It’s that time of year again! I am not sure when Christmas stopped coming after Thanksgiving and started coming after Halloween, but it happened. I see Christmas trees making their debuts in people’s homes across America like we are trying to stretch the holiday season to last an extra 30 days.
I am not complaining but I am not totally onboard. Putting up a tree early in my home means acting as a bouncer for it for an extra month. I’m just not prepared for such a workload.
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But, I am ready for some holiday tastes! Like peppermint! Thank god Starbuck is onboard with the whole “holidays come early thing”! Unfortunately, for my tastebuds, this marks my second pregnancy over the holiday season which precludes me from being super merry and bright with a cocktail in hand.
Alas, that doesn’t mean I need to miss out on everything, am I right? This short and easy list of holiday mocktails below will be sure to make you feel in the er – libation spirit – this season!
Cranberry Spice & Everything Nice
- 2 oz sparkling water
- 1.5 oz cranberry juice
- A few dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters
- 2.5 oz Apple Cider
- 10-15 muddled cranberries (plus additional for garnish)
- An orange wedge
- Serve on ice and garnish with cranberries and a peel of the orange!
- Add a dash of sugar if the cranberries are too bitter for your liking!
Cran-Apple Spritzer
- Apple juice
- Cranberry juice
- Sprite
- Muddled Cranberries
- Garnish with a sprig of Rosemary
Cranberry Pomegranate Bellinis
- Cranberry juice (and add pomegranate juice if you’d prefer)
- Seltzer water or sparkling cider
- A squeeze of lime juice
- Garnish as you wish with a rosemary sprig, an orange wedge or cranberries
A Snowflake
- Crushed Ice
- Seltzer water
- Mint
- Fresh lemon
A Sven Holiday Mule
- .5 oz Cinnamon Syrup
- .5 oz lime juice
- .5 oz cranberry juice
- Shake well
- Add a dash of cinnamon powder
- Add Fever Tree Ginger Beer
- Garnish with fresh cranberries and rosemary sprig
Rumless Hot Butter
- Combine with mixer the following:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1.25 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup Monk Fruit In The Raw bakers bag
- Ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
- Then put in airtight container and refrigerate
- When ready, get your favorite mugs ready and scoop in 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of mixture in. Pour 1/4 cup of boiling hot water into the mug and whisk until dissolved. Add heavy cream or half and half as desired.
Classic Eggnog
- 6 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar (plus 2 tablespoons)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (whipped to soft peaks)
- Garnish: additional grated nutmeg
- Whisk until well-combined: eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-or 4-quart pan. Then pour in milk slowly while still whisking.Turn on your stove burner to lowest possible heat setting.
- Place a medium pan on the burner and stir mixture continuously until an instant-read thermometer reaches ~160 F and the mixture thickens. (This should take about 40- 60 minutes). Strain mixture into a large bowl to remove any small cooked bits of egg. Then stir in the vanilla extract and your nutmeg. Pour into a pitcher or decanter and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate this egg custard mixture to chill at least 4 hours (or up to 3 days) before finishing. When you are ready to serve, pour heavy cream into a bowl and whip until it forms soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into cold custard mixture until combined. Serve eggnog in chilled cups or glasses and garnish with some nutmeg or cinnamon.
A Cold Winter’s Night
- 1.5 oz heavy cream
- 1.5 oz spent coffee grounds syrup
- .5 oz lemon juice
- .5 oz egg white
- Seltzer
- Garnish with coffee beans