Nothing says "holidays" like great aunt Gertrude's eggnog recipe, right? Well, yeah, but after a meeting earlier this week, the BA staff realized a few things about the creamy, iconic winter libation. For starters, a lot of people seemed kind of grossed out by the idea of eggnog. Apparently guzzling cream, eggs, sugar, and liquor is not everyone's cup of tea—or so they thought. Many weren't even totally sure what eggnog was exactly. One editor said that when he a soy-based version alongside classic eggnog at his annual holiday party, the soy-nog always went first; are alterna-nogs a thing? And lastly, and perhaps most shockingly, we realized Bon Appétit did not have an eggnog recipe.
So we got to work. We made some real-deal eggnog, and it tasted, as food editor and 'nog skeptic Allie Lewis Clapp put it, "actually kind of good. Kind of REALLY good." Turns out, the amazing thing about homemade eggnog—as opposed to pasteurized, store-bought eggnog—is how light it is. Whipped egg whites folded into the rich, boozy base at the end give the whole mixture a frothy, delightfully cloudlike texture that makes it (dangerously) easy to drink. We were sold. If you're looking to whip up a batch for your next holiday fête, check out our 'nog recipe.
And as for the whole eggnog-with-alternative-milks thing, we mixed up four batches of 'nog with different milks—cow's milk, almond milk, soy milk, and canned coconut milk—and let our staff weigh in. While the classic cow's milk version was delicious, the unique flavors of the others each brought something special to the table—the coconut (deemed "coco-nog" by editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport) and almond versions were especially tasty. So, if you're catering to a dairy-free crowd this season or just want to try something a little different, substitute your favorite alternative dairy for the milk and cream in our base recipe.
