Maple Butter

When I was a kid, a new restaurant chain opened in my town. It was called Fresh Choice. Have you heard of it? I'm sure you have. We used to go there all the time. I'd go with my friends, with my parents. And there is one thing that I really remember from my dinners there: the honey butter. It was whipped and sweet and delicious on the bread they served.

Recently I was watching some food show, probably on Food Network. All I remember about the show was that they talked about how if you're whipping cream and you beat it too long, you get butter. Hmmm, I thought. Really? Fast-forward a few days and I found myself craving some of that sweet Fresh Choice butter, whipped and creamy and sweet. But it wasn't honey I was craving.

It was maple I wanted. Seriously, since I made those cookies and then the muffins, I've been craving maple like never before. This just seemed like a natural progression. And seriously, who doesn't have an extra cup of whipping cream in their fridge? You buy a pint to make whipped cream and use a cup. The stuff lasts a long time. I can't tell you how many times I've found a half empty container of whipping cream buried in the depths of my refrigerator.

I didn't get all technical with my Maple Butter. I just whipped it for about eight minutes, until it had reduced in size from whipped cream. I added pure maple syrup and maple extract to my butter, but I think the sky is the limit here. Now I want to try honey, even chocolate butter! It turned out great - just like the whipped butter of my childhood.

As you can see, I put it on biscuits one morning for breakfast. Soooo good, let me tell you. Then, the next day, I made pancakes. I'm not a huge syrup-on-pancakes person (I know, I'm strange) but maple butter on pancakes? There are no words.

So go dig into the depths of your refrigerator and find that old whipping cream. Then make yourself some whipped butter!

Enjoy, Happy Monday!

Maple Butter

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

¼ teaspoon maple extract

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Add your cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. It is good to start with a cold bowl (refrigerate for about 15 minutes) and very cold cream. Beat until past the “whipped cream” stage, about 8 minutes. The mixture will reduce in size from when it looks like whipped cream.

2. Add the maple extract, syrup, and salt. Beat an additional two minutes until combined.

3. Place in an air-tight container and chill until ready to use. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: about 1 to 1 ½ cups of maple butter