Harry Potter Butterbeer

Harry Potter Butterbeer? Well, this tastes exactly like I always imagined it would! And it's perfect for those crisp fall evenings watching the movies.



Butterbeer



Serves: 4



1 C. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. water

6 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

3/4 C. heavy cream

1/2 tsp rum extract


4 12oz. bottles club soda *  (*using unsweetened soda makes it tollerably sweet, rather than over-the-top unbearably sweet like other recipes calling for cream soda or Sprite.)


In small saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 deg. on candy thermometer. Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 C. heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.



In a medium bowl, combine 2 Tbsp of brown sugar mixture and remaining 1/2 C. heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped.



To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses. (about 1/4 c. for each glass). Add 1/4 C. of club soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.

Divine Hot Fudge Sauce

I LOVE homemade hot fudge! Who doesn't?  Well, I tried a new recipe last night- other than my usual- and it was divine! It takes just a few minutes to make.

Divine Hot Fudge Sauce
(taken from my friend Karen Brown's recipe. I doubled the recipe so I can keep the rest in a jar in the fridge for later and made one small change noted with an *)

2 C. sugar
1 Can evaporated milk
1/4 C plus 1 Tbsp. Cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. Karo Syrup

2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. Rum flavoring* (original recipe calls for 2 tsp. vanilla)

In saucepan, boil first 4 ingredients, stirring constantly until a ball forms when dropped into cold water. (This was about 5 minutes.)  Remove from heat and stir in butter and rum flavoring.  Serve over ice cream. Keep left overs in covered container in refridgerator and eat by the spoonful when the kids are at school!

Fluffy and Light Dinner Rolls

    (picture taken from http://www.life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com/2011/08/texas-roadhouse-rolls-and-cinnamon.html#)

I saw these on Life as a Lofthouse blog and wondered if they really would taste like the Texas Roadhouse rolls they claimed to be. Verdict: I can't say they were like Texas Roadhouse, but they were really quite delicious and light and fluffy. I loved them so much I have taped the recipe to the inside of my cabinet where I keep all my go-to recipes, so that should say something! I tweaked the recipe a bit to eliminate the scalded milk step, and halved it. (maybe this is why they didn't taste exactly like the "real" thing. Hmmm... maybe I should try them the original way first, huh? Well, these were great as they are!)

 

Fluffy and Light Dinner Rolls

Yields 12 large rolls

 

2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast

1/4 cup Warm Water

1 cup Warm Water ( or Whole Milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm)

1/4 C. dry milk (omit if using whole milk)

1 1/2 Tablespoons Butter, softened

1/4 cup Sugar

3.5 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 Eggs

1 teaspoons Salt

 

DIRECTIONS: Dissolve yeast in warm water with  sugar, in the bowl of a stand mixer. Once yeast has dissolved, add milk, sugar and 1 cup of flour. Beat thoroughly on medium speed. Let stand until foamy (about 2 minutes). Add butter, eggs and salt. Beat well.

Gradually add in another 2.5 cups of flour, slowly, to form a soft dough while mixer is on low.  *NOTE* Do not use more than 4 cups of flour total. The dough will be very soft and somewhat sticky, you may think it needs more flour, but it does not.

Knead dough in stand mixer with the dough hooks, for about 4 minutes. If you knead it with your hands, you will need to grease up your hands with some cooking spray, to help the dough from not sticking to your hands.

Once kneaded, place into a large, greased bowl. Place dough inside, and turn over to grease top. *NOTE* Again, dough will be sticky so you may need to grease your hands to handle while putting dough in the bowl to let rise. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and place onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour a rolling pin, and roll dough out into a large rectangle, that is a 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough in half length-wise and then in strips making 12 total, then fold each strip into thirds, or roll it up and place in greased baking dish. (or if you want squares like Texas Roadhouse,  using a pizza cutter, slice dough into 12 large squares. Place squares onto greased cookie sheets. Cover, and let rise again, until doubled in size.

Bake rolls at 350 for 16-18 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Remove from oven, and immediately brush tops with butter.