Non-Dairy Egg Nog {recipe}

One of my favorite holiday beverages is eggnog. I love plain eggnog that is safe for the whole family and I also love the souped up version that has alcohol (preferably rum) for that extra kick. However, I’ve known for many years that dairy and I don’t agree. If I have a glass of eggnog I will be paying for it for hours later because I am lactose intolerant and milk and I just don’t get along. Now for some, the cramps associated with drinking eggnog might be worth the lovely taste crossing their lips but personally, I am unable to do it. This in turn has lead to many years of turning down eggnog at holiday gatherings and dinners. A few years back I saw SILK has a non-dairy soy milk alternative but I’m not big on soy so I leave that in the store unless I absolutely HAVE to drink some eggnog.

This year I decided that I wanted to make my own alternative for eggnog that was just as tasty as the regular stuff. So when Walmart challenged me to come up with a holiday idea, I scoured the internets for a non-dairy eggnog. As I usually do, I found a few different recipes and I simply incorporated the parts that I thought I’d most enjoy. The recipe I followed was simple and quite tasty. I found these really cute holiday mason jars (at Walmart} to fill with the drink and I think they are great for parties and also for gifts (I already have my teacher’s gift in mind for my son and I’m sure to use these mason jars).

Cute Mason Jar! 

My non-dairy egg nog recipe uses a coconut milk base; I use both canned full fat milk that I often incorporate in cooking, in addition to the coconut milk that you can use as a dairy milk alternative. The recipes I looked at called for almond milk but I simply used what I have on hand so I used coconut. My eggnog just happens to be heavy on coconut but the taste is still awesome. In addition to the milk, I also used maple syrup, nutmeg and a cinnamon stick. And all of the products I used were purchased at Walmart. 

I have to say the taste is great. For presentation purposes, I served the eggnog in shooter glasses rimmed with gold edible sprinkles. I love the festive look of the drink and as I mentioned you can always add some rum to the mix and make it an actually shooter. Overall, I like this idea for holiday entertaining or simply as a treat. Here is the recipe I used, I hope it helps all of the non-dairy drinking egg nog lovers out there!

Non-Dairy EggNog

2 cups canned coconut milk

2 cups vanilla coconut milk (or almond)

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1. In a saucepan heat milk, maple syrup and spices until warm, about five minutes.

2. While warming milk, beat eggs yolks in small bowl.

3. Continue to whisk the eggs and slowly add warmed milk, about 1 cup. This will temper the eggs and keep them from cooking when added to the saucepan.

4. Add tempered eggs to the saucepan and cook for about five minutes on lo-medium heat. Be sure not to boil the milk!

5. Remove from heat, cool in refrigerator for at least an hour. I used mason jars to hold my egg nog.

6. ENJOY!