How to make your own butter: 3 autumnal recipes
Homemade butter is creamy, fresh, and can be refined in many ways. With the Butter Maker, you can turn cream into your own butter in just a few minutes – simply by cranking, draining, and kneading. Afterward, you can enjoy it plain or transform it into special autumn varieties.
In this post, we show you how to make your own butter and how to create three aromatic recipes from one batch of homemade butter: savory Brown Whipped Butter with rosemary and fleur de sel, pecan-vanilla butter with maple syrup, and a spicy pumpkin butter with Hokkaido, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Make your own butter with the Butter Maker
For the three recipes, first prepare a larger batch of butter using a total of one liter of cream. The Butter Maker is placed onto a suitable Mason Jar with a wide opening – for example, the Oleni Mason Jar | Wide | 1 L.
Important: Fill in a maximum of 500 ml of cream per batch. This leaves enough space to properly move the cream while cranking. For the total amount, you will crank twice.
Ingredients for homemade butter
2 × 500 ml cream, brought to room temperature
Cream with at least 30% fat, organic quality preferred
You will also need
1 Butter Maker
1 Oleni Mason Jar | Wide | 1 L
1 clean bowl, for example a Nest Bowl or a small mixing bowl
cold water
Three autumnal butter recipes
Make your own butter from cream: Here's how
Instructions (per batch)
- Fill 500ml of cream into the butter maker – no more than ¾ full.
- Crank until the butter and buttermilk separate – approx. 10–20 minutes. At first, the cream will become stiff like whipped cream, then it will suddenly clump together – that's the moment!
- Drain the buttermilk.
- Place the butter into a clean bowl and knead briefly by hand to work out any remaining buttermilk.
- Rinse with cold water until the water remains clear.
- Repeat the process with the second 500ml of cream.
Yield: approx. 400–440g of homemade butter
Divide for the three recipes
- 120g → Savory Brown Whipped Butter
- 150g → Pecan-Vanilla Butter
- 150g → Pumpkin Butter
Self-sufficiency favorites
Savory Brown Whipped Butter with Rosemary & Fleur de Sel
Ingredients
- 120g homemade butter (see above)
- 2 tbsp cream (cold)
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- ½ tsp Fleur de Sel
- Pinch of black pepper
Preparation
- Melt 120g butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat and brown it – keep a close watch. As soon as the butter is golden brown and smells nutty (approx. 3–5 minutes), briefly add the rosemary sprig, fry for 30 seconds, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Remove the rosemary, let the butter cool completely – ideally for 30 minutes in the fridge until it is firm again but not hard.
- Whip the cooled brown butter with a hand mixer. Add the cold cream one tablespoon at a time and continue whipping until the butter is airy, light, and creamy – approx. 3–5 minutes.
- Fold in the Fleur de Sel and black pepper, and fill into a favorite jar.
Important: The butter must be completely cooled and firm again before it is whipped – otherwise it won't work.
Pecan Vanilla Butter
Ingredients
- 150g homemade butter (see above)
- 60g pecans
- 1½ tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ vanilla bean or ¼ tsp vanilla paste
- ½ tsp sea salt flakes
Preparation
- Toast the pecans in a dry pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes until they are fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Melt 150g butter in the same pan and brown it to make brown butter – stirring constantly until golden brown and smelling nutty (approx. 3–5 minutes).
- Add the toasted pecans back into the brown butter, stir in the maple syrup and vanilla, let it foam up briefly, then remove from heat.
- Place everything in a blender or food processor and puree until fine to create a creamy, even consistency.
- Stir in the sea salt flakes, fill into a favorite jar, and let cool.
Pumpkin Butter
Ingredients
- 150g homemade butter (see above)
- 80g Hokkaido pumpkin, cooked and finely pureed
- ½ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp Fleur de Sel
Preparation
- Dice the Hokkaido pumpkin, roast in the oven at 200°C for approx. 20 minutes until soft, puree finely, and let cool completely. The puree must be really cold – otherwise the butter will separate.
- Let the homemade butter soften at room temperature – do not melt it!
- Mix the soft butter by hand with a fork with the pumpkin puree, nutmeg, cinnamon, and Fleur de Sel – rustic, not too smooth.
- Fill into a favorite jar, refrigerate, or serve immediately.
Important: The pumpkin puree must be cold and as dry as possible – if it is too wet, briefly squeeze it out in a kitchen towel. Never melt the butter, only let it soften – otherwise everything will separate.
Make your own herb butter: Tips for your own variations
Homemade butter can be combined in new ways with just a few ingredients. For a savory version, rosemary, thyme, chives, garlic, or smoked salt are great additions. You can refine sweet butter with honey, cinnamon, orange zest, nuts, or maple syrup.
Only add extra ingredients once the butter has been washed. This allows you to better control the consistency and season the butter to your taste. Use liquid ingredients like cream, maple syrup, or pumpkin purée sparingly to ensure the butter stays creamy and doesn't separate.
Store the finished butter varieties in the refrigerator in a well-sealed container and consume them promptly. You can bring them to room temperature briefly before serving – this makes them easier to spread and helps them develop their full aroma.
Autumnal serving ideas
The three butter varieties look particularly lovely in small Nest Bowls or Ripple Jars. Place them on the table with fresh bread or combine them with seasonal side dishes:
Brown whipped butter with sourdough bread, baked potatoes, or roasted pumpkin
Pecan vanilla butter with pancakes, waffles, or warm apple pie
Pumpkin butter with toasted bread, pumpkin soup, or roasted vegetables
These butters also make wonderful little homemade gifts. Simply fill them into clean, small jars, label them with the variety and production date, and keep them refrigerated until you're ready to give them away.
More autumn recipes & interesting facts
