The only upside to the colder weather, is that it is now appropriate for me to make eggnog. And not just any eggnog, but pumpkin eggnog. Pinnacle Vodka came out with a pumpkin pie vodka this year, and I’ve been waiting and waiting for the right weather to make this drink. I actually used a recipe that came from The Cookbook of Ellen M Emlen, which is a recipe book from from the 1860’s that The Historical Society of Pennsylvania found in their collection. I’ve written about this cookbook before on this blog and I just love it.
One of the issues in the cookbook though, is that it is written before standard measurements were invented so the recipes aren’t easily reproduced. (For example, this recipe called for a wine-size glass of milk. White wine or red wine glass? Completely full, or what a serving in the glass would be? You get the picture.)
But I figured if it was good enough for the 19th century, it’s good enough for me!
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 oz pumpkin spice vodka
Nutmeg to taste
As a note: I also heated up my eggnog because the idea of a raw egg makes me slightly nervous. You don’t have to heat the mixture; in fact, the original did not.
Another humorous side note: This recipe is listed under “Food for the Sick” in Ellen Emlen’s table of contents.
Add two eggs to a bowl. Beat until light in color.
Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the milk, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to a pot over medium-low heat. Make sure not to boil, but heat until steaming.
Add some of the milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. (This is called tempering, you do this so bring up the temperature of the eggs so they don’t separate when added to the entire pot of hot milk).
Add this mixture to the pot with the remaining milk mixture.
Heat for 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly. Chill until cool.
To serve, add 1/2 oz pumpkin pie vodka to two glasses or mugs. Fill with the eggnog. Top with some nutmeg.
You can omit the vodka if you’d like. (Traditional eggnog uses brandy or rum, in case you want to add one of those instead).
This is a fantastic upgrade to traditional eggnog. I love adding pumpkin to, well, everything so it should come as no surprise that I liked this so much! Pumpkin is a natural complement to a eggnog; they both are commonly used with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Pumpkin Eggnog
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 1 oz pumpkin spice vodka
- Nutmeg to taste
Instructions
- Add two eggs to a bowl. Beat until light in color.
- Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the milk, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to a pot over medium-low heat. Make sure not to boil, but heat until steaming.
- Add some of the milk mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. (This is called tempering, you do this so bring up the temperature of the eggs so they don’t separate when added to the entire pot of hot milk).
- Add this mixture to the pot with the remaining milk mixture.
- Heat for 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly. Chill until cool.
- To serve, add 1/2 oz pumpkin pie vodka to two glasses or mugs. Fill with the eggnog. Top with some nutmeg.
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What deliciousness! Can’t wait to try this twist for the holidays.
Kaitlin, I love old cookbooks, too, but I especially like your updated version of eggnog!
mmmm mmmm mmm. homemade eggnog?! i love eggnog. and adding pumpkin pie to the mix sounds amazing. yum!
A must-try for this year! Two comments:
— Since an outbreak in 1991 (or ’92?) the PA Dept of Ag has required that all eggs sold in PA must come from vaccinated flocks, so the salmonella risk of commercially-produced eggs is quite low. Can’t speak to NJ.
— If you don’t warm the egg mixture by tempering, it’ll scramble when you add it to the hot stuff, no matter how vigorously you whisk. Think: Egg drop soup. This is true in general whenever making custards or sauces incorporating egg yolks.
Can you add how much of the milk mixture to put into the eggs. I guessed and when I added it all back to the milk the eggs screamed. Just a waste of my time.
Scrambled not screamed. That would have been worse.
Hi Chelsea, there isn’t an exact amount you need to add. Just begin with a very small amount of the hot liquid into the eggs while constantly whisking the eggs, then continue to gradually add more. To be abundantly safe you could add up to half of the hot liquid this way and then add it all back into the pot, whisking to combine. I hope this helps.