Butterbeer Latte

Do you guys know what Friday is? It’s Harry Potter’s birthday! As a coincidence, it’s also my little brother’s birthday, which works out pretty cool since he and I are both Harry Potter fans. Oddly enough, neither of us go into Harry Potter until we were much older. My fiance, who was my best friend at the time and had been for a long time, convinced us to read the Harry Potter books. Even my mom read them! We all got hooked, except for my dad who isn’t much for fantasy, but he still catches the occasional Harry Potter references we throw out since we watch the movies so often.

A local restaurant is planning some Harry Potter themed treats on Friday, including their version of Butterbeer, so my fiance and I plan to double date with my brother and his girlfriend. Of course, I still had to make my own version of Butterbeer and it had to have coffee!

So what exactly would Butterbeer taste like? In the books, it is alcoholic, but since the books are popular with the younger crowd too, most of the Butterbeer recipes are alcohol free. You can feel free to add alcohol to this recipe if you would like, but since I took this as a latte to go to work, I also made it alcohol free.

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So what would Butterbeer actually taste like? I immediately think of butter scotch for some reason, not actual butter. Although, many homemade recipes called for actual butter and I definitely see why. I decided why not both? While the butter in the photo is all fancy and whipped, I have to confess that I actually just cut a slice off a stick of butter and tossed it in the pan. This is the blog photo equivalent of putting mashed potatoes with ice cream to make it look creamier. Sorry for the disappointment guys.

Since I imagine the butterbeer to be caramelly and creamy, I decided I would use the butter and brown sugar to make my own caramel base and then add some white chocolate chips (because why not?) and some butterscotch sauce.

I used my trusty old Ninja Coffee Bar on the specialty setting for the “espresso” part of the drink and I got to work on my caramel sauce. I melted my butter in a saucepan over low/medium heat and then I added in my brown sugar and stirred it constantly for about 2 minutes until it thickened up. At this point, I added in the vanilla almond milk. I decided to microwave it first so it would already be warm by the time I added it. Then, I turned the heat up a little to just under medium and I added in the white chocolate chips. Stir it almost constantly until it simmers. Once it’s simmering, let it simmer for a couple minutes before turning off the heat and adding in the butterscotch sauce.

After stirring everything together for a minute, I finally added the hot “Butterbeer” mixture to the espresso in the mug. The texture was amazing! It was nice and creamy with a rich, buttery taste. Definitely made me wish that Harry’s birthday was in October because it tasted like fall. I start itching for fall in August, so maybe that’s a good thing that I got my “fix” a little early on.

I love the fact that there are a few local places celebrating an awesome literary occasion like Harry Potter’s birthday. It makes me wish we would do more of that! I would love to celebrate literary occasions with food. That’s why I bake from the Hannah Swensen books all the time! If you have a fun literary occasion you like to celebrate, please let me know about it in the comments! If I can combine books with food, I’m a pretty happy camper.

Butterbeer Latte

• 4oz. double strength coffee, or the “specialty” setting on your Ninja Coffee Bar
• 10oz. milk, warmed (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
• 1/2 T. butter
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 1 T. white chocolate chips
• 1 T. butterscotch sauce, plus extra for drizzle
• Whipped cream for topping
• optional 1.5 ounces of alcohol such as Jameson Irish whiskey, butterscotch schnapps, Kahlua or whipped cream vodka.

While your coffee is brewing, heat the milk in the microwave for a minute and a half. Next, place a small saucepan over low-medium heat and melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the brown sugar and stir constantly for about 2 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble and caramelize. Add in the hot milk and white chocolate chips and turn the heat closer medium. Keep a close eye on the mixture and stir often. Once it’s simmering, let it simmer for a couple of minutes while continuing to stir often. When the white chocolate chips have completely melted, turn off the heat and stir in the butterscotch sauce and alcohol if desired. Pour the “butterbeer” over the coffee in a large mug and stir together. Top with whipped cream and additional butterscotch sauce for serving.