Delicious holiday eggnog without refined sugars or heavy cream. Enjoy it as is, spike it for an enjoyable adult drink, or add it to your coffee instead of creamer. Make it diary-free by using almond milk or coconut milk.
With Christmas just a week away, there is no better time to have a glass…. or two of eggnog. Our family’s holiday season is not complete without eggnog. I love it on its own, but it’s fabulous in coffee. The Hubs and I normally drink our coffee as is, you know… black. But we love adding a splash of eggnog to our morning coffee whenever we have some in the fridge. If you haven’t tried it, start your next morning with it! You’ll thank me later, trust me… it’s that good.
In the past we have always bought a carton of premade eggnog. Have you looked at the back of a carton??!! I’ve seen high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, artificial flavors and many other additives/fillers in store bought eggnog. So I try my best to find the cleanest premade eggnog available. As I was complaining about the amount of unwanted ingredients in eggnog, the Hubs asked me why I don’t try to make it.
My response… umm.. raw eggs. I’m not about that life, the salmonella life. No, thank you. I know the risk is pretty low, considering our eggs are pasteurized. But with my luck, I will get it. So I try to avoid consuming raw eggs whenever possible. After doing a bit of research on making eggnog, I decided to give it a try.
Guess what! It was super easy and delicious. Oh! Don’t worry. No raw eggs here! This eggnog is sweetened with maple syrup and cashew milk is used to help make it creamy. Plus, you can simply make this dairy free by subbing cow’s milk with your choice of dairy free milk! Skipping the heavy cream makes this eggnog not as thick as traditional eggnog, most eggnogs are mouth coating thick… this one is not. But if you like that extra thick and creamy eggnog read the tips below.
Tips: * Tempering the eggs is very important, don’t skip this step! We don’t want scrambled eggs in our drink! *To make the eggnog thicker and creamer, try using whole milk or full fat coconut milk (this may add a coconut flavor to your eggnog) for the first step or use cashew milk for both parts. Adding an extra egg yolk or two will also help thicken it a bit and add a richer flavor.
I don’t know why it took me so long to make it at home. We avoid all the unwanted ingredients, but still get the same classic eggnog flavor. I cannot believe how simple it was to make, which means no more store bought eggnog for us!
Eggnog, Lightened Up
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk almond milk, coconut milk, cow’s milk
- 3 whole cloves
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups cashew milk
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, warm 2 cups milk (almond, coconut, cow’s) and cloves over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. *Do not bring to a boil.
- In a medium bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks. Add maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Whisk until combined.
- Temper the eggs by adding a ladle full of the warm milk to the egg mixture. Whisking to fully combined. Add another ladle full of the warm milk and whisk until combined.
- Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the warm milk. Heat on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. * Do not let it boil.
- Pour the eggnog through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass container and mix in the cashew milk.
- Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 5 hours.