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(Photo: Christie Vuong. Food styling: Eshun Mott. Prop styling: Rayna Marlee Schwartz. Produced by: Sun Ngo)
There’s something deeply satisfying about the ritual of making eggnog from scratch. It’s creamy and rich, with just the right amount of spice and a silky texture that puts the carton stuff to shame. Whether you spike it or not, it’s a cozy classic worth slowing down for.
6 large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
2 cups 3.25% milk
1 cup 35% cream
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup rum, brandy or bourbon (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
Beat egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, until thick and pale, about 1 min. (Or 2 min done by hand with a whisk.)
Combine milk, cream, nutmeg and salt in a medium saucepan set over medium. Heat just until mixture steams (do not boil).
Slowly whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture to warm it up, then return mixture to saucepan.
Reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, until it reaches 160F on a thermometer. (It will be steaming and thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.)
Remove from heat, then stir in rum and vanilla. Strain into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve. Set aside to cool, then cover and refrigerate until chilled, 4 hrs or overnight. Stir well before serving. Pour into glasses and garnish with a cinnamon stick and a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg. Leftover eggnog will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Find more of our best eggnog recipes—for sweets, drinks and more.
No time for homemade? Here are our favourite supermarket eggnogs.
Jennifer Pallian is a food scientist, recipe developer and blogger at Foodess. She lives in Vancouver.