Bourbon Sauce

This Bourbon Bread Pudding Recipe with Golden Bourbon Sauce also works for apple chips, sundaes, and more! It’s irresistibly greedy and creamy.

Here’s a golden sauce that’s delicious and heavenly, and will take any dessert from delicious to outrageously good. meet this bourbon sauce! Dip your spoon in this elixir and it tastes like candy: flavored with butter and vanilla, with a hint of bourbon on the finish. Use it on bread pudding or any dessert that needs a little extra flair, from apple crisp to vanilla ice cream. That’s how it’s done!

Ingredients for the bourbon sauce

This bourbon sauce is super easy to make with just a handful of ingredients. It’s modeled after my family’s traditional butter sauce for Christmas pudding, with the addition of bourbon. Our family gathers around the stove as the butter sauce is being made! Here’s what you need to put in the pan:

• granulated sugar
• whole milk
• Salted butter
• bourbon
• vanilla extract

Preparing bourbon sauce: a few tips!

Some bourbon sauce recipes call for bringing the sauce to a boil, but this is difficult because it easily overcooks and burns. All you have to do is let it simmer for 3 minutes. Here are some tips for preparing the sauce:

• Let it simmer regularly. Be careful not to overcook it.
• taste test. It’s done when it’s slightly thickened, golden in color, and bourbon flavored. Take a spoon and test the taste (be sure to blow on it!).
• Filter (optional). Filtering removes whey protein. Read on why!

Why strain a butter sauce

You can make this bourbon sauce without straining, but we prefer to strain it before serving. Why? Here’s what you need to know:

• Buttery sauces have a light layer of white foam on top. These are whey proteins. They don’t affect the flavor at all, so you can skip the filter part.
• For a smoother sauce, strain before serving. This is only for the optics! But it’s a simple step with a big impact.
• Skip this step if you wish. Your guests may not see the difference.

Make Ahead Bourbon Sauce instructions

Want to make this sauce ahead of time for fun? You can prepare the bourbon sauce up to 3 days in advance. Refrigerate until ready to serve: you’ll find it will set in the fridge (just like butter!). Before serving, reheat on stovetop over medium-high heat until creamy and pourable again.

Ways to use bourbon sauce

Do you have the bourbon sauce in hand? There are many uses: our favorite is bread pudding. Here are some additional ideas:

How do you plan to use your bourbon sauce? Let us know in the comments below!

More recipes with bourbon

There are many recipes for using bourbon in your cooking: both in food and in drinks! Here are some favorite ideas:

This bourbon sauce recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free. For a vegan twist, try vegan butter and coconut milk.