Homemade eggnog with rum and kahlua tastes so different, and way better, from store bought eggnog. It’s light, silky and not too sweet with wonderful Christmas spices, vanilla and a generous helping of rum and kahlua to get you in the Christmas spirit. Make this homemade eggnog your new family tradition!
We have a confession to make…
Neither Debbie or I really like store bought eggnog. For us both, its just too thick and too sweet. However, rum and eggnog is Kevin’s favorite Christmas cocktail and we know that there are lots of other eggnog lovers out there so we thought we would play around with it and post a version that we liked. Or at least one that Kevin liked…
As we were talking about it, Debbie remembered that her dad, Peter, used to make homemade eggnog with rum every year when she was growing up. Peter was a Aero Technican in the Canadian Forces so he fixed planes and taught others to fix them as well. When Debbie was little, they lived on a military base in Cold Lake, Alberta for about 6 or 7 years and this is where she remembers her dad making homemade eggnog with rum the most. She recalls that he loved the stuff and always had a cup of eggnog in his hand at Christmas. Back then, it was tradition for people to go house to house on Christmas Eve and in their house, the homemade eggnog was always placed in the middle of the coffee table with appies all around the bowl, ready for when people came by.
Peter passed away many years ago now… He was a quiet man, but he had a great sense of humor and he is sure missed! So needless to say, when she found his homemade eggnog recipe we knew we had to make it.
I wont say that its an easy recipe. The individual parts of it are easy, but there’s sure a lot of mixing ingredients separately and then finally mixing the three parts together in the end. That said, its sure worth the effort! As I mentioned, Debbie and I both don’t really care for eggnog, but this homemade eggnog is light and fluffy and not too sweet. Its lightly spiced and really very very good! I couldn’t believe how much I liked it! And Debbie liked it too. Just goes to show, homemade is always better!
It’s not a diet friendly cocktail, but I can handle one or two of these a year! Maybe three…. but who’s counting 🙂
The vanilla bean, cinnamon, and Kahlua are our extra additions to Peters master recipe. We just figured we would kick it up a notch, like we often do. 🙂 I’m sure Peter would approve…
Enjoy! And let us know how you like it if you give this homemade eggnog with rum and kahlua a try. We would love to hear from you!
Homemade Eggnog with Rum and Kahlua
Ingredients
- 6 eggs separated into whites and yolks
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 ½ cups half and half cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1 ¼ cup whipping cream
- 1 cup rum
- 1 cup kahlua
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Add the egg whites to a mixer. Beat the egg whites until frothy, gradually add in 1/3 cup of the sugar and beat till stiff peaks form.
In another bowl beat whipping cream till stiff peaks form.
In yet another bowl beat the egg yolks, add the remaining sugar and beat some more. Add the milk, light cream, rum and Kahlua. Mix well but gently. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the sticky seeds into the mixture. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir again.
- Pour all the ingredients into one big bowl or the bowl you’re going to serve the eggnog.
- Gently fold the egg whites and whipping cream into the eggnog and mix thoroughly but very gently. A whisk helps.
- Chill and sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon when you serve it.
Recipe Notes
We rimmed our glasses with cinnamon and coarse sugar. It tastes delish when you are drinking the eggnog.
This is the REAL deal ladies! Delicious and beautiful photography….I love the additions of vanilla bean, cinnamon and Kahlua. Thank you for this!! Pinned to my most popular board! 😀 Here’s to Peter <3
Hi ladies,
I am going to attempt to make your eggnog recipe this weekend. But, was it intentional that the milk was listed twice? Also, I presume we are to use black (not spicy) rum? Lastly, I am ignorant, what do I do with the vanilla bean?
Thank you.
Bruce
Hi Bruce! Im so happy to hear that your going to try this recipe. I hope you let us know how it turned out 🙂 As for the recipe… Thanks for pointing out that we double counted the milk. Ive adjusted the recipe. Also, I added some instructions on what to do with the vanilla bean, but basically what you do is slit the bean lenghthwise and then use a knife and scrape the sides of the bean. You will get all the sticky seeds inside stuck to your knife. Then just put those into your eggnog. If you are still wondering what the heck to do with it, Im sure there will be a video on youtube showing how to get the seeds out of a vanilla bean. Oh and the rum… yes you can use dark rum like Appletons from Jamaica or Mt Gay from Barbados or any really. You could also use spiced rum if you like, but we havent tried that. It might taste a little different, but still good. Hope you love it!
How many servings does this make?
Hi Linda, I think it will make about 15 cups give or take. Ive updated the recipe to reflect this. Hope you enjoy it!
I’ve looked everywhere for a vanilla bean without luck. I’ll have to use a good extract. How much would you recommend? Ty
Oh darn, yes they can be tough to find sometimes. I love vanilla so I would use a good splash. 2 tsps to start for me. However, since Im not drinking it… start with 1 tsp, then when you have everything mixed together, add a tsp at a time until you are happy with the flavor. It will still be delicious! Merry Christmas!
Julie,
Oh, thank you very much for your reply!
And now I have even one more question, which is making me a little nervous…
I do not see the “light cream” referred to in the instructions. Did I miss something?
And oh my gosh these terms for a rookie that is having to look up every little thing… What’s a stiff peak? Glad I have Google 🙂
Thanks again.
Bruce
ps- 20 hrs till showtime with no rehearsal 🙂
And I presumed nothing can be made ahead of time? This should be a very interesting and fun experience.
No worries Bruce! Thank you for pointing out where I missed things in this recipe! The light cream goes into the recipe with the milk. Ive updated the recipe. You could definitely make this ahead of time. We had ours in the fridge for a couple days and it was just as good then. It needs to be chilled before you serve it anyways.
Julie and Debbie,
Many thanks again for the replies!
I’m excited to see how this goes because it’s a surprise for my wife, who likes eggnog and Kahlúa.
I will let you know how the concoction turns out.
Thanks
Bruce
ps- I had my days mixed up… Tonight is the dinner party
o o
J
__/
Julie and Debbie,
That was an absolutely delicious recipe and many thanks for your correspondence throughout this process. I will start by saying that it was more fun making the concoction then it was enjoying it. So, what is the bottom line… What were the ratings from the six of us who slurped up our cocktails? The delicious drink was given a unanimous double thumbs up and what is far more impressive is that it was unanimously and instantaneously agreed-upon as a new tradition! To be given the elite position alongside the long established all-time favorite Thanksgiving dessert of Mom’s pumpkin bars, which of course is topped with her all-time winning cream cheese icing. My wife loved the drink 🙂 which, as I mentioned previously, was the purpose of the entire endeavor. Michael, the rarely if ever pleased bartender, said it was the best he had ever tasted and must be repeated. Youngest daughter was amazed that we had made such an awesome drink and eldest daughter enjoyed BOTH her drinks. My partner, Bret, and I beamed with satisfaction. And oh, by the way, we made it in secret in the garage… Yes, ladies, in the garage on the workbench. No, we never achieved the stiff peaks, but we did successfully scrape the vanilla bean 🙂 and ours did not look quite as fancy as the pictures, but all this is merely the acid test of a bulletproof recipe 🙂 🙂
Thank you again for the recipe and your support. We are looking forward to our repeat performance at Christmas time 🙂
Bruce
I’m so happy it all worked out and you all loved it! So funny that you made this in the garage. I was chuckling when you sent me that picture. So funny about the stiff peaks, I was laughing out loud when I read this! It was sure fun for me to come along with you on this endeavor and good on you for trying a challenging recipe!
How long will this last in the fridge?
Mine lasted for a week, no problem. I wouldn’t leave it too much longer than that though.
Ladies,
A week!?
Seriously?
What little we have leftover was GONE the next day!
🙂
LOL… If it hadn’t had such a nice kick to it, we’d have finished it that night, no problem.
:-))
Bruce
I made this last night as a trial run for a party I’m having Saturday night. It’s just me and my husband now since our boys are grown and out of the house. Anyway, I chose this one to try because I love eggnog and Kahlua. I figured the two mixed together had to be delicious…and I was right! My husband and I both loved it. I love how it’s not thick, just frothy on the top. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!
Hi Marcia, awwww my daughter is almost grown and Im already sort of starting to feel sad about her impending departure from the nest… I am so happy to hear that you loved our eggnog and I hope your guests love it on Saturday too. Merry Christmas!
I can’t find light cream refrigerated anywhere. Is the canned stuff okay? Or would you recommend something else as an alternative?
I would use half and half cream
Hi! I’m tasked with creating a fabulous eggnog for adults on Christmas this year, and your recipe looks fabulous. Only problem is, my hubby is allergic (WHAT?!) to rum so I’m wondering what your thoughts are about swapping the rum for bourbon. Would it still taste good with the Kahlua? Only do bourbon? Only do Kahlua? A diff. alcohol altogether?
I think you are on the right track! Bourbon with Kahlua would be fabulous. I hope you all enjoy! Merry Christmas.