This is a fun homemade eggnog recipe that you can turn into freeze dried eggnog bites. Eggnog bites make awesome gifts, and are a fun use of a freeze dryer. They’re also easy to make, delicious, and make great festive treats for potlucks and gatherings.
Eggnog is a delicious winter treat, and it’s becoming easier to find it during other holidays as well. However, if you enjoy eggnog than homemade eggnog may be just the trick for enjoying at any time of the year. You can also use eggnog as a base for freeze dried treats, homemade eggnog bites are crunchy, crumbly, light, and a delicious way to enjoy this seasonal beverage all year round. They’re also shelf stable, and can be safely stored for years.
Homemade eggnog has a base of milk or cream, farm fresh or pasteurized commercial eggs, sugar, spices, and usually rum or rum flavoring. You can turn conventional eggnog into homemade freeze dried eggnog bites if you wish. Either type, homemade or store-bought eggnog, can be freeze dried for eggnog bites. Simply do what works best for you.
How to Make Homemade Eggnog:
Homemade eggnog is a fairly basic festive drink that you can whip up in a few minutes, as long as you have a blender and the ingredients on hand. The unique flavor of eggnog is formed from a combination of rum, typically, and grated nutmeg. You don’t want to be too heavy on the nutmeg, and a bit of cinnamon can compliment and increase the spice level too.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups whole milk or milk of preference
- 1 cup heavy cream or table cream (or 1 additional cup whole milk)
- 2 whole large eggs, farm fresh or 2/3 cup pasteurized egg mix or 6 tablespoons freeze dried whole egg reconstituted
- 1/4-1/2 cup sugar, or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons rum
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Directions:
Lazy Method: Measure all ingredients into a large blender jar. Including eggs, milk, cream, sugar, rum or rum flavoring, nutmeg and cinnamon if using. I use farm-fresh eggs, usually harvested the same day, in my eggnog mixture. Blend up the eggnog for 10-15 seconds in your blender. Total time: 5 minutes.
Traditional Method: combine the milk, eggs, and spices in a saucepan on the stove top. Whisk over medium heat, or medium-low heat, until it reaches a low simmer. This pasteurizes the egg mixture. Strain the egg yolk mixture through a fine mesh strainer, and then add cream, rum, vanilla, and sugar to the hot milk mixture, and stir, off heat, until blended and slightly thickened.
Let stand in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to settle out the froth, or if you used the stovetop method, chill in fridge until cold 1-2 hours. Serve cold for drinking, and top with a sprinkle of additional nutmeg or cinnamon before serving. Whipped cream is also a nice topping. Prep time for this method, about 20 – 30 minutes.
Read on for how to make freeze dried homemade eggnog bites.
Note: if you are concerned about salmonella from farm fresh raw eggs, you can substitute farm fresh eggs with pasteurized, commercial egg mix. If using freeze dried eggs, reconstitute them with an equal amount of fresh water. Use cold or cool water to prevent solidification of the freeze dried egg. Freeze dried eggs are pasteurized by the freeze drying process, making them safe for kids.
How to turn Eggnog into Freeze Dried Eggnog Bites:
Freeze dried eggnog bites are a fun, festive, treat to make with your freeze dryer. You can use commercially available eggnog, or the recipe above, for the base eggnog for your eggnog bites.
If you’re using commercially prepared eggnog, you’ll want to dilute 4 cups of eggnog with 2 cups of regular milk. This helps it have a crunchy texture when freeze dried. If making the homemade recipe, use 10% table cream rather than 30+% whipping cream for the heavier cream part of the recipe.
Set up your eggnog in a bowl, and dilute or adjust as needed. Then, measure your eggnog into silicon ice cube molds, use fun shapes if you have them. You can also use chocolate molds, or just regular ice cube trays. Freeze overnight, or for at least 12 hours, before removing the eggnog ice cubes from their trays. Chill and fill your freeze dryer trays with the eggnog bites, you can have them touching but don’t have them overlapping.
Make sure your freeze dryer is set up for a pre-freeze, aim for -10C or lower for the pre-freeze. Add your trays of frozen eggnog bites, and run the freeze dryer for 24-36 hours (same as ice-cream if you’ve done freeze dried ice-cream).
One dried, slowly release the vacuum on your freeze dryer.
Double check that the eggnog bites are fully dried and crisp.
Store your newly made bites in either vacuum sealed glass jars, or in sealed mylar bags with an oxygen absorber. Your bites will store safely for up to 25 years. These are great for Christmas, or for any time of year.
How Long Does Homemade Eggnog Last?
Homemade eggnog can last in the fridge for about 2-3 days, if you don’t drink it faster.
You can freeze homemade eggnog for 2-4 weeks. After 4 weeks it may separate when thawed, but an be recombined in your blender. Blend before it fully thaws for an eggnog milkshake!
How Long Does Freeze Dried Eggnog Last?
Freeze dried eggnog bites can last for up to 25 years with proper storage and in vacuum sealed/sealed containers away from heat and direct sunlight.
You can also freeze dry eggnog as an eggnog concentrate, simply double the rum and spices in the homemade recipe and reduce the milk by one cup. Freeze dry as normal and reconstitute with half cool water, half fresh milk and a healthy touch of cream. Add additional milk to taste if needed. Again, it can store up to 25 years with proper storage.
Eggnog Variations:
You can make eggnog without dairy if you substitute in your preferred dairy substitute. If you want a creamy eggnog though, you may want to use some coconut milk in the recipe.
For variety, while rum is traditionally used in eggnog, you can use brandy or bourbon instead of the rum, or in addition to the rum. The above recipe is deliberately low on alcohol as it’s meant for family consumption, or freeze drying.
For a richer, more traditional eggnog, add one or two whole large egg yolks as well as the whole eggs. If you use additional yolks, use the egg whites for the base of a small, festive, pavlova.
Back to You:
Have you seen our freeze dried candy, and freeze dried fruit articles?
If you’re thinking about freeze drying food, or getting a freeze dryer, what other information would you be interested in? Leave a comment!
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