A few weeks ago, my mom sent me a recipe clipped from Parade magazine for Almond Eggnog. I have to admit I couldn’t wait for Christmas just to try this recipe.
Of course Christmas snuck up faster than it normally does and before you know it I was standing over my stove stirring egg yolks and milk making my very first eggnog.
My grandma is famous for her eggnog. Every year for Christmas when I was a child, she hosted Christmas and served her huge glass punch bowl of eggnog floating with dollops of ice cream.
Because it’s just me and my dad eating and drinking everything in sight, I decided not to make a huge batch of eggnog. The Parade recipe makes 12 servings My dad and I certainly do not need to drink 12 servings of eggnog (especially not at 200 calories a serving), so I cut the recipe in half. As I was stirring the egg yolk-milk mixture on my stovetop I marveled at how small the pot was and realized that Parade’s serving size is not the same as my serving size. By halving the recipe I got two huge glasses of eggnog – one for me one for my dad, which was fine because I don’t need to drink copious amounts of eggnog with all the other Christmas goodies on the menu.
For my first eggnog, it was much of a success. I think my grandma would be proud.
ingredients.
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ c. sugar
- 2 c. whole milk
- 1 c. half and half
- ½ c. blanched slivered almonds
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- Zest of 1 lemon, in strips (I used a carrot/potato slicer)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- cinnamon, for serving (optional)
- rum and/or ice cream for serving (optional)
directions.
- Combine yolks and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until thick and creamy.
- Combine milk, almonds, vanilla bean, citrus zest, and cinnamon sticks in a large saucepan over medium heat. Warm until steaming and surface just begins to bubble (do not boil). Cook 10 minutes, stirring often, but do not let boil. (Pay attention to bottom of pan; stir often and reduce heat if needed to keep from scorching.)
- Turn off heat and let milk mixture cool slightly. Drizzle some warm milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Continue to slowly drizzle in milk, whisking constantly, until yolk mixture is warm and about one-quarter of milk mixture has been incorporated into yolks. Pour yolk mixture into saucepan with remaining milk. Turn heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens enough to lightly coat back of a spoon (do not let boil), about 5 minutes. Turn off heat; add almond extract. Let cool; chill in refrigerator.
- Before serving, remove cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean, and strips of zest with a slotted spoon; discard. (Leave almonds in eggnog.) Puree in a blender until smooth and frothy. Serve topped with cinnamon and spike with a shot of rum, if desired.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 
Thanks for letting me camp out in your blog for a little while today. I had a great time and tried to leave my campsite as good as when I arrived. I’ll be back!
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by, Russel! You can camp out any time you like!!
LikeLike