Recipe: How to Make Eggnog From Scratch

It’s that time of year. Holiday parties are happening, families are gathering and sometimes a nice glass of (boozey or non-boozey) eggnog is exactly what you need. The cartons on the shelf at the grocery store are fine, but making it fresh, with good ingredients—like, you know, actual eggs!—just hits differently.

There are a few ways you can make it (specifically whether or not you heat the nog to temper the eggs), but I went with the traditional route, and it’s excellent… and easy.

The key thing to know is how long eggnog lasts: whether you add alcohol or not makes a big difference. I’ll explain that below!

Recipe: Eggnog From Scratch

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 cups milk (I used 3%/whole milk)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup to 1 ½ cups of alcohol of your choice (rum, bourbon, Cognac or a mix are all good choices)
• cinnamon sticks
• nutmeg for garnish (freshly grated is best)
• optional vanilla extract for extra flavour

Instructions

Separate the egg whites from the yolks in two different bowls; put the yolks in a large mixing bowl.
Put the egg whites to the side, you can use them when you serve your eggnog.

To the yolks, add the cup of sugar and then with a hand mixer (or stand mixer), whisk until they turn light-coloured and are smooth and creamy. Don’t under-whisk them.

Next, add the milk and cream (if you want, you can play around with the measurements of these, as long as it adds up to 3 cups. Try 1.5 cups of milk and 1.5 cups of cream for a thicker eggnog) and then add the alcohol, if you are using it, and whisk to combine. Make sure you get to the bottom of the bowl as some of the sugar might stick. You can also add vanilla if you’d like.

Eggnog without alcohol should be consumed within a day. With alcohol it will last longer in the fridge and taste even better with age. The more alcohol the longer it lasts, but I’d recommend making it no more than few days before you want to serve it, just to be safe.

Transfer the eggnog to a sealed container and let chill in the fridge. At this time, you can add a few cinnamon sticks to the eggnog to infuse it while it rests.

If you’d like, right before serving, you can beat the leftover egg whites to stiff peaks and then fold it into the eggnog and it will be extra creamy. I personally used them to make other cocktails!

To serve, pour the eggnog into a glass—you can add whipped cream to the top as well—and grate some fresh nutmeg on top (or sprinkle some from your spice rack).

Enjoy!