From garlic to maple syrup, here are 3 ways to upgrade your homemade butter as a shortage hits before the holiday season (2024)

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I made butter from scratch last month after learning that prices spiked before the holiday season.

I always assumed that making butter from scratch was arduous, but I was very wrong.

Last month,I created homemade butter with just one quart of heavy cream and a stand mixer. The process was primarily hands-off and took 20 minutes. I never considered making butter, being content with store brands, butThe Wall Street Journalreported in September that butter was in decline in the United States.

The WSJ reported that ongoing labor shortages at processing plants and lower milk production on US dairy farms sparked the lowest amount of butter in US cold storage facilities since 2017. According to CNBC, which cited data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of butter rose 27%, and margarine surged 44% from September 2021 to September 2022.

After finding success with salted butter, I decided to try three more flavors to see how they compared.

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I made three separate flavors: honey butter, garlic and herb butter, and maple butter.

Each recipe took more than 30 minutes, with about 20 minutes to make the butter and another 10 to mix the specific ingredients. I used 16-ounce cartons of heavy cream, measuring around ½ cup of butter.

While I used my own measurements, I usedEat This, Not Thatas a reference for the recipes.

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For honey butter, you'll only need two ingredients.

To make honey butter, you'll need the following:

• Homemade butter (made with heavy cream)
• 1 ½ tbsp honey.

If you're unsure how to make homemade butter, my previous story on making it from scratch includes a full explanation. To summarize, pour heavy cream into a stand mixer and allow the liquid to mix until the butter separates from the buttermilk. Then, rinse the butter in ice water, and voilà.

After making the butter, put it in a large bowl and add honey.

Once the butter has solidified and been rinsed in ice water, place it in a large bowl to mix in added flavors with a spoon. I used 1 ½ tablespoons of honey, but feel free to use more or less depending on your personal tastes.

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Then, wrap the honey butter in cling wrap or place it in a container to refrigerate. Do this with each butter flavor.

Either method works for storage.

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For the garlic and herb butter, you'll need at least five ingredients.

To make garlic and herb butter, you'll need the following:

• Homemade butter
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
• 1 tsp finely chopped parsley
• 1 tsp finely chopped thyme.

As mentioned before, feel free to add more or less of each ingredient for personal taste.

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The garlic and herb recipe requires prep work for the ingredients.

Mince the garlic and finely chop the rosemary, parsley, and thyme. Make sure to get the ingredients as thin as possible, so you're not biting into large chunks.

While I needed to chop the parsley, garlic, and rosemary, I opted to use the dried thyme I had in the cabinet.

Mix the butter and added ingredients together.

Try to evenly distribute the ingredients throughout the butter, so one portion isn't all garlic or all herbs. Refrigerate the butter once done.

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For maple butter, you'll need three ingredients.

To make maple butter, you'll need the following:

• Homemade butter
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ tsp cinnamon.

Mix the syrup, cinnamon, and butter together in a large bowl.

Make sure the maple syrup and cinnamon are thoroughly mixed throughout the butter. Then, store the butter and refrigerate it.

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I enjoyed all three, but one recipe stood a head above the rest.

I was very impressed by the garlic and herb butter. I'm a fan of garlic, so it wasn't too much of a surprise, but I was shocked at how much I liked it on toast. The two flavors that stuck out to me were minced garlic and rosemary, which didn't taste too overwhelming since I used unsalted butter.

The maple butter took second place for me because it was sweet, but not enough to cause a headache. The cinnamon added another fun dimension to the recipe, and together the two ingredients created a light, airy topping.

Although the honey butter is third, it has less to do with the flavor and more with the fact that something has to come last. The honey butter was the sweetest of my three flavors, making it perfect for those with a sweet tooth.

Of the three, I'd definitely make the garlic and herb butter again with an added tablespoon of garlic for good measure.