Nutella Egg Nog - Simple Saturday

Nutella Egg Nog

Now that I've added Nutella to my egg nog recipe, I'm not sure if it's a drink or liquid dessert. Just when I thought the sweet lava decadence of whipped eggs, sugar and cream (sometimes with a kiss of rum) could not get richer for toasting the holidays, along came the idea for adding a sexy scoop of chocolate and hazelnut goo-dness.

The whole idea of Egg Nog goes back centuries and includes the colonial days in America. In literal terms it's a glass of whipped "egg" drink served in little mugs (nogs). In true American form, I bet it was a great cover for sneaking a little "brew" into the cup and feeling the holiday cheer get a bit warmer as the shipped in Caribbean Rum heated up the blood in those tightly buckled shoes. Since then, the South added bourbon and good common sense added whipped cream and took out the alcohol so kids could toast along. This recipe doesn't include the "adult holiday cheer", but you could easily drop in a shooter just before serving. The steps look long because I wanted to break it down simply, but it doesn't take very long and it definitely is simple. NUTELLA EGG NOG:

1 qt. Whole Milk (don't make it with low fat, it's just not eggnog)
1 cup sugar (+ 1Tbls. for whipping cream later)
1 Tbls. Vanilla paste (you can use extract if you need to)
1 cinnamon stick
6 egg yolks (save the whites in the fridge for macaroons or meringue to make another time)
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup heavy cream (for topping)
1 fresh nutmeg (to grate for garnish)

1) In a large saucepan, heat the milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon stick on med/high until just before boiling or you start to see tiny bubbles around the edges. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

2) Remove from heat, cover the pan and let sit while the cinnamon and vanilla infuse the heated milk with flavor, for about 10 minutes. Then remove the cinnamon stick.

3) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks briskly until they are a pale frothy yellow.

4) Whisk a little bit of the warm milk into the eggs, slowly to warm up the eggs without cooking them. Then pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and return to med. heat.

5) Continue to heat, stirring constantly for a few minutes. Do not let the mixture boil.

6) Add the Nutella to the pan and continue to stir while melting the Nutella. There will be small flecks of ground hazelnut and chipped chocolate that will stay.

7) Remove from heat and cool for a few moments, then cover with plastic touching the surface of the Nutella Egg Nog and chill in the refrigerator for several hours to over night.

8) When ready to serve the Nutella Egg Nog, then whip the cream and 1 Tbls. sugar to soft peaks.

You can either fold in the whipped cream, or just add a dollop to the top; depending on how thick you like your egg nog.
Garnish by adding freshly grated nutmeg over the top.

***** If you'd like to have a cocoa sugar rim on your cups like pictured: Mix 1 Tbls. cocoa with 2 Tbls. sugar and pour onto a flat saucer. Dip the rim of each cup into a glass of water, corn syrup, agave or simple syrup, then into the saucer of cocoa sugar. Syrups hold the cocoa sugar on longer, but water will work also.******* Happiest Holidays to my readers and stay tuned for more entertaining and food ideas. Thanks for stopping by.