Honey Cinnamon Butter

Thanksgiving. Babcia Rose arrived Wednesday at 10:03 AM, which is practically on time for Babcia Rose, and she took over my kitchen with the ease of someone who has been in kitchens since before my kitchen existed. I had the potatoes already cooked and cooled, the cheese grated, everything ready for her. She looked at my setup and nodded once and said nothing and we got to work. Four hours, forty pierogi, both of us at the counter. She has arthritis in her hands and she was slower than she was two years ago. Her crimping is still better than mine. It will always be better than mine.

Thanksgiving Thursday at Steve and Patty was everything it should be: Steve brisket from the smoker, my sweet potatoes with the extra cinnamon (I did it, Babcia Rose, I did it), my stuffing, the cranberry sauce, and Kristin and David arrived with a mushroom and leek tart in puff pastry that was stunning and elaborate and which David was quietly but visibly proud of, as he should be. He is good. I told Kristin privately. She said she knows. She has the expression of someone who has known for a while.

The meal was everything. Babcia Rose ate two pierogi and a piece of brisket and said the brisket was acceptable. For Steve, this was a gold medal. I watched him receive the Babcia Rose "acceptable" from across the table and I saw him try not to react and fail. It was one of the best things I saw all year.

After dinner, Ryan and Steve sat outside with beers again — they always do this now, it is a tradition after two Thanksgivings — and I watched them from the kitchen window again and thought about the crib Steve is building in his garage, the one he told me about in October. Not for any specific reason, I said when I told Ryan. He said sure. He said it with a look that means he understood. We understand each other. That is the whole thing.

I said I did it — the extra cinnamon — and I meant it as a small declaration, the kind you only get to make once you’ve earned the kitchen. This honey cinnamon butter is the spirit of that moment in spreadable form: warm, a little sweet, and unapologetically more than what the recipe technically calls for. It’s what I make now whenever I want to carry a little of that Thursday forward — slicked over sweet potatoes, across a warm dinner roll, or just because the house smells better when it’s on the stove.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes (plus 30 minutes softening) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Soften the butter. Let butter sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes until it is genuinely soft and yields easily to a spoon. Do not melt it — you want it pliable, not liquid.
Combine ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir vigorously with a fork or beat with a hand mixer until everything is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth and uniform in color.
Taste and adjust. Taste the butter and add a little more cinnamon or honey as you see fit. This is the moment for the extra cinnamon if you are that kind of person.
Serve or store. Serve immediately at room temperature alongside sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, or cornbread. To store, roll into a log in plastic wrap or parchment and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 2 months. Slice off rounds as needed.

Nutrition (per serving)

Honey Cinnamon Butter — The Extra Cinnamon Was Always the Point