Who doesn’t love a nice jar of creamy, thick, and sweet Eggnog. This Easy Eggnog Recipe is super easy to whip up and will really bring some festive cheer to whatever you’re doing! Ditch your fear of making homemade Eggnog and learn how easy it is to make your own, kid friendly eggnog so you can quit buying the cartons.
Around here, Autumn and Fall is when you usually start seeing the cartons of Eggnog start to appear in your local grocery stores. And the groceries start to really push it right around Thanksgiving so you can enjoy it while holiday shopping and wrapping your gifts for family and friends.
We love giving Mason Jar Gift ideas around here and it’s always fun to sip on a jar full of this Simple Eggnog Recipe while we are gathering all the things we need to make some of those gifts in a jar, like our Christmas Sangria, Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar, Hot Chocolate Mix and any of our other favorites.
In fact, we must say that we’ve had a blast baking our brownies, chocolate cake and magic bars for our holiday baking and cookie exchanges with friends and family recently.
But, what’s really made those hours spent baking extra fun, was sharing some eggnog and Snowman Hot Chocolate Bombs with each other and the kiddos while we smell all the amazing treats in the kitchen.
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Eggnog Recipe
- No additives and preservatives that you find in store-bought version
- Easy way to make it so kids and adults can enjoy this drink
- Truly brings a festive feel to your holiday meals and activities
- Don’t have to stalk the refrigerated aisle looking for in stock eggnog (no shipping interruptions with this recipe!)
Recipe Ingredients
- eggs
- sugar
- whole milk
- ground nutmeg
- ground cinnamon
- vanilla extract
- heavy whipping cream
- salt
Tools To Make The Easiest Eggnog Recipe
Mixing Bowl
- 3-PIECE: Set includes 1-qt, 1.5-qt, and 2.5-qt round glass bowls. This is the perfect set for all manners of prepping, baking and home entertainment.
Saucepan
- EXCEPTIONAL DESIGN: enjoy mirror finish, classic look and professional performance. Aluminum encapsulated base heats quickly and spreads heat evenly– eliminating hot spots
Candy Thermometer
- INSULATED HANDLE AND PAN CLIP Clip is adjustable to attach to any size pan
Mason Jars for Storing and Serving
- 2-Regular mouth glass preserving mason jars. 2-Regular mouth lids. 2-Regular mouth bands.
- Ideal for sliced fruits and vegetables, pickles, tomato-based juices, and sauces.
- These jars are BPA-free. Dishwasher Safe and Reusable
- New and improved sure tight lids
- Helps keep canned food sealed now for up to 18-months
Refrigerator and Stove
How To Make Eggnog
- Mix eggs and sugar in mixing bowl with whisk until combined.
- Transfer everything to a saucepan, add in whole molk, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. Stir all together.
- Heat egg mixture on low-medium heat and constantly stir it with your whisk to prevent the eggs from scrambling and milk from scorching or curdling. As the mixture heats up, it will thicken.
- Use a candy thermometer to see when the mixture reaches 160F and then remove from heat.
- Slowly whisk in the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract.
- Let it cool a bit before tasting. Add more spices or sugar if desired.
- Transfer to Mason Jar and refrigerate overnight or until thoroughly chilled. Mixture will thicken as it cools.
- Serve in jars and garnish with whipped cream, cinnamon sticks and a sprinkle of nutmeg if desired.
Ingredients in a mixing bowl 
Everything transferred to a saucepan, ready for the stove.
What Is Eggnog?
Eggnog is a holiday special drink, also known as a milk punch, that is quite popular during the colder months. Traditionally, it is made using raw eggs and is served cold.
However, it has become popular to serve it warm, or use it in drinks like our fantastic Eggnog Latte (our recipe coming soon).
Is It Safe To Make Eggnog With Raw Eggs?
Traditional eggnog recipes use raw eggs. Some people believe that the alcohol in the eggnog sterilizes the ability for salmonella to form. It has been said that eggnog made with raw, unpasteurized eggs can possibly contain salmonella, and because of that we choose to cook our eggs in this recipe.
While it’s not something we have done ourselves, if you do want to use raw eggs in eggnog, here is what we recommend doing to choose the best eggs:
- Use the freshest eggs possible (from your own chickens if you have them)
- Use organic eggs if they’re available
- Use pasteurized eggs
- Include alcohol in your recipe to help sterilize the ability for salmonella to continue to grow or be present in your drink creation
Variations
Ground spices vs fresh spices– we used ground spices in this recipe as it was what we had on hand. You can also use fresh spices and even freshly grind your own garden grown spices to really bring full flavor to this easy drink recipe.
Raw eggs– Traditionally, eggnog is made with raw eggs. But, we have a mentally hard time consuming raw eggs in fear or salmonella and other funky things. So, we chose to use our fresh chicken eggs and cook or temper them a bit in this recipe for safety reasons.
Adjust spices– we recommend starting at the lower end of the spice recommendation and then taste testing. If you like more of any of the spices, then add them in in smaller increments and give it a taste test after each addition until you reach your desired flavor.
Add a splash of vanilla– add a dash of your vanilla extract to your drink recipe.
Add alcohol– to make this Eggnog recipe an ADULT’S only recipe (those old enough to legally drink), add your favorite spirit of choice. To see our recommendations, keep reading below.
Tips & Tricks
- As hard as it is, let your eggnog sit in the refrigerator to let the flavors meld or age. The longer you do this, the more flavor it will have and the tastier it will be.
- Don’t skip the letting it sit overnight step- the fresh eggnog will most likely taste too strong or offputting if you don’t give it the time it DESERVES to meld and join all the flavors together.
What Is The Best Alcohol To Mix With Eggnog?
If you wish to add some alcohol to your recipe, here is what we recommend.
Try an alcohol choice with a higher alcohol concentration to help balance the natural sweetness you can get from this drink.
Give your favorite brandy, bourbon, whiskey, rum or cognac a try!
Does Eggnog Need To Be Cooked?
Traditional egg nog is not cooked, however many recipes, like ours prefer that you cook it for the safety of consuming the eggs. So, NO, it does NOT NEED to be cooked, but we prefer it to be. You do YOU, if you are ok with the raw eggs, go on with the raw eggs, just know the risk.
How Do You Store Eggnog?
Store your drink in an air tight container, preferably in a Mason Jar with a lid and ring to keep it nice and safe.
Does Homemade Eggnog Need To Be Refrigerated?
We recommend storing your drink in a Mason Jar in the refrigerator. Since eggs and milk both require refrigeration, it’s only natural to refrigerate this holiday drink recipe.
How Long Is Homemade Eggnog Safe?
Traditional Eggnog with alcohol is aged for weeks. The longer it ages, the better it tastes for many people. We recommend consuming your drink within 2 weeks to a month once you’ve made it.
Can I Freeze Eggnog?
Great question. You can freeze eggnog! Wahoo. We suggest you put it in a freezer safe air tight container or Mason Jar. Add it to your freezer inventory list so you don’t forget about it and know when to use it by.
Frozen eggnog is good for 6 months.
To thaw frozen Eggnog, remove from freezer and place in the refrigerator to thaw overnight. It may need a little longer. We recommend placing a towel under it incase anything happens to it so it doesn’t cause a mess in the refrigerator.
Why Is My Eggnog Lumpy?
Eggnog starts to turn lumpy, clump or curdle when it wasn’t made properly or it has gone bad.
While you’re making your eggnog, if the egg mixture starts to boil or gets too hot then it will start to clump, get lumpy or curdle.
Other Recipes
Some of our other amazing recipes you can enjoy this festive season:
Eggnog Pancakes | Coming Soon
No Bake Eggnog Cheesecake Bars | Coming Soon
Winter Wonderland Mocktail | Kid Friendly fun ginger ale mocktail. Great for parties and festive times.
Easy Eggnog Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- pinch of salt
- dash of cinnamon for topping
Instructions
- Mix eggs and sugar in mixing bowl with whisk until combined.
- Transfer everything to a saucepan, add in whole molk, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. Stir all together.
- Heat egg mixture on low-medium heat and constantly stir it with your whisk to prevent the eggs from scrambling and milk from scorching or curdling. As the mixture heats up, it will thicken.
- Use a candy thermometer to see when the mixture reaches 160F and then remove from heat.
- Slowly whisk in the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract.
- Let it cool a bit before tasting. Add more spices or sugar if desired.
- Transfer to Mason Jar and refrigerate overnight or until thoroughly chilled. Mixture will thicken as it cools.
- Serve in jars and garnish with whipped cream, cinnamon sticks and a sprinkle of nutmeg if desired.
Notes
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Keep On Sippin’ On Something Sweet
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