Enjoy!  You can either add salt, honey or just leave it as unsalted butter!  But whatever you do, please enjoy!  :)

Apple Butter

I did my first batch as a test batch and it was really small in case it didn't turn out.  So, if you'd like more than 8 oz. of apple butter in the end, you should make a quadruple or so batch of this.  :)

Apple Butter
4 apples, peeled  (Sweeter apples like Braeburn, Gala, Fuji, Delicious...I used braeburns)
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. water
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

What you'll need:
Pot to make apple butter in.
Canning supplies (Canner, funnel, tongs, rack (optional))

1.  Core and then cut up the peeled apples into small pieces.  Put the pieces into a pan and also put the cores in the pan.  (We all know that apples have a lot of pectin in them, and rumor has it that a lot of that pectin is in the core.)

2.  Add the lemon juice, vinegar and water to the apples.  Then bring them to a boil on high for about a minute.  Then let them simmer for about 30 minutes or until very, very tender.

3.  Once they are cooked they should look something like this....(above)

4.  Then in order to get a smooth texture you'll want to put the cooked apples through a sieve or mesh strainer (like shown).

5.  Getting it all through the strainer will take some time, but be patient because it will be worth it in the end! :)

6.  Once it's all been strained place it back in the pot on medium-high.  Then add the sugar and cinnamon, stirring until it comes to a boil for one minute.

7.  Then place in clean jars, with lids and bands.  Water Process for 10 minutes at sea level and adjust for higher elevations.

Homemade Butter and Honey Butter

So, have you ever thought of making butter at home? I hadn’t until recently. I follow this blog called http://valleygirlhasbabygoescrunchy.blogspot.com/. She is green and blogs about her life and experiences. She also shares awesome photos and some recipes. So I was reading it the other day and her post about making butter. Turns out it’s easy to do, so I was inspired to make some of my own. I was super impressed with my results too, so you’ll have to try it too. ;)


What you’ll need:
Heavy Whipping Cream that I ripened by sitting it on the counter overnight or so. (About 10 hours, or anything under 24 hours will work great.)
Something that seals to shake it in.
Spatula
Mesh strainer
Bowls
Salt/honey if desired
I used a pint of heavy whipping cream, but did it in two batches so I could have regular butter and some honey butter. So think about what you want and do what moves you. ;)


Basic Instructions:
1. Put desired amount of ripened heavy whipping cream into sealable container.
2. Shake. (It’s a pretty good workout and doesn’t take too long.)
3. Add salt or honey if desired.
4. Mold into desired shape and refrigerate.

More Detailed instructions with pictures:
1. Measure out 8 ounces of the ripened heavy whipping cream.
 2. Put in the sealable container.
 3. Seal it and start shaking.
4. After just a couple minutes it will feel like "whipped cream" so it’s on it’s way to being butter.
5. After 1-2 more minutes it will start getting chunky. Keep going.
6. After 6 minutes it will start to look like whipped butter. Keep going.
7. After a few more minutes it will definitely become butter. Keep shaking until you know it is butter. It will clump up nicely and feel much different when you shake it.
8. Drain off the "buttermilk" using a spatula, like shown. I poured it into a measuring cup so I could see how much there was. You don’t have to.
9. To get more of the liquid out, put the butter into the mesh strainer gently. If you are too rough it will come out the bottom.
10. Stir around slightly in the strainer and some more liquid will come out.
11. If you want unsalted butter, then just shape and refrigerate. If you want salted or honey butter continue on.
11. Wipe out bowl and place the butter in it.
12. Add either salt (I used ½ teaspoon for my batch this size.) or honey (I used 1.5 Tablespoons for my batch this size.)
13. Mix together with a little whisk for best results.
14. Shape into desired shape and refrigerate.
15. After it is chilled and firm, use as desired. (Doesn’t take too long to get firm in fridge…maybe 30 minutes or so.)
16. Enjoy!


16 ounces of Whipping Cream yields 2 sticks of butter and about 1 c. of that "buttermilk" or basically skim milk.
Note: Save the "buttermilk" if you’d like. It’s not like the buttermilk you would buy at the store, but it is basically fat free milk that can be used as such in recipes. See my white bread recipe that I used it in after I made this butter.