Cinnamon Honey Butter

Christmas is just around the corner and I had to find little stocking stuffers to give to my female folk as we meet around the fire (or swimming hole) for the holidays. (More about the swimming hole later... a few posts from now.)

So here's what I'm talkin' about:

tag and package

or maybe this warmer friendlier version that you may like better:

in the kitchen


Here's the recipe:

Cinnamon Honey Butter

2 sticks butter, room temp
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup powder sugar
2 T cinnamon
1 t vanilla

Whip it up. Scrape the sides. Whip it more. Repeat. Repeat. Taste. Taste again. Taste a little more. Have your hubby taste it. Taste again. Add more cinnamon. Whip. Taste. Taste. Taste. (Until you've used up every spoon in the house!)

Then spoon into little 4 oz canning jars.

Add a tag.

Give to friends and family.

I had my muse Jackie model the finished product for you:

jackie modeling

Then I told her she got to keep the little goodie.

happy jackie

So be prepared to receive many gracious thank you's from your ardent fans who will be expecting your annual giveaway!

OK, so I didn't want to show you how I made it since Darby did a great job of it here. Many thanks to her for sharing the recipe. I changed it a bit to suit my tastes, but if you would like to go heavy on the honey, follow hers. Both are yummalish!

And here's another version for your Italian bread nights:


Basil Garlic Butter

2 sticks butter, room temp
Lots of chopped fresh basil from your garden, very finely chopped (You can do this with rosemary too!)
Minced garlic .... sautee it first please!!!

Whip it up. Scrape the sides. Whip it more. Repeat. Repeat. Taste. Taste again with bread. Taste a little more. Have your hubby taste it. Taste again. Add more basil if necessary. Whip. Taste. Taste. Taste. (Until you've used up all your bread!)

Then, take a baguette, slice 'er open. Put tons of your butter on it. Bake for 5 - 10 minutes until butter melts. And then goodness gracious. YUM! 



Give them away....

What I did with mine however, was to create custom tags. Here are the tools you'll need:

_MG_0971.JPG

You can get them at any scrap booking or craft store. You'll need either an eyelet kit which comes with everything, or you'll need to purchase it all separately as I did. I bought little 1/8" eyelets (those little grommet things) and then the hole puncher (known also as a springlet) and a matlet which flattens the little eyelet. I know. Sounds so scrap booky. Well, it is. But there are ways to take the cutsie out. You'll also need a baby mallet. If you are interested in rounded corners on your hang tags, buy one of those corner cutters too. I ended up keeping my corners square. For the little blue dot on my card, I used a circle punch. You'll also benefit from a self-healing mat (not pictured) and a very sharp Exacto knife for cutting out your tags. You'll want to buy a stainless ruler too. Avoid aluminum and wooden ones as your Exacto will slide right into those. And don't forget cute little, thin ribbons to tie them on with!

So here's the bare tag I made.

blank tag

I wrote on the tag myself. One's own handwriting is so precious, even if it's not perfect. That's what's so cool about it.

andrea's handwriting

Then I realized that this wasn't going to work. The ink was too dark as you can see in the photo below.

_MG_0978.JPG

or here:

tag

So I had to go on a hunt for a better solution. And then I found it.

not perfect but it works

A blue colored pencil. It's not perfect, but it works. I like that you can see I wrote and rewrote. I don't think we need to be purrfect! :)

Because after all, the real star here is what's in the jar:

the butter

If you do end up making it, drop back by here and let me know how it turned out. Or if you're one of the precious few that received a little jar from me, let me know just how much you loved it! ;) It tastes best on HOT HOT bread or toast! YUM!