Strawberry Butter

Do you all remember the cranberry butter I made back around Thanksgiving?  Oh my was it good!  I made that several times during cranberry season to enjoy on toast, bagels, and english muffins for breakfast.  But alas, cranberry season ended.  Enter strawberry season and a new fruit to add to my butter.

I prefer to eat fresh strawberries just plain out of the carton or mixed in with a fresh fruit salad.  But sometimes it's fun to have a little something different.  To cook down the strawberries, I started out in much the same way I did with the cranberries by cooking them down until they were thick.  However, I thought they needed a little more depth of flavor, so I added in some apple juice as well.  Orange juice would be lovely in this, I think.

Strawberry Butter

1/2 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
1 tablespoon apple juice or juice of your preference
1 teaspoon corn starch, if needed
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook strawberries until they start to break down and thicken.  Stir in juice. The mixture should be almost like jam.  If too thin, dissolve corn starch in a small bit of juice or water and blend into strawberry mixture.

Remove from heat.  Once cooled to room temperature, blend into butter with spatula or hand mixer until completely combine.

Store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.