One of my favorite things to take to a pot-luck is a big basket of rolls or cornbread and a bowl of sweet, fluffy honey butter. And not to get all braggy braggy, but I don’t think I’ve ever taken it without at least half of the people there asking what my “secret” is! You’d think honey butter would be pretty self-explanatory: honey + butter, right? Well I’m going to teach you a few tricks today that will take your honey butter from yum, to WOW.
My secret actually comes from my sister, and that’s to make less of a lightly sweetened butter, and more of a honey-flavored buttercream. The best honey butter starts out with butter, obviously. Not all butter is created equal.
Ingredients Needed
- butter – use good, real butter, and absolutely no substitutions here. It also needs to be room temperature, 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
How to Make Honey Butter
- Place butter in a mixing bowl and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Whipping your butter incorporates air, which gives it a soft, fluffy texture.
- Add powdered sugar and beat for another minute.
- Add honey and continue beating until smooth and fluffy.
- Taste and add salt if necessary.
- Serve at room temperature.
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
- ⅔ cup honey
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place butter in a mixing bowl and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and beat for another minute.
- Add honey and continue beating for 1 minute until smooth and fluffy.
- Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve at room temperature, store in fridge.
Questions & Reviews
I made this and took it to work. It’s wonderful.
Great recipe! This is why I love your blog!
Try honeybutter on popcorn. Oh my goodness. It is just heavenly. I just made some with just honey and butter. I’m going to try your recipe with powdered sugar. It sounds just delicious.
This is a great recipe, thanks for sharing it!
Living in a foreign country. Needed a yummy late night snack. Didn’t even have electricity to use a hand mixer so I just mixed it by hand. Turned out delicious! Yay! Thank you!
Whew – I always wondered what the big deal was with honey butter. Apparently it’s the addition of powdered sugar! I am a big butter fan, but I now think I might be obsessed with this honey butter. I am finding myself making various bread things to put the butter on (because it’s just too scary to think of eating it with a spoon, which I’m pretty sure I will do if I don’t have cornbread or Parker House rolls to schmear with this divine concotion!). Thanks for one more excuse to eat more butter!!! As if I needed it.
This is super yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Made this go go with your World’s Best Dinner Rolls. So yummy!
How long can you store this in your fridge for?
Never lasted long enough to know!
I use to be a manager of a restaurant where we made honey butter by the gallons. The best secret to making honey butter supreme…, use marshmallow creme instead of powdered sugar. MMMMmmmm! Melt in your mouth good! Give it a try and let me know what you think.