Hot Buttered Rum in the CrockPot

Day 361.

Good morning! We are recovering nicely from yesterday's festivities. The kids are still sleeping, Adam's making pancakes, and I'm pretending that it doesn't look like Toys R Us vomited in the living room.

My brother-in-law made/talked-me-into-making Hot Buttered Rum yesterday. I'd never had it before, but when it was brought up, I was happy to have a bookmarked recipe from Karen in Montana. So we went to Safeway on Christmas to buy rum. Which was weird and adventurous all at the same time.

Thank you, Karen! Your buttered rum is amazing.

The Ingredients.
serves 5.

--4 cups warm water
--1 cup dark brown sugar
--1/4 cup butter
--1 pinch salt (even if your butter is salted, go ahead and add it)
--2 sticks cinnamon
--3 whole cloves
--1/4 tsp nutmeg

to add later:
--shot or 2 of rum
--splash of egg nog (Karen likes the pumpkin egg nog, but we couldn't find it)

The Directions.

Use a 2-4 quart crockpot. Add water, brown sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and nutmeg to the crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours, or until the butter has melted and the mixture is quite hot. Ladle into a mug with a shot or 2 of rum, and add a splash of egg nog.

Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon if you'd like.

The Verdict.

Delicious. My mother-in-law even liked this, and she doesn't drink. The one thing to keep in mind is that if your egg nog is right from the fridge, it will make the butter harden in the mug if you add too much. It might be best to take a bit out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature while the butter and sugar cook in the crock. My sister-in-law is pregnant, and she enjoyed plain egg nog with the butter and brown sugar. The kids were already so hopped up on chocolate I didn't offer them a virgin one to try.