Eggnog Ice Cream Recipe

I never got eggnog until fairly recently, when I started drinking it raw.

You see, when I was growing up, my father would pick up a carton or two of eggnog about once a year. We would drink it because it was fatty and creamy and that's what we boys did. But I could never shake the feeling that I was just drinking chemically-enhanced pudding. As I got older and made the connection that my melted ice cream had a thinner consistency than the eggnog I poured into a glass, I got put off by the stuff.

And so it was until I dared to try a version (like this one) made with raw egg yolks and a frothy head made possible by the addition of whipped egg whites. After I took a few sips, I topped it off with bourbon, and I understood—eggnog doesn't need to be, and shouldn't be—a slurpable pudding to be good. Long live froth and the uncooked egg.

But I get that some people aren't comfortable drinking raw eggs, what with the salmonella and other unfortunate side effects. For those who prefer their eggs cooked, but don't relish the thought of drinking pudding, enter eggnog ice cream: all the rich creaminess you expect from a cooked eggnog, but taken to its logical conclusion in scoopable form.

Though this ice cream is great on its own, it's even better with some cake or pie on the side. Ginger pecan worked out nicely, as would fruitcake.

Bourbon is my personal spirit for eggnog, but if you prefer rum, brandy, or Scotch, substitute freely. You can also reduce or leave out the booze altogether, but then you're just left with nutmeg ice cream, and where's the holiday spirit in that?