Cooked Eggnog (dairy, gluten, corn, refined sugar free with alcohol free option)

Ahhh, eggnog.  One of the religions of the holidays.  Biggest problem is that all the eggnog that comes in containers at the store has TONS of stuff added to it that aren't good for the food allergic.  And honestly, after making my own home made eggnog...I'm not missing the stuff that's sold at the stores at all.

If you've never made home made eggnog, please do give it a try.  It is SUPER delicious and is so much lighter in texture (and on your stomach) than the store bought stuff.

I worked hard to come up with a cooked eggnog for a couple of reasons.  One:  I thought the thicker texture might appeal to more "store bought enthusiasts" and I wanted to make a recipe that would be safe for pregnant ladies to drink at the holidays (thus the alcohol free option too) and for anyone with a compromised immune system (since traditional eggnog is used with fresh eggs and there's always that darned salmonella to worry about).

So, here you go folks.  A nice dairy free eggnog that tastes great, is nice and thick for your holiday consumption and works for a wide variety of allergies (except for the egg allergic...I tried to come up with an egg free recipe, I really did, but kept ending up with a flax seed shake that didn't taste like eggnog.  Sorry folks).

Cooked Eggnog (dairy, gluten, corn, refined sugar free with alcohol free option)

• 4 large eggs, separated (discard the whites)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (plus more to taste)
• 1 TBS palm sugar
• 2 cans (15 oz cans) full fat coconut milk, one put in the fridge overnight (be sure you get corn free)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 ounces rum (if going for alcohol free you can use 1 TBS rum flavoring, but if corn allergic, I'd just omit completely if you are corn allergic and can't/won't do alcohol)
• 4 egg whites worth "Just Whites" (pasteurized egg whites.  Can be found by the eggs in a small carton) 

1.  Whisk together four egg yolks until they turn a lighter shade and are well beaten in a large mixing bowl.  Beat in maple syrup until well combined.

2.  Take the coconut milk that has been in the fridge and scoop the solidified cream from the top of the can  into a medium saucepan.  Add second can of coconut milk (entire can) and nutmeg and heat over medium high heat until mixture just starts to boil, stirring occasionally.  Turn off heat.

3.  SLOWLY (I mean dribbling here folks) whisk the milk mixture into the egg mixture (if you don't do this slowly you're going to have scrambled eggs very quickly, so GO SLOW!).  Once combined, take temperature of the mixture and if it is not at 160 degrees, place entire mix back in saucepan and place over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 160 degrees (this will happen quickly, so don't leave!).

4.  Pour mixture back into mixing bowl, stir in alcohol or rum flavoring (if using) and place in the fridge until cool (took mine about 1 hour)  or until ready to serve. 

5. When ready to serve:  Take egg whites and place in the bowl of an electric mixer equipped with the whisk attachment (or just use an electric mixer).  Whip egg whites until frothy and then slowly add the 1 TBS of palm sugar.  Continue to whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.

6.  Add egg whites to custard base and mix well to combine.  Sweeten with additional maple syrup until desired sweetness level is reached.

Serve with whipped topping of choice on top and a sprinkle of nutmeg (if you wish).  Personally I like mine as is.

Enjoy!