Hot Buttered Rum

This hot buttered rum recipe mixes a creamy make-ahead buttered rum batter with vanilla ice cream, warm baking spices, and light rum to a cozy and festive winter beverage treat.

There are plenty of hot drinks to hunker down with during winter — my favorite Irish cream in a cup of coffee is one of them — especially alongside a plate of homemade fudge or sweetly spiced cookies. So when the temps start to drop and those magical snow flurries begin to fall, all I want to do is sit in front of the fire with a glass of hot buttered rum. This recipe is from my aunt Shelley who years ago made it to add cheer and cheers to our holiday. This cocktail starts with a fluffy hot buttered rum batter of whipped butter, sugars, and spices for those classically warm flavors. The surprise ingredient is the addition of softened vanilla ice cream—essentially eggs, vanilla, and cream. The mixture goes into the freezer and later gets mixed with light rum and boiling water swirled together with a cinnamon stick and topped with a dollop of whipped cream.

Why You’ll Love It

• This hot buttered rum recipe is It’s sweet, creamy, and ultra-comforting
• It’s festive and perfect for the holidays
• The recipe is easy to make and only takes 15 minutes

Hot Buttered Rum Ingredients

This old-fashioned hot buttered rum recipe is made with simple ingredients you likely already have, plus one special ingredient — vanilla ice cream to deliver a creamy richness to the drink.

The recipe makes enough for a party, so feel free to cut the recipe in half if making a smaller batch.

• Vanilla ice cream—the surprise ingredient that makes this hot buttered rum recipe a total game-changer. The addition of vanilla ice cream makes this drink extra creamy and rich.
• Unsalted butter—A key ingredient in hot buttered rum
• Powdered sugar—this gets beaten with brown sugar and butter to fluffy oblivion
• Brown sugar—adds some warm toffee notes to the hot buttered rum
• Ground cinnamon—to give this drink some nice warm, coziness
• Ground nutmeg—I recommend using whole nutmeg and grating it fresh if you can
• Light rum (or use dark rum if you like)—
• Hot water—thins and mellows everything out so it’s not overly rich
• Cinnamon sticks—(I find extra long sticks at Costco)
• Whipped cream—the finishing touch that makes this drink such a treat

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Hot Buttered Rum

• Soften your favorite vanilla ice cream. Set the ice cream out to soften for about 10 minutes.
• Make your spiced butter mixture. While the ice cream softens, use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the room-temperature butter, powdered sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg until fluffy.
• Mix in the ice cream and then freeze. Add the softened ice cream and beat until mixed. Transfer to an airtight container with a lid and pop it into the freezer. Depending on what type of ice cream you use, the batter may not freeze hard. I like Tillamook ice cream which has fewer stabilizers and is already pretty soft when frozen.
• Thaw slightly, mix, and serve. To serve, thaw the butter mixture slightly. Place 3 tablespoons of the mix into a glass mug with 1 ½ ounces of rum (1 large jigger) and fill the rest of the glass with hot boiled water. Stir well until the batter dissolves. Top with whipped cream, sprinkled cinnamon or nutmeg, and garnish with a cinnamon stick swizzle.

Substitutions and Additions to Hot Buttered Rum

• Skip the alcohol and serve this as a mocktail. It’s still sooooo delicious!
• Add a tablespoon or two to a cup of coffee for breakfast or brunch.
• Instead of light rum, use dark rum, whiskey, or bourbon. I wouldn’t use spiced rum since the spices are already in the batter.
• Instead of a cinnamon stick swizzle, use a candy cane to add holiday cheer.

FAQ

• What does hot buttered rum taste like? Hot buttered rum is creamy, sweet, and spiced with warming undertones of rum that go down smooth. Sipping a mug of this hot treat is kind of like a salted caramel latte and some spiced rum had a baby, and it’s the perfect drink to warm up to during winter.
• What’s the difference between Tom and Jerry and hot buttered rum? Tom and Jerry drinks and hot buttered rum are pretty similar. However, the Tom and Jerry is more akin to a hot egg nog, because it’s made with eggs and is very thick. Both beverages have warm baking spices in them and Tom and Jerry drinks are typically made with rum (and also sometimes brandy or cognac).
• What is the difference between a hot toddy and a hot buttered rum? A hot toddy is a whiskey cocktail with honey, lemon, and warm spices (no butter or rum). Hot buttered rum is richer and sweeter and more in the dessert realm.
• I like to serve this hot buttered rum in my mom’s glass mugs, which we’ve always used to toast our holiday traditions (here are some similar ones).

What to Serve With Hot Buttered Rum

Hot buttered rum is certainly a treat in itself, but it would get along just fine with a cookie or piece of fudge.

• Mom’s Easy Fudge Recipe
• Currant Cookies
• Chocolate Dipped Almond Cookies
• Milk Bar’s Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Cranberry White Chocolate Chip and Macadamia Nut Cookies

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

More Holiday Treats to Try

• Hot Chocolate
• Mom’s Easy Homemade Fudge Recipe
• Lemon Poppyseed Bread with Cranberries
• Chocolate Dipped Almond Cookies
• Peppermint Truffles Recipe
• Homemade Baileys Irish Cream

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