If you've never had maple butter, also known as maple cream, you're missing out. Sometimes called maple spread, maple butter is made by heating up maple syrup and beating it until it is a smooth consistency. Pure maple butter is made with real maple syrup, although other recipes call for pure maple syrup along with a few other ingredients.
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What's in Maple Butter?
Pure homemade maple butter only has maple syrup in it, but many recipes also call for ingredients such as salted or unsalted butter, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, canola oil, corn syrup, ground cinnamon, and salt as well. This butter is perfect for sweet potatoes, cream cheese, pecan pies, and other desserts that require a little bit of this New England specialty.
If you just want the yummy maple flavor in your maple butter, stick with a Grade A light amber syrup such as the kind that goes into this variety made with Vermont maple syrup.
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As much of a sweet treat as this Vermont specialty is, it can also be dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, and paleo. Score! This makes it worth the carbohydrates that you'll be consuming in excess. Fortunately, this treat won't hurt your cholesterol in small doses, and contains a little bit of calcium and potassium. Other maple products share the same nutritional information. Not bad for a sweet treat!
How Do You Make It?
Most recipes have you heat up the maple syrup (and sometimes other ingredients) on the stove until it boils, recommending that you check with a candy thermometer to make sure it's reached at least 230/240 degrees Fahrenheit.
This recipe says to then transfer the boiled syrup to an electric mixer/stand mixer bowl, drop the bowl into an ice bath to cool the syrup down, then warm it back up to room temperature. It then calls for beating the syrup on low for a long time with your paddle attachment until it turns opaque. The next step is to quickly transfer the concoction to a jar and let it refrigerate.
The process seems to generally be the same for most easy maple butter recipes.
What Can You Put It On?
This is a treat that goes on just about anything you'd put condiments like butter, honey or honey butter, maple syrup, maple sugar, or peanut butter on.
It pairs well with brunch items like waffles, french toast, scones, cornbread, English muffins, or regular muffins. Happy spreading!
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