Homemade Eggnog Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in eggnog? ›

A traditional holiday drink dating back hundreds of years, eggnog is made with eggs (hence the name), milk, cream, spices like nutmeg and vanilla, and fortified with rum, whisky, and/or brandy.

Choose The Right Spirit

While brandy is the most traditional alcohol to pair with eggnog, according to traditional recipes, you can also use a mixture of dark rum and Cognac. If you like your eggnog with more of a kick you can also add bourbon, but we recommend sticking to rum and Cognac to preserve the 'nog's flavors.

To thicken the mixture, add a cornstarch slurry. Thoroughly combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup cool water. Add this mixture at the end of cooking the egg yolks, sugar, and rum in the bowl over the simmering water bath. Whisk until thickened then proceed with chilling.

Add a splash of vanilla or almond extract, or turn your eggnog into an iced eggnog latte by pouring a shot of espresso into the shaker. Either way, you'll feel the spirit of the holidays!

The Food and Drug Administration suggests consuming commercial eggnog within three to five days of opening a carton, and you should drink homemade eggnog within two to four days of making. If you're unsure whether eggnog has gone off, give it a whiff, and check for these signs: lumpy texture. spoiled milk smell.

Today, eggnog is usually made of some combination of eggs (either just the yolks or the yolks and the whipped egg whites), sugar, milk, cream, nutmeg, and sometimes booze.

Eggs must be cooked to 160 degrees F to kill bacteria such as Salmonella that may be present. If your eggnog recipe calls for raw eggs, it may not be safe. Adding alcohol inhibits bacterial growth, but it cannot be relied upon to kill bacteria.

"Tom and Jerry is a form of hot eggnog [co*cktail] that was once popular." The Tom and Jerry was invented by British journalist Pierce Egan in the 1820s, using brandy and rum added to eggnog and served hot, usually in a mug or a bowl. It is a traditional Christmastime co*cktail in the United States.

After giving it a good shake, you can strain and serve right away, or shake it again with ice if you prefer your eggnog extra chilled.

This eggnog recipe calls for 3 cups of liquid dairy. I make it with 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk. You can change the ratio (e.g. 2 cups whole milk, 1 cup cream), or use lower-fat products like half and half or 2% milk but you do so at the risk of a less-creamy final product.

What is the ratio of eggnog to alcohol? ›

Getting the Ratio Right

This applies to both store-bought and homemade. eggnog. So if you buy a one-quart container of eggnog, add 6.5 ounces of your chosen liquor(s).

Homemade eggnog is thickened first with egg yolks and then given even more texture by folding in whipped egg whites at the end. Those egg whites transform what can be a fairly heavy, overly rich drink into something airier and frothier — though no less decadent.

Eggnog is typically made with rum, brandy or bourbon, and Brown likes to start with a combination of dark rum and cognac. But there's no need to go premium; he recommends using an affordable, high-proof VS cognac. The higher alcohol level will cut through the sweetness of the rest of the ingredients.

Alcohol: If you want to add alcohol to your eggnog, start with ¼ cup brandy, bourbon, rum or whisky added at the same time as the vanilla, or after cooling the eggnog. Add more to taste, if desired.

Southern Comfort

This velvety beverage is what we've come to expect when we pick up a carton of nog. It's sweet without being overpowering, “perfectly thick, like Santa's waist,” according to one taster, and it has a photogenic golden hue, thanks to a touch of turmeric.

Health Benefits of Eggnog

“While eggnog is not necessarily a 'health food', there are nutritional benefits coming from milk and cream, which contain protein and essential vitamins including calcium, and vitamins A, D, E and K,” Ariel Rasabi Cohn, MS, RD, LDN, founder of Whole Health Nutrition, LLC, told Health.

At its core, eggnog is an emulsion of milk and/or cream, sugar, and, yes, eggs. Unlike in an egg cream—a similar old-timey drink that actually gets its name from the foamy, whipped egg white-like texture achieved by mixing seltzer and dairy fat—the “egg” in eggnog is very, very real.

Ingredients: milk, sugar, cream, skim milk, whey, egg yolks, guar gum, natural and artificial flavor, carrageenan, spices, salt, gelatin, annatto-turmeric color.

Eggnog is made with a combination of eggs, milk or cream, and sugar. Generally, it's served cold, and it has a custard-like color and texture. Sometimes, bourbon or whiskey or rum is added, which might be one reason it gets broken out around the holidays.