Maple-Spice Hot Buttered Rum Mix

My favourite drink on a cold winter night is hot buttered rum.  It’s warm, spicy and comforting.  Yes, you can buy the mix in the grocery store, but it is often loaded with unnecessary ingredients and I find the price tag at about $6 a jar to be quite expensive.

I’ve been making my own mix for years.  This recipe is just the right balance of sweet and spicy and has a very subtle maple flavour.  Use as much or as little as you want, add your favourite spiced rum, top with boiling water and your drink is ready to serve.  This batch makes quite a lot and it keeps exceptionally well in the freezer.  It makes a great Christmas gift!

Enjoy.

Maple-Spice Hot Buttered Rum

2 Cups butter cubed (REAL butter – NO margarine!)

3 Cups packed, dark brown sugar

1/4 Cup real maple syrup

2 Tbsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp freshly grated nutmeg

1.5 tsp ground cloves

Directions

Allow butter to soften to room temperature.  Cube butter and place in a large mixing bowl.  With an electric mixer, cream well.

Add vanilla and gradually add brown sugar to the butter mixture as you continue to cream.

Mix in maple syrup and spices.  Continue mixing until batter is smooth.

Place batter into containers or jars and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

When ready to serve add as much or as little mix as you like to a mug, add spiced rum and boiling water.  Stir and enjoy. ( I like approximately a tablespoon of batter, mixed with 1.5 ounces of spiced rum in a large mug, topped with boiling water.)

Additional tips and ideas for this recipe

• Use real maple syrup and real vanilla extract.  None of the fake stuff!
• Use small mason jars, decorate the lids and give as gifts.
• Freeze anything you won’t use within a month.  I like to use several small containers and take them out of the freezer and place in the fridge as needed.