Eggnog Rice Pudding

I'm always looking for new dessert recipes to try. While Rice Pudding is not a new dessert recipe, this one has a twist. Eggnog. That's right. Eggnog Rice Pudding. This might just be the perfect dessert to serve during the Christmas holiday season. So, if you like traditional rice pudding and you like eggnog, this eggnog dessert recipe is a must try!Rice pudding is traditionally made with water or milk and ingredients such as raisins and cinnamon. Different variations are used depending on whether you're serving this dish as a dinner or a dessert. When serving as a dessert, it is common to add a sweetener, such as sugar. Some variation of rice pudding is found in almost every area of the world, although recipes vary greatly even within a single country. While rice pudding is usually made with white rice, it can also be made with basmati, jasmine or even brown rice. For milk, you can use whole, coconut or cream. Spices usually include nutmeg, cinnamon, or ginger, and your sweetener can be sugar, brown sugar, honey, syrup or an artificial variety. In the United States and Canada, most traditional recipes come from European immigrants.

This rice pudding recipe is fairly traditional, except for the addition of eggnog, which makes it a great festive or seasonal dessert recipe. For this rice pudding recipe, you will need long grain rice (white � but you can substitute), water, sugar (or sugar substitute), milk, egg, raisins, vanilla and cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as eggnog (International Delight Nog is delicious, by the way!).

Eggnog, or 'egg milk punch' is a chilled and sweetened, dairy-based beverage made with milk or cream, sugar, and whipped eggs (which give it a frothy texture). When making eggnog, many people add spirits such as brandy, bourbon or rum and finish it with a sprinkling of cinnamon or nutmeg for garnish. Traditionally eggnog is consumed in the United States and Canada through the Christmas season and is often added as a flavoring to food and drink (such as coffee). The origins of this delicious beverage are debated, but it is commonly believed to have originated in East Anglia, England (another popular belief is that it was developed from posset, a medieval European beverage). If you've ever wondered where the 'nog' stems from, a noggin is a small, carved, wooden mug used to serve beverages (typically alcohol). In England, the drink was popular mainly with aristocracy due to the expense of some of the ingredients. Sometime during the 18th century the drink crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the British colonies and has been a popular Christmas drink ever since.

For this eggnog dessert recipe, you first need to boil the rice until very tender (I sometimes overcook mine a little, so that it has a very soft texture). In a separate saucepan, measure out your cooked rice and add it along with the eggnog, sugar and salt, frequently stirring until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. Last to be added are the milk, beaten egg and raisins. Again, stir frequently (this is important because the egg will cook within the mixture and you definitely don't want rice pudding with scrambled eggs!). To serve, add a sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg (which this dessert recipe calls for it to be served warm, I also like to eat it cold, but either way it is delicious!). And there you have it. A simple, traditional dessert recipe with a holiday twist. This couldn't taste any yummier.