Sweet & Salty Honey Butter Spread

This sweet and salty honey butter is so simple but is an amazing spread for muffins, biscuits cornbread and so much more. The recipe has just three ingredients and mixes up in 3 minutes.

This honey butter spread is amazing on my gluten-free drop biscuits, gluten-free cornbread and flaky, gluten-free rolled biscuits. Or top pancakes, waffles or French toast for a special treat.

Ingredients

Soft unsalted butter – Even though this is a salty and sweet spread, I like to start with unsalted butter to better control the flavor. If you only have salted butter, start with half of the salt called for in the recipe and then add more if needed.

Honey – I normally try not to bother bees by using honey, but this is one of my few recipes that calls for honey. If you prefer not to use honey, agave or my agave syrup substitute that uses just brown sugar and water are alternatives.

Salt is an ingredient that I use in just about every single recipe on my blog. Unless I use an ingredient that is already salty, salt is essential. It has the ability to bring out all the other flavors in a dish and balance it wonderfully. The sweetness of the butter and honey are so nicely balanced by the salt.

Vegan Version

This recipe can be made vegan. Use your favorite vegan butter substitute like Miyoko’s Vegan Cultured Butter or Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks. It can be difficult to find the unsalted versions of these, so omit the salt called for in the recipe. Once the honey and butter are mixed together, taste, and add salt a pinch or two at a time if needed.

Maple syrup or agave are good substitutes for the honey.

Tips

This spread will mix up much easier if you are butter is super soft. If your butter is straight out of the fridge, cut it up into eight pieces, lay them out on a plate and microwave seven seconds. Flip the pieces over and microwave another five seconds. If it is still not soft enough, continue to flip and heat for 5 seconds at a time.

Has your honey been sitting in the pantry for quite a while? Has it crystallized? You definitely want to get it smooth before you mix it with the butter. The honey can be heated in the microwave for short bursts of 10-15 seconds. Then run it through a fine mesh strainer and cool before mixing with the butter.

The recipe card below has an amount of salt that is to my taste preference. Everybody’s taste buds are different, so feel free to adjust the amount of salt up or down. Simply taste and add a few pinches at a time if desired.

How to Store

Honey has an infinite shelf life and butter can stay at room temperature for about a week. So this spread can be left unrefrigerated to stay soft and ready for use. If you need to refrigerate or freeze it, wrap tightly in wax paper or plastic wrap.