Eggnog Cream Pie
Baked in a gingersnap cookie crust, this Eggnog Cream Pie makes for one heck of a delicious treat during the holidays! Cheers!
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The early colonists in America loved their rum. Given that rum from the Caribbean islands was plentiful and fairly inexpensive, it’s easy to see why it become the alcohol of choice for the colonists. Early accounts of life in the 1700’s refer to rum quite often. In fact, one of the more popular drinks, a “Bumbo,” was simply a mixture of rum, sugar, water and nutmeg. Funny story about Bumbo: it was used to “bribe” voters in early elections. Sure enough, even George Washington got in on the act.
“When twenty-four-year-old George Washington first ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses, he attributed his defeat to his failure to provide enough alcohol for the voters. When he tried again two years later, Washington floated into office partly on the 144 gallons of rum, punch, hard cider and beer his election agent handed out—roughly half a gallon for every vote he received.” ~Daniel Okrent, from his book Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.
Rumors about bribing voters arise now and then, but they’re a far cry from the half a gallon of alcohol that George Washington handed out! Speaking of George, it seems that our first president was quite fond of eggnog. According to records, Washington’s recipe for eggnog was “one quart cream, one quart milk, one dozen tablespoons sugar, one pint brandy, 1/2 pint rye whiskey, 1/2 pint Jamaica rum, [and] 1/4 pint sherry.” No wonder ol’ George was so popular…that drink has 4 kinds of alcohol in it!
I’ve always loved a good glass of eggnog myself, and Laura and I make sure to pick up a container as soon as we head into the holiday season. (We actually have a local convenience store chain in the area that carries eggnog year-round. It’s kinda awesome! Although I must admit that drinking eggnog in June is a little bit strange…)
Eggnog Cream Pie
Eggnog Cream PieI got to wondering the other day whether eggnog could be used in a dessert. I figured any dessert that relies on heavy cream would probably work well with eggnog…and I was right! I’ve made several cream pies over the years, so I tweaked those recipes a bit until I ended up with this Eggnog Cream Pie. Holy cow, this is delicious! In keeping with the holiday vibe, I opted to make a gingersnap crust for this Eggnog Cream Pie. (It was simply ground up gingersnaps, or ginger nuts as they’re called over in the UK, and butter.) All together, the gingersnap crust topped with the creamy eggnog filling made for one heck of an excellent holiday dessert!
If you’re not in the mood to blitz some gingersnaps to oblivion, then I’m sure this pie would taste great with a store-bought graham cracker crust. I do highly recommend garnishing the top of the pie with gingersnaps, though.
To rum or not to rum?
Funny enough, I actually prefer my eggnog unadulterated. I love a good glass of bourbon, and I’ve gotten to where I can appreciate rum. But when it comes to nog, I just like it plain. I chose to leave the alcohol out of this Eggnog Cream Pie, although you could easily add a couple tablespoons based on your own personal preference. I just chose to eat my slice of pie with a glass of bourbon on the side! No matter how you serve it, I can promise that this Eggnog Cream Pie will be a hit among eggnog lovers in your house! Cheers, friends, and Happy Holidays!
Did you make this Eggnog Cream Pie at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Looking for other tasty holiday desserts? Check out these other favorite recipes, too:
Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake
Gingerbread Button Cookies
Chocolate Cream Pie
Easy Chocolate Fondue
Homemade Peppermint Bark
Eggnog Cream Pie
Ingredients
For the Gingersnap Crust
- 1¾ cups gingersnap crumbs ~30-35 gingersnap cookies
- 3 Tbsp light brown sugar
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
For the Eggnog Filling
- 2 cups full-fat eggnog
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- 2 additional egg yolks
- ½ tsp nutmeg plus more for garnishing
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- {optional} 2 Tbsp rum or bourbon
- 1 8-oz. container whipped topping, slightly thawed
- 1 cup gingersnap crumbs ~20 gingersnap cookies
Instructions
For the Gingersnap Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a food processor or mini-chopper, pulse the gingersnaps until finely ground. In a medium bowl, combine the gingersnap crumbs, brown sugar, ginger and melted butter. Stir until fully combined.
- Lightly butter or grease a 9” pie pan. Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom and sides of the pan. (Tip: A flat-bottomed glass helps pack the crust mixture down evenly.)
- Bake crust for 10 minutes; remove from oven and let cool.
For the Eggnog Filling
- Using a medium saucepan, add eggnog, sugar, cornstarch, eggs, additional egg yolks, nutmeg and salt; whisk until well combined.
- Place over medium heat and cook, stirring often, for 5-10 minutes, or until mixture begins to thicken noticeably and boil. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla and {optional} rum/bourbon.
- Pour mixture into the cooled pie crust.
- Press plastic wrap to top of filling and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Remove pie from refrigerator and spread whipped topping on top.
- Before serving, garnish top of pie with gingersnap crumbs.
How did I not know about voter bribery in America’s early days? That’s so interesting! But I’ll pass on “bumbo” thanks–isn’t rum sweet enough without additional sugar? I’d love a few slices of this pie though–gingersnap and eggnog pair so beautifully together! In fact, I think I could go for a slice of pie with my coffee right now!
Haha! Tell me about it, Kelsie. That ‘bumbo’ sounded pretty terrible if you ask me. Crazy that old George bribed voters with 1/2 gallon! Bumbo aside, this eggnog cream pie is downright delicious! I could easily polish off 1/2 of this one…no trouble at all. And yes to that cup of coffee with it, too. Yum!
I love eggnog and ginger snaps and you just can’t go wrong when adding a little rum! 🙂 This pie looks so luscious and delicious. All that eggnog flavor wrapped up into a delicious pie!
I love a good glass of eggnog during the holidays! Laura and I will pour a tiny glass and sip on it while watching tv at night. Now we can sip on it while nibbling on eggnog pie, too. 🙂 Thanks, Kathy!
What a delicious idea for a pie, David. I am still travelling at the moment, but will be saving this to make a festive dessert next year. I am loving the idea a lot!
You travel to the best places, Alexandra! I can’t wait to hear about your newest adventure!
Firstly, love a good history post! Secondly, I also love my eggnog without alcohol (and the inverse too!). However, I’m torn. Eggnog isn’t really done in the UK. I have literally paid a minor fortune for a carton imported from the USA just so I can have some this Christmas. So, do I make this amazing sounding pie, or enjoy the nog on its own… decisions decisions.
Yes! Cheers to eggnog without alcohol and alcohol without eggnog! Haha. So eggnog isn’t a UK thing? That’s a shocker to me. I feel like eggnog would be wildly popular in London. Maybe we need to start that trend. Also, you can totally make eggnog at home. I’ve seen tons of recipes, but I’ve never tried it myself. Just putting the idea in your head so you can save on the minor fortune next time!
years ago we were living with a Quaker friend in Philadelphia for a while and I found a fabulous recipe in a magazine called Reverend tallulah’s egg nog. i have been making it ever since! and believe you me, it has rum to spare… tee hee… I bet this pie is delicious, and even tho i don’t drink rum at all anymore, i think a drop or two wouldn’t hurt in this pie. cheers!
Reverend tallulah’s egg nog, eh? I’ll have to look up that recipe! I was just telling Matt (above) that he should make his own eggnog since he lives in the UK and eggnog isn’t popular over there. Also, Quaker recipes are the best, aren’t they?? Thanks, Sherry!
i’m the only person i know who makes eggnog. it’s not really an aussie thing. you can buy cartons of it at christmas time but it’s not something we go for here much. we had many wonderful and interesting meals in the US! green sweet jelly with vegetables?!?! OMG…
A great pie recipe for the holiday season. I love the combination of the eggnog and ginger snaps. I am sure that this would be a hit at my house.
There is just something magical about the combination of eggnog and gingersnaps. It screams Christmas to me! And this pie? Woah. It’s delicious! 🙂 Thanks, Dawn!
I love my eggnog plain, too. Okay, may be an extra pinch of nutmeg on top won’t hurt. And of course I love eggnog-inspired desserts even though it might be challenging to create a pronounced eggnog flavour. (I’ve only made a cheesecake, fudge, and ice cream. My friend, you should totally make eggnog ice cream!) This cake looks stunning and sounds just delicious. Perfection!
Eggnog ice cream you say? Well ask and you shall receive, Ben! https://spicedblog.com/eggnog-ice-cream.html 🙂
We make a chocolate rum pie every Christmas that was Keith’s grandmother’s recipe, but now I see that we need to try an eggnog version too. So good!
And how crazy about giving alcohol to sway votes. Always learn new things from you, David!
Hey, that chocolate rum pie sounds pretty tasty! I would if we could find a way to merge these two pies together…I’m thinking we might have to do that. Thanks so much, Marissa, and I hope you and Keith both have a very Merry Christmas!!
Oh my, I love this, David! I love eggnog desserts even more than a glass of eggnog itself. This pie is fantastic and I love the Gingersnap crust! Such a delicious flavor combination. 🙂 ~Valentina
Eggnog is one of those flavors that just screams holidays to me…kinda like gingerbread. This pie is super tasty, and it’s perfect for the holidays. Thanks so much, Valentina!!
David, would you believe that I’ve never tasted eggnog?! I guess my parents never had it around and the name kind of scared me 🙂 I could definitely go for this Eggnog Cream Pie though! With that gingersnap crust and whipped cream topping – who could resist?!
Say what!? Ok, you totally have to try eggnog this year. Find a good local dairy that makes it, too. The local stuff is the best! I personally don’t like rum or bourbon in my eggnog…I just drink it plain. It literally tastes like melted ice cream – in a good way. 🙂
Wow! I was shocked to hear about all the bribery in America in those early days! But a little alcohol goes a long way in persuading doesn’t it? Ha ha! I don’t need any persuading (although you’re welcome to send me some alcohol!) to say that I love this eggnog cream pie David. What a fantastic festive dessert!
Hah! Yeah, and I don’t know that things have changed much when it comes to bribery either. Oh well. Like you, I don’t need any persuading to go after a slice of this eggnog cream pie. It’s perfect for the holidays! 🙂 Thanks so much, Neil!