Maybe – just maybe – you don’t already have a go-to recipe for homemade egg nog. Maybe you pour whipping cream and brandy and shake nutmeg and cinnamon into your blender on December 1st every year and haven’t looked back. Or, more rather, haven’t looked twice at the festively decorated cartons of egg nog that start cropping up in grocery stores sometime after Halloween, increasing, over the years, in variety and number. But, if you’ve never made your own egg nog, don’t let the soy peppermint cinnamon dolce egg-free stuff at your local grocer fool you. It is not food, and will taste just like soy peppermint cinnamon dolce egg-free egg nog, and you’ll wonder “how did they get it to taste like that,” and you’ll agree with me that making one’s own is worth the shame of going to the grocery store only to buy whipping cream, an 18-pack of eggs, and brandy. And rum. But you probably had that at home anyway.
Throw a pound of butter in your basket for good measure – you’ll need it for the cookies later – and make a hasty retreat. It’s Christmas-time, and high time you realized the joy of sucking back frothy, thick, very heavily spiked and spiced egg nog. It is full of raw eggs, and it’s totally against all the rules – both of your diet and likely your friendly neighbourhood public health practitioner – and absolutely delicious. Christmas isn’t Christmas without it, preferably sipped from a rounded-bottom glass while listening to Anne Murray’s Christmas album and unwrapping your favourite ornaments from their delicate tissue paper-nestled homes to rest between the branches of your enormous (real, sticky, wet and wonderful-smelling) tree.
There, now you know all my secrets. Merry Christmas, my friends. Now go dig out your favourite ugly sweater – the one with the bells and sequins sewn on it, you know – and your blender, and make yourself a drink.
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 cup brandy
- 1/3 cup spiced rum
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 2 cups milk
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric beater until frothy. Gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. (Add cinnamon too, if you wish!).
- Gently stir in the brandy, rum, whipping cream and milk.
- Transfer to a pitcher, chill and serve.
Whoa Jess – this one sounds deadly! I might just have to try it 🙂
Oh it is SO good. It’s my ammunition for wrapping presents…..
Hey Jessie,
Merry Christmas to you as well!
Thanks for this recipe….I remember years ago the Middle Deck in Halifax served a warm egg nog made with Bailey’s Irish Creme. It was uber delicious. I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried this recipe served warm…and if there would need to be recipe adjustments? Thoughts?
Neat idea! No, I’ve never even heard of warmed egg nog. I wonder if you would leave out the other alcohol (you know, maybe). I just wonder about the eggs…maybe less cream or something and tempering the eggs just slightly to achieve a not-too-thick consistency, then adding the Baileys???