I only started making eggnog from scratch last year, when my mom suggested it. The glory of homemade eggnog is that you know what goes into it, you can adjust the sweetness and the thickness, and it is pretty darn simple. I really like eggnog, despite having a terrible (albeit not as bad as it could’ve been) experience in my first year of university: I was really sick in the last week of November/first week of December and had not left the house for a few days. Even though I wasn’t feeling 100% (I still couldn’t smell or really taste) I decided to leave the house with my roommate to pick up some groceries. I thought it would be nice to get a carton of eggnog as it was the season, so I picked up that, some milk and a few other things. It wasn’t until the next day, when my roommates were at a class they had together that I felt up for a glass of eggnog, I poured it out and mixed it half-and-half with skim milk (I find store-bought eggnog cloyingly sweet) and drank it up. I was sad as I still couldn’t taste anything. I left the unfinished glass on the coffee table and snoozed on the couch. When my roommates came home an hour later they were horrified by a rotten smell. Apparently the eggnog I had been drinking was completely rotten. I hadn’t noticed because I could neither smell nor taste, the texture didn’t seem weird (again though, I was really sick and a bit out of it). The smell was so bad that we stuck the carton outside to freeze. Thankfully I didn’t get sick and because I couldn’t taste or smell any of these events, was not traumatized out of my love of eggnog!
Anyway, this recipe is from Alton Brown (**cooking swoon). I have adapted it slightly to lighten it up, but have included his original recipe in square brackets. It is very delicious both ways, I just like to drink more of it without feeling over-riched. I also omit the alcohol in the initial batch, preferring to add it as it is served to those who want the booze, and as we all know The Kraken is a Not Crocker favourite for deliciously boozing up anything! Alton also offers tips on how to make a cooked version (for those afraid of raw eggs), I don’t think it’s necessary to cook it, but certainly do it if you are worried!
Last Christmas we drank a couple batches of this delicious stuff, this Christmas I was on constant eggnog duty, whipping up an impressive 13 batches (I made three triple batches and two double batches). This is also incredible served in coffee and as an ingredient in the eggnog pumpkin pie I baked up for dessert which will be posted later this week.
Enjoy!
Eggnog
Slightly adapted from Alton Brown’s delicious recipe, also check here for a cooked version.
Makes enough for 4 people, I recommend doubling or even tripling the batch if you have a container to keep it in (we cleaned out a milk jug which worked perfectly and allowed us to shake it well before stirring to redistribute the nutmeg and the frothiness).
INGREDIENTS
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon kept separate
- 2 cups of partly skim milk, I’ve used both 1% and 2% [Alton calls for whole milk]
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg [Alton calls for freshly grated, but I didn’t have this on hand and the nog was still excellent]
- 4 egg whites
DIRECTIONS
- In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, and nutmeg and stir to combine.
- In a very clean bowl (preferably of a mixer) beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add the tablespoon of sugar and continue to beat to stiff peaks. (If you have accidentally gotten some whites, water, grease, etc. in your bowl, your whites may not stiffen enough, that’s okay, beat them the best you can and continue on, the nog will be less frothy but no less delicious. Live and learn!)
- Whisk the egg whites into the milk and yolk mixture, chill and serve with a shot of spiced rum or brandy.
Lightened yolks. Scrape down the sides to fully dissolve the sugar.
Cream and yolk mixture set aside, awaiting the whipped whites. This bowl was handy for us to pour the mixture into a container.
Gorgeous cloud of whites ready to fluff up this holiday nog.