I admit it. I’m a Harry Potter nerd.

You can just call me kitchen wizard. Witch?

And yes, I did put on my graduation robe to have a late night HP inspired photo booth session. If you haven’t figured out I’m lame by now, there’s no hope for you.

I’ve read all the books (several times) and I’ve seen all the movies (several times). Who all saw HP7.2 this weekend? I didn’t see it at midnight, but I did see it the day it came out. So, so good!

I don’t remember exactly when I saw each of the movies, but I do remember seeing HP four and six at midnight. When the fourth movie came out, I was beginning my freshman year of college and a bunch of us dressed up as different characters. I saw five on a huge outdoor projector screen, drive in style. And six? Some people fell asleep in the movie theatre at midnight. How ridiculous. IT’S HARRY POTTER.

I listened to the seventh book on tape during my two hour commute to my summer classes at MTSU. I cried throughout the whole last disc. I think it takes a true love and appreciation for the series to be able to understand the emotional depth of the story. #nerd

However, you don’t need to be a HP buff to be able to enjoy this tasty treat.

Since I live quite a bit away from Orlando, I haven’t (yet) visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and thus, I haven’t had the distinct pleasure of drinking butterbeer. What’s a girl to do? Make my own?

Well, okay.

Butterbeer (inspired by the never-over-in-our-hearts Harry Potter series)

Need:
16 oz cream soda
1/2 c butterscotch chips, less if you want it less sweet, more if you want it more sweet
a double boiler or a microwave

Do:

• Heat up 8 oz of the cream soda. Do this by putting it in the double boiler or by microwaving it in a bowl. Yes, it will lose some of it’s fizz but that’s okay. You’re going to make a butterbeer “concentrate” first, and then add the rest of the cream soda later.
• Add the chips to the microwave bowl or the double boiler. Heat and stir until smooth. Not all the chips may melt and incorporate, and that’s fine.
• If you want your butterbeer piping hot, heat the rest of the cream soda SEPARATELY from the concentrate. If you want it lukewarm, skip this step.
• Fill a glass halfway with the hot concentrate. Pour cream soda over the top of the concentrate until the glass is full. If you do this fast enough, you should have nice bubbly foam on the top.

It sorta resembles pumpkin juice in color, no? I used diet cream soda and store-bought butterscotch chips, so assembly and clean up was a breeze. This drink is low-calorie too!

I’m interested to see how they make it down in Florida, because they have both a hot and a cold version.

The weather has been a bit cooler around here lately, so drinking a hot beverage was quite nice. I sat on my balcony, enjoyed a light breeze and sipped on my tasty treat.

The only thing that would have made the moment more delicious was if Neville popped in for a visit. Yummy.