BUTTERBEER from Whimsic Alley

So who likes wands, magic and spells...?

If you said, "Me" then Whimsic Alley is for you.

This is a store dedicated to all that is Harry Potter. So if you're in the L.A. area you might want to hit Wilshire Boulevard. It even has it's own Great Hall, which you can rent for parties and birthday celebrations.

But that is just the beginning.

You can buy a replica of Harry's wand, or Dumbledore's or even Hermione's, which I did.

I bought Vinespell

I also had to buy some earrings with little black spiders, reminiscent of the movie and a spell book (for my son to jot down sketches and notes) and a deck of cards. But one of the best finds was Butterbeer. Now, I don't know if you've ever had Butterbeer or not but, if you haven't, you definitely need to try it.

And you can even make your own...it might not be exactly perfect but it will be close.  Here's the recipe:

BUTTERBEER:

Ingredients 

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup butterscotch topping

2 tablespoons whipped butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups vanilla cream soda

Directions 

Combine condensed milk, butterscotch topping, and butter in a glass heatproof measuring cup. Heat in microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir until butter has melted and incorporated into mixture. Meanwhile heat cream soda in another heatproof measuring cup for 1 minute 30 seconds.

Divide butterscotch mixture between 2 (10 to 12-ounce) mugs. Fill mugs with heated cream soda and stir thoroughly. Serve garnished with an old-fashioned butterscotch candy stick.

(I used vanilla ice cream instead of condensed milk and whipped butter--it was delicious).