Egg nog- yum!

My mom always made homemade Kahlua each year for Christmas. When I got married in 2003, she made me a recipe box with all of her favorite recipes. In the recipe box was her Kailua recipe. I'd never had it before! Imagine that. So that year, Brian and I made it and gave it away for Christmas presents. And we've been making it since. If you come to our house on Christmas Eve, you are going home with a bottle for sure!

Well, I love egg nog. In 2004, my sister made homemade egg nog for the very first time. It was unbelievably thick- but tasty. That was the first time I had ever had homemade egg nog- with or without the booze. Hers, of course, had the booze. (It was her mother-in-law's recipe that she was recreating for her husband..)

In 2010, my dear friend and neighbor, Claudia, invited me over to a brunch at her house (in Germany) that she was having for her friends on her birthday. (Doesn't seem right now does it?) Well, that day I tasted two wonderful things- salmon pinwheels, which was Caludia's recipe that I still make today! And Eierlikoer- which is homemade German Eggnog liqueur. As Tate would say, OH MY!

Claudia's friend made it for us all, and I begged her to make me a bottle because I loved it so much. She was so sweet to do so, and Brian went out and bought me the most beautiful hand etched cordial glasses for Christmas from the little home goods store in our town, just so we could have something appropriate to drink it from! It was THAT good.

Fast forward to 2014. My friend Kristen's mom, Lynn, in California, sends me a text saying she just bought a bottle of homemade German eggnog from a little old lady, and she wondered if I had ever had it when I lived there? Hell yes! I instantly was jealous...

So I emailed Claudia and asked if she would beg her friend to share the recipe with me, so I could try to make it myself. (Flashback to my sister's eggnog- this was nothing like the German version!)

When I got the recipe from Claudia, I was giddy! Brian helped me do all the measurement conversions- they measure things in grams, we measure in cups... While we didn't have the Dopplecorn liquor that they use- a strong, flavorless grain alcohol- I did some online searching and found that using a high grade Vodka might be a good substitution.

Batch #1:

Vodka is WAY TOO STRONG and we cooked it part way on the stove top, so the eggs began to set, resulting in little bits in the nog- gross!

Batch #2:

NAILED IT!

Here is the recipe, and it is seriously amazing. Just perfect.

McCullough's German-American (Germerican) Christmas Egg Nog or "Eierlikoer"


 (makes about 4 cups)

-6 egg yolks (save the whites for an omelette the next morning, to go with your egg nog- of course!)

-1 cup sugar

-1 package German vanilla sugar (can be found at most higher end grocery stores here in the States)

-200 ml (or 7/8 cup) of heavy whipping cream

-1/2 cup white rum

-1/2 cup Capt Morgans spiced rum

***The most important thing to know, I think, is that this entire process is done in a water bath- or one pan, on top of another pan of boiling water. Do not ever let the nog touch the burner/direct heat- or it will get too hot and the eggs start to set. Scrambled egg bits are disgusting in egg nog. We learned that with the first batch we made!

1. stir yolks, sugar and vanilla sugar over water bath for 4 minutes, constantly stirring (it is not necessary to cook the eggs, because of the alcohol. But heating them thoroughly is necessary for the "durability" of the nog)

2. add cream and alcohol, cook another 4 minutes, constantly stirring. (Again, heating is necessary only for durability)

3. remove from heat, cool and enjoy! 

Will stay fresh in the fridge for 4 weeks. Tastes good slightly warm or at room temp best, I think...