I’d like to make a tasty eggnog for Christmas Eve. However, I’ve never made it and it’s been years since I’ve even tasted it.
Any benefit to making my own vs. just doctoring up the grocery store stuff? Does anyone have any tried and true recipes?
I think I’m gonna make it from scratch for the first time this year - I figure it’s got to be better, or at least different, than the grocery store stuff (which I like OK) - probably using Alton Brown’s recipe:
I find the store bought nog a bit thick for most people’s taste, I like to thin it out with 1/3 regular milk, and dope it with spiced rum. My husband likes to use brandy and freshly grated nutmeg. I like it both ways.
It is easy enough to make from scratch, but just as easy to grab a carton and thin it out and dope it up. Though if I want it I make my own by the cupful because I use liquid splenda [diabetic, the storebought stuff has way too much sweet carby stuff for me to drink, and high fructose corn syrup is a known migraine trigger for me.]
Homemade eggnog is delicious, and worth making at least once. The taste is less eggnog-y, but higher quality. This Alton Brown recipe is very similar to what I’ve made in the distant past, except that I would use rum or brandy, not bourbon. It calls for raw eggs, so make it at your own risk. There are also instructions for cooking the eggs if you want, but that gives it a very different flavor, more like custard than eggnog.
Edited to add: Ninja-ed!
I made the Joy Of Cooking recipe one year in Germany.
It was quite good, very rich, but have to admit even I was kind of freaked out by the amount of raw eggs included.
So - I would suggest using that recipe if you want to risk giving everyone salmonella and about a million calories per sip. This might be worth a trip to a local egg farm and pluck those eggs directly from the chicken’s butt to make sure they are fresh!
Or get a big carton of egg substitute. Here’s what I make because not everyone likes thick nog.
Chocolate Egg Nog
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate milk
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup Kahlua (or strong coffee)
• 1/2 cup dark rum (optional - I usually leave it out because I don’t like spiked nog)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinammon
Combine milk and chocolate milk in a saucepan and heat (do not boil). In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until thick. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg mixture and whisk through. Then stir the egg mixture back into the hot milk, and place over low heat.
Add whipping cream and Kahlua (or coffee). Cook and stir until mixture thickens. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and add rum and cinnamon. Let cool and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with a sprinkling of grated chocolate and nutmeg.
Pasteurized eggs aren’t particularly difficult to find. If you’re worried about salmonella, just keep your eyes peeled for them at the grocery store.
I’ve used the good eats recipe twice now. It makes delicious eggnog that is a whole different thing than the carton stuff. I like to add a little more sugar and a lot more booze than the recipe calls for, as it comes out very thick.
My dad made George Washington’s Eggnog Recipe one Christmas. Very tasty, but you have to make it a few days in advance to let everything set/age properly.
Oh, and despite the two pints of liquor in it, it doesn’t taste medicinal or alcoholic.
My step-father was a bartender and made his own “Tom & Jerry” batter every Christmas. Lot of eggs, separated and whipped; the whites with powdered sugar until peaked and meringue-like, the yolks whipped until thick like custard. Then gently mixed together with some nutmeg added in. It was always very thick and had to be thinned with a bit of milk and booze.
If we are having Christmas with my sister her husband makes his family’s recipe which is similar to the linked Alton recipe. My sister is not coming for Christmas this year so we will probably not make it. The store bought stuff is different and not well liked by anyone I know.
We makeTom & Jerry’s which is basically a fortified variant of eggnog:
12 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound butter, room temperature
3 pounds confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Beat egg whites and salt until foamy in a large glass or metal mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. mix until the egg whites should form a sharp peak that holds its shape.
Beat the egg yolks to soft peaks in a separate bowl. Beat the butter and confectioners’ (powdered) sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the butter mixture; mix. Stir in the nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cinnamon and the egg whites; beat until well blended. Batter can be frozen or kept in refrigerator for several weeks.
For one drink, fill a cup of hot water or warm milk with spiced rum or brandy and stir in 1 heaping tablespoon of batter (or more). Top with freshly grated nutmeg. This makes a great non-alcoholic treat too!