Homemade Spreadable Butter

Without really meaning to, I've really gotten into making commonly purchased items from scratch. There's my homemade pizza dough, pizza sauce, taco seasoning, yogurt, and numerous sandwich breads. Despite all this, it never occurred to me that I could make spreadable butter. I've struggled for a long time to find a spreadable butter I liked. I love the convenience of spreadable butter as I frequently eat toast for breakfast or make grilled cheese sandwiches and never have the patience to allow regular butter to get to room temperature first. However, I absolutely despise the fake flavors of products like Country Crock or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. For awhile, I regularly purchased Smart Balance spreads. There are good coupons available and the taste isn't too bad, however it's definitely an oil-like taste as opposed to a buttery flavor. Plus, when you're doing a pantry challenge and trying only to purchase fresh produce and dairy each week, buying fake butter really seemed wrong. So I turned to Google and came across different variations of this recipe. It looked super easy and I had a stash of butter in my freezer, so I decided to try it.

Well, it was a super simple recipe that I made even easier by whisking by hand rather than breaking out the stand mixer. I simply allowed the butter to come to room temperature first, then used a little elbow grease, and viola(!) spreadable butter without the mystery ingredients. It works just like the fake stuff and tastes so much better.

Homemade Spreadable Butter
1/2 c butter, room temperature*
1/4 c canola oil
1-2 TBS water, if desired

*I used salted butter, but you could use unsalted and salt to taste.

Using a stand mixer or whisk, whisk together oil and butter. Add water to achieve desired consistency. Refrigerate and use as you would use the fake stuff.

Note: The fake stuff has food coloring in it to make it look more like butter. Adding oil to butter makes a pale-looking final product, but that's more an acceptable a trade-off.