Happy Autumn! Here’s A Butterbeer Recipe

The moment Fall struck–and the first autumn leaf fell from a nearby tree–I found myself googling butterbeer recipes and then turning the kitchen into a cream-soda-war zone.

When I was a teen, I read the Harry Potter series to my younger brother. Now, you should know that he and I created Butterbeer before it was a thing at Harry Potter World. Yup. One night (probably at midnight when Mom thought we were sleeping) we tromped upstairs and we created….a CONCOCTION.

It was amazing. It was perfect. We clinked our mugs and both declared that it was exactly how we had imagined Butterbeer! I can’t tell you the recipe thought. Because it’s super top top top secret (meaning we mixed a bazillion ingredients from Mom’s pantry together and it tasted amazing, but we could never remember what we actually did.)

Then, several (several several) years later, when I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the first time, I was wary of the stuff in barrels and mugs they “claimed” was Butterbeer. For one, they were serving it COLD. Cold!!! No! It was supposed to be made hot and served in a teapot with a butter residue on top that Mom would spend 10 solid minutes scrubbing out of the teapot lid! Didn’t these people know anything?

And yet then…I bought one. And tried it. AND. LOVED. IT.

To me, there are two types of butterbeer:

1. The Nadia and Binsk butterbeer (those are my brother’s and my names for each other) which is original magic.
2. The J K Rowling-approved butterbeer (which doesn’t make ours any less real) which is Muggle magic.

I love them both. Just like I love movie-Harry and book-Harry, but they’re totally not the same Harry. (I do not love movie-Ginny, though. The end.)

So I came home and looked up Muggle Butterbeer recipes and found one that–to both me and hubby–tasted quite similar to the one at Wizarding World without us having to spend six hours in the kitchen. And I thought–on a whim since it’s autumn–that I would share it with you. (Please note I did not invent this. I found it and tweaked it a bit from the fabulous people over at intoxicology.)

STEP 1: Ingredient list

You will need:

• 1 standard pewter cauldron
• 1 wand
• Cream soda
• butterscotch syrup (found in the ice cream section of your grocery store)
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• powdered sugar
• 1 box of butterscotch pudding powder
• vanilla extract
• magic

STEP 2: Prepare the glasses

Put your chosen butterbeer glasses in the freezer. So that they are frosty and cold and perfect for photos when you take them out.

STEP 3: Make the cream

Whisk together

• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1/4 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 Tbs Butterscotch pudding powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

until it’s almost the consistency of whipped cream. (I let mine stay a bit on the heavier side. I don’t love the fluffy. Play around with this until you find what you like.)

STEP 4: Make the Butterbeer base & top with cream

This isn’t that hard.

• Fill your frosty glass 3/4 with chilled cream soda
• Mix in a tablespoon or two (I like two…or three) of the butterscotch syrup.
• Stir, stir, stir
• Fill the rest of the glass with the cream. It should float on top. (If it sinks, you need to whisk it longer)

STEP 5: Enjoy with spouse, pet, or an open book.

I chose spouse.

Tada! Now you have all the necessary ingredients.

Have you ever had Butterbeer? (Homemade or from Harry Potter world?)

What’s your favorite Fall tasty?

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