Roasted Garlic Butter

I remember the first time I made homemade butter. I believe I was in pre-school and it was around Thanksgiving. My teacher, Mrs Maghinity, poured heavy cream into a well sealed Tupperware. All of my classmates and I sat in a circle in her classroom and we each took turns, one by one, "churning the butter". We shook the butter until we could not shake it any longer. I would imagine that this was a teachable moment about how the pilgrims made their feast for Thanksgiving, and at the same time a great way to waste the bountifulness of energy coming from 20+ four year olds. 

 Fast forward 22 years and I'm back to making butter. Thankfully, I'm not shaking the butter in a container until it's hard. Instead I roast garlic in the oven and pour heavy cream into my KitchenAid mixer. I let the mixer do the work--a labor of love for a good 15-20 minutes. 

 Sadly, it took us all but 4-5 days to use a cup of roasted garlic butter. I used it on bread (as pictured), I used it for eggs in the morning, in mashed potatoes, on top of chicken and steak, in a shrimp pasta dish, and on more bread. I am thankful that I can purchase one half gallon of heavy whipping cream at Costco for only $3.50 which makes making butter so much more economical for me. If you are a butter connoisseur like me and have yet to venture into butter making I highly suggest you get off the computer NOW and go make some homemade butter!

Source: Katie Original

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 1 cup

Ingredients: 

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp salt

2 bulbs garlic, roasted

Directions:

1. Before you start your butter making you'll want to roast your garlic for 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees.    *Cut the top off the garlic so the garlic can breathe and so it will be easier to remove the roasted garlic. Once the garlic is finished roasting take it out to cool. 

2. Using a KitchenAid mixer and a whisk attachement place 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and salt in your mixer. Start on medium speed and as it begins to thicken gradually increase the speed. *I like to place a tea towel over my mixer to reduce splashes outside of the bowl. You will want to mix on high until you have one large ball of "butter" and liquid on the bottom of the bowl. They will separate over time. 

3. Once your butter has separated place the butter in a strainer and dump the water like mixture (aka buttermilk) from the bowl. Do not push the butter through the strainer. Gently move the butter ball around so that additional buttermilk releases from the butter ball. 

4. Place the butterball back in the mixer and begin mixing again. You may notice over a minute or two time span that you have more buttermilk. Repeat the step from above if needed. Your butter should start "whipping" and becoming a softer consistancy. When this happens you'll want to add your two garlic bulbs of garlic. I simply squeeze the garlic out of the bulb. I know its wasteful and you won't yield as much garlic but this is what I find most easiest. Mix until well incorporated and then place your butter in a crock. Serve immediately and/or refrigerate covered for up to 5 days.