Eggnog Ice Cream {5 Minute Method} is creamy, ridiculously simple, and worlds better than the stuff you buy at the store!

This last few weeks were seriously hopping for the Foodie with Family household. I had a kiddo in a production of The Nutcracker which means HOLY REHEARSAL SCHEDULE, BATMAN! All you moms who have done this for years? I salute you!

While I spent an inordinate amount of time running to and fro, our whole family still had to eat, and DANG… when I kept seeing Sugar Plum Faeries, Candy Canes, and all sorts of other sweet treats dancing cross the stage, I was in the mood for a little dessert by the time I got home at night.

Enter Eggnog Ice Cream, stage left. Or is it enter Eggnog Ice Cream, stage right? Does it matter? How about just plain old ENTER EGGNOG ICE CREAM.

This particular Eggnog Ice Cream is made using the Philadelphia (or 5 minute} method. The long version of the explanation is that the Philadelphia Method uses no eggs and doesn’t have a cooked custard base for the ice cream. The short version is that it’s made the easy and fast way. People? When it comes to desserts and me craving them, the solution usually needs to be fast.

This is so easy that I can walk in the door from Nutcracker rehearsal, whisk together the ingredients, pour it into the ice cream maker, and be sitting on the couch eating a ridiculously large bowl of soft serve Eggnog Ice Cream while watching Top Chef.

Side note: Have you ever tried watching Top Chef without having a really tasty snack at hand? I really can’t do it. I’ll let that build up a backlog on the DVR until I have excellent snacks to eat. What can I say? I’m a sympathetic eater.

If, perchance, my husband and I don’t eat through our entire quart and a half of Eggnog Ice Cream while wondering how a Kosher chef keeps preparing shrimp and shellfish dishes, (I’m looking at you, Katsuji!) we pack it into a parchment lined bread pan (the better to get ALL the ice cream goodness from my pan later, my dearies!), lay plastic wrap directly on the surface, and stash in the freezer for scooping onto ice cream cones later!

Oh, a private word, if you don’t mind. If you DO have some of that hidden in the back corner of your freezer, and you happen to have a mug full of hot coffee or hot chocolate or very strong chai, you could do far worse things than float a scoop of Eggnog Ice Cream in it. FAR WORSE THINGS.

And if you were to maybe plop a scoop of Eggnog Ice Cream on top of a slice of warmed banana bread? Well, I can just say you wouldn’t regret it.

Cook’s Notes

• There really isn’t much to this, so don’t overthink it. Just whisk the ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved. You don’t have to beat it or bust out the mixer or anything.
• It’s easiest to pour into the ice cream maker if you have a bowl with a spout or flexible edge, but if your pouring skills are good enough to hit that little ice cream maker opening without one of those, carry on, friend. I salute you.
• I am seriously crazy over/devoted to my ice cream maker because it is far and away the most convenient method of ice cream making I’ve ever used. Any ice cream maker with at least a 1.5 quart capacity will do the job, though! If you- like me- are an ice cream addict or aficionado, and have a little mad money, you won’t be disappointed if you invest in the version I have. Pssst. Christmas idea for the ice cream lover in your life!
• There’s no right or wrong eggnog to use for this Eggnog Ice Cream. The richer the eggnog you begin with, the richer your final ice cream will be. If you use a fat-free one, the final product will be a little more like ice milk than ice cream, but that’s nice in its own way. I, however, prefer the full-fat commercial or Homemade Eggnog. Those will yield a far silkier, creamier end product.
• While I’m not snobby about your eggnog choice for the ice cream, I’m a little pushy about the nutmeg portion of the programme because that is such a huge part of the overall flavour. Please use fresh nutmeg! You don’t need a fancy nutmeg grater… a simple rasp grater or the finest side of your box grater will do. You’ll be shocked at how much of a difference the freshly grated stuff makes!

Eggnog Ice Cream {5 Minute Method}

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Rebecca Lindamood

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Ingredients

  

• 2 cups Eggnog
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Instructions

 

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl or pitcher and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. You can eat immediately like soft serve or pack into a bread pan or other container with a nice lid. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream to prevent freezer burn and put into the freezer for at least 4 hours to firm up.

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Do you love this Eggnog Ice Cream? You might enjoy these:

• Eggnog Chai Latte
• Cranberry Eggnog Bread Pudding 
• Classic Homemade Eggnog
• Eggnog Cookies
• Eggnog Quick Bread

This post originally published December 11, 2014. Revised and updated December 16, 2017.