This butter is the real life George Clooney.
Sure, seeing him on TV is great, whether he's spearheading a humanitarian act, being the original dreamy/steamy doctor on ER, or charming David Letterman at midnight on a Thursday. In fact, you might not think George Clooney could get better.
But then. Oh, but then. You see him in real life. He's close enough to touch. Not only that, he's sitting in your living room. George Clooney. Drinking coffee, commenting on how adorable your kids are, and wishing he had met you before a luckier guy snatched you up first.
That is homemade butter. Real Life George. Better than you could imagine. And let's face it; once you have a Clooney dent on your couch, going back to TV George is tough. Still great, but not the same. So once you make this butter, don't say I didn't warn you.
Homemade Butter
This is amazingly easy. All you need is cream. Really good, organic, not-expired heavy cream. This is the only ingredient in butter, so start with the good stuff.
I like doing this in the food processor. Some folks like a mixer with a whisk attachment. Heck, some people still dig that big wooden churner thing. Whatever floats your butter boat. For a food processor, here's the deal.
Pour cream into a food processor fitted with a steel blade. About a cup of cream will yield something like 3/4 cup of butter. Now turn it on. With the lid, of course. Let it go for about six minutes. Here's what you'll see through the whirring.
Before processing.

Two minutes in. Hello, whipped cream.

Four minutes in. Hello, overly whipped cream.

Done. Well, almost done.

I know it doesn't look like much, but here lies fatty, butter gold. Throw that butter in a strainer over a bowl.

Guess what ends up in the bowl?
BUTTERMILK!!! That's a little extra fun for you. Go make pancakes with it.

You want to get out as much of that buttermilk as you can. How to do that? Let the strainer do its thing. Gently move the butter around so that the liquid will work its way out. Also, wipe out the food processor and zip the butter solids through for another few seconds if you want. But honestly, you can be done once the butter and strainer become friends. Stir it together, almost like you're kneading it, and you're done.
What to do with it now? Umm, EAT IT?!?! Stir in a sprinkle of salt, some fresh herbs, honey... anything you want your butter to taste like. Or just leave it as is and smother it on crusty bread. Gracious. So good. Store it in the refrigerator for a week or two, but I don't think it'll last that long.
In case you're still wondering why you would want to make your own butter when you can buy perfectly good butter at the store, just think of TV George. And perhaps more seriously, things that are homemade are fun. They bring us together over a loaf of bread and the calm after a long day. Okay, and George, too.