Cold weather is here! Usually January – February are the only bad winter months here in Austin, but we can get some cold chilliness in December every now and again. As soon as those chillies hit, I got straight to making a container of Hot Buttered Yum so that I could enjoy it all season long. Technically called Hot Pumpkin Butter, this pumpkin hot buttered rum batter my mom has made for years is a classic in our home at Christmas. It’s an amazing mix of ice cream, pumpkin puree, sugar, and spice. We freeze it up and scoop it out to enjoy hot with rum and feel our worries melt away!
This year, at the first sign of snuggly temperatures (i.e. the inside temperature drops below 70 without air conditioning), I decided to whip up a batch to last me the season. My mom sent me the recipe and I started the process of figuring out how to make this work into our new paleo-ish lifestyle. The first few swaps were simple — vanilla ice cream becomes vanilla coconut-milk ice cream and brown sugar is easily replaced with coconut sugar. However, I can’t claim this is entirely paleo because there are some non-compliant ingredients in the ice cream and I couldn’t get the texture right without including some powdered sugar. But at the end of the day, at least I made this dairy-free (coconut oil is a very fine substitute for butter here since it freezes and melts to the exact same consistencies) and cut 3/4 of the refined sugar!
It’s hard to try and adhere to any kind of “diet” (in the “here’s how I eat” sense, not the “here’s what I deprive myself of” sense) during the holidays. I made sure to fill my December Subscribe & Save with coconut flour and almond flour so I can knock out as many paleo-ish cookies and treats as possible, but I’m not ready to give up everything! Especially since I still enjoy some holiday spirits, I felt like it was a good opportunity to get this classic winter drink (in my house!) updated.
- 1 pint vanilla coconut-milk ice cream, softened (I used So Delicious)
- 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
- Leave ice cream on counter to soften, approximately 30 minutes. Once softened add all ingredients in a large bowl or blender (I use my Vitamix) and mix until smooth. Pour in a freezer safe container to harden.
- To serve, scoop 2-4 tablespoons hot buttered yum with 1 1/2 oz spiced rum and 6 oz boiling water. Stir to melt the batter and enjoy!
Warm Your Chillies Away
The other amazing thing about this creamy, lovely, pumpkin hot buttered rum batter (besides its perfect pumpkin spice taste and creaminess) is that it really does warm you to your core. Now, the thing about me and winter weather is that I hate the cold but I love being in the cold. At first glance, that may not make sense, but I swear it’s true. See, this is me as soon as the highs drop below 60:
Ordinarily, I resolve this problem with copious amounts of blankets. Blankets and slippers and flannel and comforters and fleece! Altogether, joy. Eric jokes that my dog, Penny, would only run away if there was a pillow truck outside. I think the same could be said about me and a blanket truck!
All things considered, there’s nothing better than a blanket and a cup of hot buttered yum to snuggle your soul. I hope you try my version and find that it keeps you warm on a chilly evening!
