Dear Eggnog, We Love You

When the last pieces of Halloween candy are long gone and Thanksgiving leftovers are a mere memory, eggnog lovers know that our moment is near. We wait all year for the most beautiful of sights: a grocery store refrigerator case fully stocked with sweet, rich, creamy, perfectly spiced eggnog. Finally, after months of anticipation, it’s eggnog season once again.

This year, Crystal Creamery is celebrating the winter holidays with a brand-new look for our classic eggnog. Don’t worry: we haven’t changed the recipe. The delicious eggnog you know and love is exactly the same—we just gave our cartons a little refresh for the holiday season. When you go to your local grocery store to stock up for the season, look for the eggnog in the forest green cartons with the snowflakes.

At least in our opinion, eggnog is the undisputed king (or queen) of holiday beverages. With all due respect to peppermint cocoa, pumpkin spice lattes, and hot toddies, if there were such a thing as a Winter Holiday Beverage Pageant, eggnog would take the title every year. There’s just nothing else like it. No other drink blends the goodness of fresh dairy with pure vanilla sweetness and a hint of warm spices. You can drink it warm or you can drink it cold; you can spike it with whiskey or rum or you can keep it zero-proof. There’s no wrong way to drink eggnog.

But eggnog is more than an indulgent beverage—it’s also a versatile ingredient in its own right. The easiest way to take advantage of eggnog as an ingredient is, of course, to stir a little into your morning coffee or hot chocolate. It’s rich enough to replace half and half or creamer, with a little extra warmth and spice—perfect for frosty mornings. 

You can also bake with eggnog: swap it out for the buttermilk in your favorite pancakes or waffles, or mix it with eggs for extra-decadent French toast. If you have an ice cream maker, you can churn eggnog with a little extra heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla; it already has egg yolks, so if you think about it, eggnog is halfway to a custard ice cream base. If you really want to go all-out, serve your homemade eggnog ice cream with freshly baked eggnog cookies. (and whipped cream sweetened with a splash of eggnog, of course.)