Coquito is Better Than Eggnog
Coquito is a dairy-heavy, rum-based Puerto Rican holiday beverage. It combines the best traditional flavors of the holiday/winter season with a strong coconut base, giving it a delicious tropical taste.
It's easy to make and fun to bring to a holiday gathering as an alternative to eggnog. Here's how to do it:
INGREDIENTS
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 egg yolk (lightly beaten)
- 2 cups white rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- A pinch or two of nutmeg
- 1/4 cup of raw almonds
- 2 cinnamon sticks
DIRECTIONS
- Mix the beaten egg yolk and evaporated milk with the ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a pan on low to medium heat, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes and remove from heat to let cool.
- Pour the condensed milk, the coconut milk, the almonds, the vanilla and the rum into a blender and blend until the almonds are mostly liquified and incorporated.
- After the the heated ingredients have cooled for about 5 minutes, add them to the blender and blend everything together.
- Put the cinnamon sticks in a glass jar or pitcher and pour in the blended coquito.
This particular recipe is heavy on the alcohol because it balances out the dairy nicely. A small glass will warm you up!
You can also make this without or with less alcohol and it'll still be delicious. I've been working on a vegan recipe for coquito but haven't quite hit the mark yet. Maybe next year!
