Today I’m sharing a recipe for our holiday favorite: homemade eggnog! Now, I feel as though I’m required to say that consumption of raw or undercooked eggs may cause food borne illness… Because we make ours with raw eggs. One of the perks of owning a farm with chickens is that we can feel super confident about the freshness and cleanliness of the eggs that we eat.
For this recipe, you’ll need heavy cream, milk, eggs, sugar, and spices. You can add rum or other alcohol if you like.
To Make Homemade Eggnog:
- Crack 6 eggs, separating the yolks from the whites. The whites will be used in a later step, so set those aside for now.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the yolks with 1 cup of sugar. Mix to a uniform yellow color.
- Add 2 cups of milk (we use 1%) and 1 cup of heavy cream to the yolk-sugar mixture. Add approximately 2 teaspoons of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and half a teaspoon each of ground nutmeg and ground cloves. Whisk until sugar is fully incorporated.
- Using a whisk or stand mixer, whip the egg whites until they begin to stiffen.
- Fold the stiffened egg whites into the eggnog and serve.
This recipe should yield approximately six glasses of ‘nog. If you don’t need that much, you can keep it in a Mason jar in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Fun fact: eggnog (made with alcohol) can be aged for weeks, months, or even a year! Some say that making eggnog was a way to preserve the bountiful eggs and dairy products of autumn for the cold months ahead.