An easy, never fail way to make homemade maple butter at home. Great for baking or delicious on toast!
If I had known how easy it was to make great maple butter at home, I would have made it long before now. And now that I have made it, I will be sure to keep a jar in fridge from now on.
This version is for actual maple butter (maple syrup combined with butter solids). There is another version of maple butter that is often made commercially that uses just maple syrup that is boiled and “creamed” through stirring. I’ve tried this version at home and can attest to the fact that it’s a tricky mixture to work with. It can easily be over-cooked and harden into a mass, or crystallize and involves a whole lot of stirring (arm-numbing, in fact). This version of maple butter is much, much easier and just as nice, in my opinion.
For this version, the maple syrup is boiled to the soft-ball stage (240° F.) and then butter is stirred into the hot syrup until melted. Once all the butter melts, the whole works goes into a bowl, where it is slowly mixed until it makes a creamy mixture. I used my stand mixer, but a bowl and an electric mixer would work just as well.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Maple Syrup – This recipe begins with just a cup of real maple syrup. I love to use Grade B or Amber maple syrup, for the strongest maple flavour.
Unsalted Butter – unsalted butter is recommended and I also recommend using a good quality butter, as lower quality butter often contains more water.
How to Use Maple Butter
Maple butter is perfect for pancakes, muffins, toast and scones. Or try melting some on carrots or squash.
Wondering about the bread? It’s Maple White Sandwich Bread, a terrific toasting bread.
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Get the Recipe: Easy Maple Butter
Ingredients
- 1 cup pure maple syrup, Grade A or Grade B *see Note 1 below
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
Equipment
- Candy Thermometer recommended
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, add maple syrup and pinch of salt and cinnamon. Heat maple syrup over high heat until boiling (*be sure to use a large-ish pan, as syrup will boil up about double or more). Attach or insert thermometer and boil until syrup reaches 240°F when measured with a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat and stir in butter until it's completely melted.
- Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer or alternately, use a large bowl with a hand mixer. Start on low speed and gradually increase speed until you reach high. Continue to beat on high until mixture is lightened and creamy, about 8-10 minutes total. (Mixture will still be a bit runny at this point. Don't worry, it will firm up in the fridge.) Pour into a jar or bowl, cover and refrigerate.
- If your maple butter has separated after cooling (leaving a layer of butter on tosimply stir the butter back in to incorporate.
- Maple butter will keep refrigerated in an air-tight container about 2 weeks.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I just made this maple butter and it is sooo good! It’s the perfect combination of creamy texture and rich maple flavour! It pairs especially well with pumpkin pancakes and is so perfect for the fall season! I was planning to gift it for Christmas, how long would it last at room temperature?
So glad you enjoyed it Audrina. As this maple butter is made with butter, its shelf life at room temperature is the same as butter, which is 1-2 days. You can refrigerate for longer storage.
Is it possible to make this with vegan butter?
Hi Cathy, I would be very surprised if this works with vegan butter, but I haven’t tried it myself.
I did this recipe for my adult kids who are not vegan and it turned out great! It started to thicken up around 12-13 minutes. And I found a vegan recipe which isn’t as intense in flavor, but still good! So we are all happy! Thanks for the recipe.
So glad to hear, Cathy :) Thanks so much!
Can you freeze this? If so, how long would it keep for?
Hi Janayah, I haven’t frozen it myself, but I understand you can freeze it for longer storage.
Hi! This looks delicious. Is there a way to make it without a candy thermometer?
Hi Megan, you can certainly try it the old-fashioned way, which is to test the mixture in a glass of cold water. 240F is “Soft Ball Stage”. So when you drop a bit of it into the glas of water, it will form a soft, sticky ball that can be flattened when removed from the water.
Hi Jennifer, can’t wait to try this recipe! About how long will it stay good in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Alexandra, it should keep about 3-4 weeks, though I sometimes find it gets a little grainy after a while in the fridge. I would count on about 2 weeks, for sure.
Delicious! Creamy, smooth, no separation or graininess. Strong maple flavour. Made a half recipe. Added the salt and cinnamon off heat. Beat for about 15 minutes until the mixture was nice and thick. It wasn’t as light in colour as the maple butter in the recipe photo.
So glad you enjoyed it, Sadie :) The colour of the maple syrup would affect the colour of the maple butter. I suspect I used a lighter coloured maple syrup, vs an amber. Thanks so much!
OMG that was incredible like literally 2 die 4….….thx so much who ever thought it up
So glad to hear :) Thanks so much Mia!