Holiday Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce

I love giving homemade treats as gifts for the holidays. It’s a sweet way to let people know you care about them. As a child I was pressed into service every year right after Thanksgiving to help my mom and grandma with holiday baking. It was a serious effort that took weeks to complete. At the peak of our productivity we made 20 kinds of cookies and 5 kinds of candy! These treats were distributed far and wide across our small midwestern town. Everyone got one of our Christmas cookie plates, from the mailman to my piano teacher to our minister.

I don’t go overboard now like my family did in my childhood. I usually stick to a handful of favorite recipes to share with friends and neighbors. One that I find particularly simple and delicious is this Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce. It’s based on a wonderful recipe by the renowned David Lebovitz, but I’ve taken a liberty or two to make it even yummier!

Holiday Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce
(makes 1 cup)

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup, plus 6 tablespoons heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon bourbon

Instructions:
1. In a wide saucepan or skillet, melt the butter with the brown sugar and the ¼ cup of heavy cream, stirring until smooth.
2. Stop stirring and let the mixture cook at a bubbling simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add the bourbon, stirring it in. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of cream and stir. Let cool a bit, then stir in the vanilla extract.

Serve this sauce warm. I usually stock up on smaller mason jars with lids before the holidays. I often double the recipe when I make it. I pour the sauce into jars, then let it cool, tie a festive ribbon on it and ta-da, it’s a simple and delicious holiday treat to share!

(Photo by Yulia Khlebnikova on Unsplash)