Brown Sugar Sauce
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups loosely packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons hot (but not boiling) water
- 2 tablespoons bourbon or brandy
Instructions:
The sauce should warm just enough to dissolve all the sugar crystals, not become so hot that the eggs “scramble.”
- Cream the butter and sugar in a small electric mixer bowl at moderately high speed for 1 to 2 minutes or until light and smooth. With the motor running, add the eggs one by one, then continue beating for 1 minute. Beat in the hot water.
- Transfer the sauce to the top of a double boiler and set over barely simmering water. Adjust the burner heat so that the water in the bottom of the double boiler stays below a simmer, then cook, stirring briskly every 20 minutes or so, until the sugar dissolves completely and the sauce thickens and is absolutely smooth. This may take as long as 1½ hours. But be patient. If you rush things, your sauce will turn gritty and you might as well pitch it out. Only a silky sauce will do.
- As soon as the sauce is just the right consistency, mix in the bourbon and cook 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
- Ladle warm over gingerbread or serve as an ice cream topper.