A few years ago, my colleague Eila introduced me to coquitos, an eggnog-like alcoholic beverage from her island of Puerto Rico. I loved it! I thought making paleo-friendly eggnog would be as simple as replacing regular milk with coconut milk and that it would taste a lot like Eila’s coquito. Turns out it’s not that simple. In addition to the coconut milk, the coquito recipe call for sweet condensed milk and well, sweet anything is pretty much frowned upon in the cavemen diet circles 🙁 Rather, paleo-friendly eggnog is more like regular eggnog, just a little less rich and a little less sweet.
Paleo Eggnog
Serves 4
4 cups coconut milk
8 egg yolks
4 tbsp maple syrup (add an extra tbsp or 2 if you want it to be sweeter)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 oz spiced rum (not strictly paleo but what’s the fun of eggnog without a little rum?)
Fresh nutmeg to grate (if available, ground nutmeg otherwise)
Ground cinnamon
Bring coconut milk to a simmer in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Whisk together egg yolks, maple syrup, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and pale. Gradually whisk half the hot coconut milk into the egg mixture. Gradually is key here. If you do it too fast, the eggs will cook 🙁 Once you have carefully integrated half of the hot coconut milk into the egg yolks, pour back into the pot with remaining coconut milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring consistently, until thick and mixture nearly coats the back of a wooden spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Next, cool the mixture down a little and stir in the rum, if you chose to add rum. Which you should. This version of eggnog is definitely not as sweet as the ones made with cream and sugar, so it might as well be boozy! Refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to overnight. Serve with freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon.
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