If It Doesn't Have Any Egg In It, Is It Just Nog?

Eggless Egg Nog

One of special treats to indulge in at this time of the year is Egg Nog. I've always wanted to learn to make homemade eggnog, but the recipes all seemed so complicated. Separate eggs, cook the custard, beat the whites, fold in, way too many steps for this everyday cook. Not to mention that everything you read warns against using real (raw) eggs, you have to buy special egg white powder, who does all of that? So I've become a real connoisseur of good "store-bought" eggnog--trust me, all brands are not created equally! The problem with good eggnog, though, is that it's 1. expensive, and 2. extraordinarily full of fat and calories.

So imagine my delight when I found this recipe! It's super simple to make, inexpensive, and everything in it is a "regular food" ingredient, nothing exotic!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon milk of choice
• 1 pkg instant French vanilla pudding mix
• 1/4 c sugar
• 2 t vanilla
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t ground nutmeg

Whisk together pudding mix and about a cup of milk. When it's all blended, and dissolved, add the sugar, vanilla, and spices. Pour into a 2 quart pitcher, add the rest of the 1/2 gallon of milk, and stir well. This gets better after it's refrigerated for a couple of hours, but you will need to stir it every time before you serve it, the spice float to the top and bottom.

I made this yesterday, and it's delicious! It tastes just like eggnog, the only difference is, it doesn't have the "thickness" or body that most eggnog has.

Variations:

Use Splenda and sugar-free pudding mix, and skim milk for a really lo-cal version.

For someone lactose intolerant or with allergies, you could use your substitute milk of choice.

I made this with 2% milk yesterday. I wouldn't do this regularly, but for a real treat for Christmas eve or for a special party, I could see using some half-and-half or cream for part of the milk, just to make it a little thicker and richer.

I'll be making this often this year.

Happy (un)cooking, and happy sipping!

Edited to add: Sun, Dec 14th, Joy at Five J's is hosting the first night of a bloggy progessive dinner. Tonights feature is festive holiday drinks. Check it out and see what other delectable drinkables you may find!