new year’s eve party recipes

A few Christmases ago I made a delicious Colonial Hot Buttered Rum recipe that I found on Allrecipes.com. It was so simple (you make it in the slow cooker!) and SO delicious! I served it at my family Christmas dinner and everyone raved about it.

I decided that I wanted to make it again today – it’s Saturday and it’s cold, why not? 😉 I changed it up just a bit though and I am in love with the results! This recipe was awesome before but when you swap out half of the rum for RumChata…

This is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!! I could sit and drink this all day. It warms you up from the inside and the flavor stays on your lips (if you’re into buttered rum kisses).

Hot Buttered RumChata (adapted from Colonial Hot Buttered Rum submitted to Allrecipes.com by Linda Correia)

Ingredients

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter
1 pinch of salt
8 cups of hot water
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
1 cup of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum
1 cup of RumChata
Whipped cream and ground nutmeg for garnish (if desired)

Directions

1. Combine the brown sugar, butter, salt and hot water in a 5 quart (or larger) slow cooker. Add cinnamon sticks and cloves.
2. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.
3. Stir in the Spiced Rum and the RumChata.
4. Ladle into mugs (or awesome cups like the ones shown in the photo from SucreShop), top with whipped cream and ground nutmeg.

*** A note on RumChata curdling: Several commenters have said that they had trouble with the RumChata curdling when added to the hot butter/water mixture. I did not encounter this issue but I have done a little research and think it may be due to temperature. RumChata does contain dairy, which can curdle when added to very hot liquid. My RumChata had not been in the refrigerator (once opened it can be stored at room temperature for six months) and my low setting on my slow cooker doesn’t get super hot. If you are using RumChata that has been in the refrigerator I’d suggest measuring it out and letting it warm up to room temperature. If your water/butter mixture is boiling hot, let it cool some before adding the RumChata. You can also temper the RumChata first by measuring it into a bowl or cup, and then bit by bit pour some of the butter/water mixture into the RumChata, effectively bringing it up to the same temperature before adding it to the slow cooker. A last note – if you have been storing your RumChata at room temperature and it is much older than 6 months it may just be on the verge of going bad. ***

Makes 8 servings.

This recipe can easily be scaled down to make fewer servings. I made half a batch tonight but I wish I had made more! It takes just a few minutes to throw together and once it’s done you can just keep it warm in the slow cooker until every last drop is gone. It’s a perfect drink for Christmas, a New Year’s Eve party or any random winter weekend!