Eggnog without alcohol

I love eggnog. The store-bought stuff is so thick that I generally cut it in half with milk, so I prefer homemade eggnog. Trouble is, literally every recipe I found for homemade eggnog presumes you wanted the stuff spiked to the nth degree. After a long search, I finally found an eggnog recipe that didn't include alcohol.

In reference to my post on making homemade Irish cream, a reader asked, "I have quit drinking alcohol, but when I used to, I loved Bailey's. I am wondering if there's a way to make it without the vodka?" (First of all, my sincerest kudos for quitting drinking!)

Unfortunately I don't know how it would be possible to make Irish cream without the vodka (or whiskey or whatever other hard liquor). The reason for this is the recipe contains raw eggs. When you mix raw eggs with hard alcohol, there is a chemical process which denatures the egg proteins. When you cook eggs, the egg proteins are also denatured (that's what turns egg whites "white" when cooking). So essentially adding alcohol "cooks" the raw eggs. It just takes longer, which is why homemade Irish cream must ripen for a week before drinking.

So as a delicious and non-alcoholic alternative to Irish cream, I thought I would post a recipe for homemade non-alcoholic eggnog which should satisfy everyone's sweet'n'creamy tooth.

I would post photos, but I haven't made this since I stopped milking Matilda. I had so much cream and milk from her that I often made eggnog to use up some of the excess. By the way, eggnog is now associated exclusively with Christmas, but if you're familiar with Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, you'll remember that eggnog used to be considered a refreshing drink for a hot summer's day.

Non-Alcoholic Eggnog
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
2 teaspoons rum extract (I skip this ingredient)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup whipping cream, beaten until stiff

Beat eggs, sugar, and salt in top of a double boiler. Add milk. Mix and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture barely coats a metal spoon. Chill.

After eggnog has cooled, stir in rum extract and nutmeg. Fold in stiffly-beaten whipping cream.

That's it! It's very fast to make (except for however long it takes to chill the eggnog). The only thing that's funny about this recipe is it separates, virtually instantly. Before pouring it from the container into a glass, you'll have to give it a good shake... and then probably have to shake it again before pouring into a second glass. It's also a lot "thinner" than store-bought eggnog, but I like it better that way.

But it's wonderful! Younger Daughter absolutely loves this stuff and begs me to make it whenever we have excess from our cows.

Enjoy!