It was New Year's day morning and I generously smeared a hefty swath of my homemade honey butter on my hot toast, wondering all the while if I was using too much. "Should I practice butter-triggered caution or take the honey-is-good-for-you route?" I said to myself. Ultimately, I gave my knife free rein, and I couldn't wait to taste the marvelous sweetness of honey enhanced by the creamy, rich notes of fresh butter.

This stuff is so good. It's amazing how two simple ingredients that you have around the kitchen can come together for something that tastes so delicious! You definitely have to use REAL butter, (not margarine) though. And if you are sure that the butter is softened to room temperature, you'll always get great results.

You can use this to coat the top of hot cornbread, fresh out of the oven. You can slather it over freshly baked rolls and breads. You can coat ears of corn with it prior to roasting over the barbecue grill. You can even use it to coat chicken prior to frying. There are definitely a lot of uses for this stuff.

I've always understood that homemade honey butter is the ultimate life-changing experience (at least to a toasted English muffin or a hot square of cornbread), but when I tasted the cinnamon version I realized that plain homemade honey butter is only the start. For instance, if you have even the slightest weakness for a warm cinnamon roll, you will find cinnamon honey butter irresistible.

Apparently our friends and partners at Blendtec share this opinion. They've been puttering with honey and butter as well and recently posted this inspiring little video on YouTube on how to make your own cinnamon honey butter. This sweet spread is perfect on rolls, bread, pancakes or waffles! Below is the full recipe (which I found at https://www.blendtec.com/recipes/cinnamon-honey-butter). But meanwhile, take a look.

CINNAMON HONEY BUTTER

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature

¹ ⁄₂ cup raw honey

1¹⁄₂ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¹ ⁄₂ cup powdered sugar

Add all ingredients to Twister jar (or regular Blendtec blender jar) in order listed, and put lid in place. Blend on Speed 3 (or a low speed) for 5-7 seconds while turning Twister lid counter-clockwise. Store butter in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Remove butter from refrigerator and allow to soften before serving.

Just a note from moi: The second time I made this I altered the recipe by omitting the powdered sugar and adding more butter and honey. It was incredible this way as well.

So it was from this encounter with cinnamon honey butter that I started to wonder if you couldn't come up with other honey butter flavors. Sure enough, out there in cyberspace are dozens and dozens of flavor suggestions and recipes for same. Just look at the variety of flavors folks have dreamed up:

• Maple honey butter
• Jam honey butter
• Raspberry honey butter
• Strawberry honey butter
• Blueberry honey butter
• Rum pecan honey butter
• Almond (or amaretto) honey butter
• Vanilla honey butter
• Coconut honey butter
• Dried fruit honey butter
• Pumpkin honey butter
• Apple spice honey butter
• Cherry honey butter
• Blueberry pecan honey butter
• Cranberry orange honey butter
• Orange pecan honey butter
• Praline honey butter

Play with your combinations. Your experimenting really can't go wrong when it comes to honey butter. For instance, if you find there's too much butter flavor coming through, try equal amounts of honey and butter. As you add your flavoring (be it extracts or actual fruits and jams), just start with small portions and work your way up.

It truly is one of those life-changing experiences when you find a flavor match that sets your taste buds aglow. And whether you practice butter-triggered caution or go the honey-is-good-for-you route, it all works!