Butterbeer!

 

I'm going to let you in on a little secret....I LOVE Harry Potter.  Love, love, love, love, LOVE.  And this last summer I went to Florida with Dave, my brother, my aunt, and uncle and my dream came true...we went to the Wizarding World!  I'm such a nerd, but I felt like a little kid about to explode with excitement the day we went to Islands of Adventure and got a taste of the story brought into real life.  I HAD to see it all.  I probably could have spent our whole vacation there, but somehow I think my aunt and I would have been left high and dry by the boys.  Ironically, I was teased by them all day because it's all I kept talking about, but at the end of the trip, it was everyone's favorite!  Look who's laughing now!

We went in July so it was hot..really. freakin'. hot. So when we were standing near Hogsmeade, we saw tons of people walking about guzzling down glasses and glasses of the infamous Butterbeer. I then made it my mission to hunt someone down and get some.  I couldn't wait to get my hands it!  Now, I'm not huge on butterscotch, but I was willing to put that aside for this thing.  You could definitely taste it, but to my surprise it wasn't overbearing and didn't leave you feeling like, "Oh I'm going to be sick."  The "beer" tasted like cream soda with a hint of butterscotch and was topped with a delicious vanilla/butterscotch whipped cream. Yum!  They even had a frozen version...but I had opted for the other and just tried the slush-like butterbeer my brother got.  I ended up really liking the frozen one but they were both equally sugar-coma-inducing good...I could have easily kept going back for more!  And, you know it's got to be just how she envisioned it, because J.K. Rowling herself taste tested and approved the recipe for the park!  It was so good I needed to try making it on my own.

 We walked around and around and ended up going on the Dragon Challenge roller coaster like five times (it was awesome) and then the line for Honey Dukes had finally died down and I couldn't wait to go in!  This place was covered with candy everywhere you looked.  Again, another sugar coma.  I didn't know how I would ever choose what to get, but I settled on Chocolate Toads and Pumpkin Juice and then it was time to go on into Hogwarts.  This part of the park was really awesome..especially when we went back that night.  The castle is all lit up it and inside there is an awesome 360 tour/ride they bring you on through the school.  This was our last stop that night and just as we were about to get on, we ended up being stuck waiting 2 more hours in line because it broke down (nothing could get me to leave at this point)!   But, hey...go see for yourself!  If you're obsessed like me you will NOT be disappointed (except that I wished it was even bigger...and that they were accepting applications to Hogwarts..okay, now I've gone too far).  But, if you can't make it there anytime soon, don't you worry.  For now, you can make some Butterbeer for you and your friends and pop in some of the movies..now that's what I call a good night!  (I have seriously out-nerded myself, again).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup light or dark brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons water

• 6 tablespoon butter

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

• 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract

• Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
2. Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
4. In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
5. To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.

Serves 4.

OR, if you'd like something a little easier instead of making your own butterscotch...just substitute 1/4 cup butterscotch syrup for the butterbeer and 2 tbsp syrup for the whipped cream!

Source: The Huffington Post
For a vegan version, click here!