Name: Georgia Regnault
Class Year: 1964
Country of Residence: The Netherlands

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

Recipe is compliments of the Fanny Farmer Boston School of Cooking, first published in 1896. Since I have been making this eggnog every Christmas since 1968, I must have used the recipe in the edition from the 1965 edition! But it is still offered in my ‘newest’ edition from 1990. This cookbook remains for me the “go to” for basic recipes and cooking hints, even though this 1200+ page paperback is falling apart.

Holiday Eggnog

Serves a crowd! Takes approx. 45 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 dozen eggs, separated (always a fun job!)
½ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ or more cups of sugar
2 or more cups bourbon
½ cup rum
1 quart or liter milk
2 tablespoons vanilla
3 pints (1 ½ quart or liter) heavy cream
Nutmeg

Instructions:

Beat together the egg yolks and salt in a large mixing bowl,* slowly adding 1 ½ cups of sugar. Combine beating until thick and pale. Stir in the bourbon, rum, milk and vanilla until well mixed. Beat the egg whites until foamy and slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar, continuing to beat until stiff and all the sugar has been incorporated. Whip the cream until stiff. Then fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture and then fold in whipped cream. Taste and add more bourbon and/or sugar if necessary (I usually use a .70 liter bottle of bourbon).

Pour into a punch bowl and sprinkle the top with nutmeg. If not serving right away, put in one-liter bottles and store cold so that the mixture can mellow. It will shrink! I put mine outside since room in the fridge is at a premium during the festive season!

*I use a small plastic bucket – saved each year for this purpose.

Source: Fanny Farmer Boston School of Cooking