This homemade honey butter is sweet, creamy, irresistibly silky and fluffy and absolutely dreamy on warm rolls, cornbread, biscuits, and more. It’s one of my favorite things to take to potlucks- a big basket of fresh bread and a bowl of whipped honey butter. It always disappears fast, and I can’t remember the last time I brought it somewhere without someone asking for the recipe.
At first glance, honey butter seems pretty straightforward: just honey and butter, right? While those two ingredients are the foundation, a few simple tricks (and a special ingredient) transform it from good to unforgettable. Keep on reading for how to make light, fluffy honey butter with the perfect balance of sweetness and a texture that’s easy to spread and impossible to resist.
Ingredients Needed
- butter – Use quality butter. If you need to avoid dairy for dietary purposes, let me know if you’ve found success with a non-dairy substitute! It also needs to be room temperature, or slightly chilled, which means you need to plan ahead a little. Trying to soften it in the microwave will most likely result in uneven temperatures, and will affect the overall end result.
- honey
- powdered sugar
- salt
- vanilla– optional
Tips for the BEST honey butter
Both the ingredients and the method are important, so don’t just dump everything in together!This recipe incorporates science so it’s important to whip air into the butter, then stabilize and aerate the mixture with sugar crystals from a little powdered sugar, and lastly add the honey one the mixture is stable.
- Butter Temperature– Use room temperature butter, but not too soft and melty. Around 65-68°F is optimal. If you have to lean one way or another, too cold is better than too warm.
- Whip the butter by itself for 2-3 minutes to incorporate lots of air. You’ll see it change color and lighten. Scrape down sides as necessary.
- Add some powdered sugar. The sugar crystals help stabilize and create tiny air pockets in the butter. (This translates to FLUFFY!)
- Add the honey gradually at the end, beating at medium speed and scraping down sides. Once incorporated, beat on high again for a full minute for a super silky texture.
- Lastly to balance and enhance flavors, I like to add salt and a little vanilla.
Storage & Other Tips
- Plan Ahead: remember to pull your butter out in time for it to soften before preparing.
- Storage: honey butter stores well in the fridge, just bring to room temperature until serving. Put any leftovers back in the fridge, in an airtight container.
- Serving Tip: if I’m taking this to a party or gathering, I usually drizzle a little honey on top so people realize what it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use whatever you have! Adjust the salt to taste if you feel it needs it.
Yes, of course! The base recipe is powdered sugar and honey, but feel free to add cinnamon, vanilla, or a citrus zest to add some more unique flavors.
Regular sugar will be too gritty, and using it will change how it spreads. Powdered sugar will keep the texture light and fluffy.
It freezes well, but there may be some changes to texture when thawed. However, it still is delicious, no need to shy away from trying it!
Really, you can use it anywhere you’d use butter and want a warm, sweeter, fluffy upgrade. Warm rolls, cornbread, pancakes, waffles, toast are a great starting point, but I also love to toss some on my sweet potatoes, muffins, quick breads, and crepes!
Honey Butter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks, at room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar If you want this less sweet, feel free to start with 1/2 cup.
- ⅔ cup honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract) optional
Instructions
- Place butter in the mixing bowl of a stand mixture, with the whisk attachment on. Beat on medium speed to break up the butter and scrape down the sides, and then turn speed to high for 2-3 minutes until the color lightens and texture is light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Mixture should look incredibly fluffy and smooth. Scrape down sides.
- Add honey a little bit at a time until incorporated. Scrape sides and then beating on a high speed for 1 minute until smooth and fluffy.
- Serve at room temperature, and store longer-term in the fridge. To use again, you'll want to let it come to room temperature to be soft and spreadable.
Questions & Reviews
wow. I have often just added the honey and butter but never the powder suger. So much better. Thanks! That’s why I keep coming back. Yum
I must confess – I licked the beaters! I’ve always made mine with powdered sugar too. So good on banana bread when it turns out a bit dry, and on zuchinni bread, and on pancakes, and on…. oh heck the list goes on and on. Just make it – it’s oh so good!
Wow! The simple pleasures… with the holidays approaching, this will be a sure delight!
I served this with warm cornbread. Soooo good, everyone loved it. Thanks for the recipe!!
This is an amazing recipe
I just made this! Soooo good. Thanks for the recipe.
Ummmm… serious deliciousness!!!!! Thank you!
You say in your recipe, 2 cubes of butter, do you mean two sticks of butter?
thank you, I look forward to trying this with some hush puppies!
amazing – I had never had any verson of this before and thought, why not give it a try? Huge hit in out house! we still have plenty but my friend and I are already draming of having it on a warm toasted bagel in the morning –
I cut the recipe in half (which worked beautifully) since there are only two of us here. I should have made the whole recipe because there is no restraint when it’s this good! I ate WAY more than I should have, just because I couldn’t stop with the honey butter!