Homemade Eggnog Recipe

Is there anything better than enjoying delicious homemade eggnog during the holiday season?

Right now, there are people saying, “yes, yes there are a ton of things better than homemade eggnog.”  Because, there seems to be two types of people in the world.  The people who LOVE eggnog and wait all year to enjoy it (I like to call them “eggnog fans”), and the people who think it’s downright disgusting.

There seems to be no middle ground.

For those that hate eggnog, I just don’t need that negativity in my life.

I kid, I kid.  If you dislike eggnog, I’m totally cool with it.  Actually, I probably like you guys better because if you come to my house it means I don’t have to share my eggnog. Which means more for me.  

My family all LOVES eggnog at this time of year. It’s definitely one of the favorite holiday drinks around here which is a bit of a bummer because when I make it that means I have to share it with EVERYONE.  Go figure.  The kids who barely eat anything always want the good stuff.

I decided since we have chickens who are laying eggs this year it was time to put those eggs to good use instead of buying our usual store-bought eggnog.  Of course, I’m not going to lie, I was dreaming of what this eggnog would taste like if I had my own cow and used fresh milk and cream from a dairy cow.

But, I’ll take what I can get.  And right now, it’s farm fresh eggs.

I’m going to be honest – making your own eggnog is not going to save you  money.  The higher the fat content in cream, it seems the more the expense.  However, if you’ve followed my blog for quite some time, you know that while I live very frugally, I like to put a bit of money out for good food.

What can I say? I’m a foodie.  Some things are worth paying for.  And making a traditional eggnog recipe to enjoy is definitely worth it in my books.

There were years we lived on the cheapest food we can find.  I am thankful for knowing how to keep the grocery budget down during those extremely tight times.  Now that we have a little more room though, I like to invest in food that is better for our bodies.  Homesteading helps in that area as well, even with a smaller homestead.

All that to say, homemade eggnog, to me, is worth the cost.  Because it’s SO delicious and it doesn’t have all those extra preservatives in it that is in the eggnog you buy in the grocery store.

Traditionally eggnog is uncooked ( of course, not the stuff you buy in the store) but I’ve made a cooked version.  Generally I’m not too worried about a risk of salmonella from raw eggs (I’ve eaten my fair share of cookie dough in my lifetime), but I’ve got an extremely busy December and I started feeling a little nervous that getting sick would cause a serious problem with my schedule.  

Also, when I’m sharing recipes with the general public I feel a little overly cautious about these things.  

The type of cream you use in this recipe is entirely up to you.  I have used half and half and table cream, and I’ve even used whipping cream.  I found whipping cream just a little too thick, but maybe you want to be able to eat your eggnog with a spoon.  

If that’s the case, make sure to use whipping cream or some other kind of heavy cream.  Half and half is what I like to use regularly.  Table cream will give a bit more thickness and that’s a good option too for a creamy eggnog.  

And of course, you can skip the cream altogether and go with whole milk instead.

So, let’s make a classic eggnog recipe for the Christmas holidays, shall we?

HOMEMADE EGGNOG

First you want to take your 10 eggs and separate the whites from the yolks.  Discard the whites.  Or use them as a facial. I hear you can do that.  I haven’t tried.  Sticky eggs on my face is not my idea of a good time.

Anyways, whisk egg yolks and then add 1/2 cup of white sugar  and 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the egg yolk mixture.  Whisk until well mixed.  Set aside.

Pour 3 cups of milk, 3 cups of half and half cream (or use table cream for a thicker eggnog), 1 tsp of nutmeg, 1 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of salt into a pot.  Heat this mixture on medium-low heat until nice and hot but NOT BOILING.

Once it’s nice and hot, you want to add a few tablespoons of the milk mixture into the egg mixture and whisk vigorously.  This is to temper the eggs.  

If you were to mix it all in at once you would end up cooking the eggs and then you’d have chunk of scrambled eggs in your egg nog.

After adding a few tablespoons, add the rest 1 cup at a time until completely mixed in.

Pour the mixture back into the pot and turn heat to medium high.  Stir it constantly until it thickens.  Again, avoid boiling.  Also remember that it will thicken a bit more as it cools so don’t worry too much if you find it not as thick as you want.

Remove from the heat and add the 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp of rum extract.  We use extract instead of real rum because that way my kids can drink it. 🙂

Mine was free of egg chunks, but sometimes if you temper the eggs too quickly or don’t stir enough you can end up with egg chunks. If that bothers you just strain them out.

Put in the fridge to cool until ready to serve.  Put a sprinkle of cinnamon or a dash of ground nutmeg on top if you so desire. 

When it comes to eggnog everyone has a preference with how thick they like it.  A lot of people like it really thick.  I found this recipe to be pretty thick.  If you want it a little thinner, just add another cup of milk after it cools.  

And there you have it.  A classic homemade eggnog recipe that you are going to love.  It’s way better than the commercial eggnog you buy in the store.  At least, that’s my personal opinion.  Serve this with some hot chocolate and that way everyone, even your eggnog haters, will have their drink of choice (unless they hate both – then, I’ve got nothing for ya.)

And there you have it – delicious, homemade eggnog.  It won’t last long because it’s so good!