This easy homemade eggnog is a version of a basic recipe I found in an old Amish cookbook. The warm spices of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves paired with the creamy egg and cream base makes a holiday/cold weather drink that keeps me going back for more! This homemade eggnog is much better than store bought and is surprisingly easy to make! You may enjoy this eggnog with Peanut butter blossoms, Christmas sugar cookie whoopie pies or Amish chocolate chip cookies. See below the recipes for more notes and photos.
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Follow along for more Amish and Mennonite recipes and feel free to leave a rating and comment in the comment section below the recipe!
Old fashioned Amish Eggnog (non-alcoholic)
marilynpeight
This creamy Amish eggnog, made the old fashioned way with egg yolks cooked with fresh milk and warmly spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves, will rival any store bought eggnog with its fresh taste and comforting creaminess.
5 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Course Drinks
Cuisine Amish
Servings 4
Equipment
Large sauce pan (linked below)
Mixing bowl (linked below)
Quart sized jar (linked below)
Large pitcher (linked below)
Ingredients
- 4 large pasteurized eggs (separated) room temp. *see note below.
- 1 cup plus one tablespoon sugar divided
- 2 cups whole milk *see substitutions below.
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
Instructions
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and place the yolks in a large mixing bowl, reserve egg whites for later. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt to the bowl and whisk the mixture for 3-5 minutes until they are thick and creamy.
Heat the milk in a sauce pan just until 150-160 degrees (do not boil) or until hot to touch. Temper the eggs by adding 1/4 cup of hot milk to the beaten egg yolk mixture while stirring rapidly. Transfer the egg mixture to the milk in the saucepan while stirring rapidly again. Cook over med-low heat for around ten minutes or until the temperature reaches 160 degrees and is thick enough to coat the back of a spatula or spoon. Once again do not allow to boil.
Remove the eggnog from the heat and stir in the spices and vanilla. Transfer the eggnog mixture to a quart jar and allow to cool for 30-60 minutes.
After the eggnog mixture has cooled to room temperature pour it into a glass pitcher (preferably with a lid). Beat the egg whites with one tablespoon sugar until stiff peaks form. Stir the beaten egg whites and heavy cream into the pitcher with the eggnog mixture, then chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours before serving. *see notes below.
Notes
Growing up with farm fresh eggs and milk we did not worry about pasteurization. However, fresh unpasteurized eggs carry a risk of salmonella if they are not cooked. Use farm fresh eggs in this recipe at your own risk. If you are unsure about your eggs, you can find pasteurized eggs and egg whites at most grocery stores. If you wish you can also skip adding the beaten egg whites to the eggnog, but this may result in the eggnog being less creamy.
Keyword Amish, Eggnog, non-alcoholic,
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Some of the equipment needed for this fresh Amish Eggnog:
- Large saucepan I prefer to use a larger sauce pan while cooking milk products. You certainly do not want to boil the milk at any point in this recipe, but accidents can happen and I find it better to be prepared with a larger sauce pan when cooking milk products.
- Mixing bowl I prefer to use stainless steel mixing bowls as shown in the step by step photos below. I find them to be more durable and easier to keep clean than plastic or ceramic mixing bowls.
- Quart sized jar I like to keep quart sized jars on hand for canning, but they also come in handy for storing hot foods/drinks such as this Amish eggnog.
- Large glass pitcher Using a pretty glass pitcher makes this eggnog taste even better, but that’s just my personal opinion, ha.
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Ingredients needed: Whole milk, eggs, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger (optional), ground cloves, sugar and heavy cream.
Substitutions:
If you prefer to go dairy free for this recipe you can also use oat milk or almond milk. You can try adding dairy free creamer instead of heavy cream, but may wish to cut back on the sugar (or not if you prefer it sweeter). If you prefer a recipe specifically using almond milk you can click on this recipe; The best dairy free eggnog with almond milk.
You can also turn this Amish eggnog into an eggnog latte! Simply steam or heat the eggnog and add a shot of espresso or strong coffee. Some even like to use this eggnog as creamer for a festive flavor in brewed coffee.
Step 1: Whisk the egg yolks with salt and sugar until thick and creamy and lighter in color.
Note*
You will need to give the yolk mixture a good mix to get them to the right consistency. Once the egg yolk mixture slowly ribbons off of your whisk or spatula and is more of a yellowish color, it is then ready to temper with milk.
Step 2: Heat the milk in a sauce pan just until hot to touch, then slowly add around 1/4 cup of hot milk to the eggs while whisking rapidly.
Note*
Eggs can be fickle little things and so you definitely do not want to skip tempering them with a little hot milk before adding the mixture to the sauce pan. This prevents the egg yolks from clumping or curdling once added to the hot milk.
Step 2 continued: Heat and stir the milk and tempered eggs over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. For food safety reasons the mixture should reach at least 160 degrees.
Step 3: Remove the sauce pan from the heat and stir in the spices and vanilla, then transfer to a quart jar to cool at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
Step 4: Transfer the room temperature eggnog mixture to a glass pitcher. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form then add to the eggnog mixture along with the heavy cream. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving, or see note below.
My neighbor has a small farm and also has Amish/Mennonite background. She kindly shared her method for making fresh eggnog using farm fresh eggs and milk. Her family likes to drink the eggnog hot and they spice their eggnog with nutmeg and cinnamon to preference. Feel free to do the same if you enjoy the eggnog hot, which is also the way it was enjoyed on cold winters many years ago.
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