CTB Delicious Homemade Buttermilk Eggnog Mix

Cheers from CTB (Chef Tess Bakeresse)! It is getting close to New Year's Eve and for us that means eggnog. Nog! My darling little freaks of nature   the "boys-ohs" will beg for it every single time I stop at a grocery store or convenience store.  They love the thick sweet spiced milky drink.  Everyone has their own version of this luscious creamy delight. Before we get into the nog though...I have to give you some Christmas updates.

 We moved into our new house. That was an adventure. When I say new house, I mean new-to-us. In all reality, we moved into the Brady Bunch house from 1973. Seriously. I'm so exited about the stove...among other things.

There wasn't a zombie Apocalypse 

(hooray for that, I was out of ammo and fresh brains)... Ace barely survived Christmas morning.

 I got the traditional mother's gift. In pink...and fuzzy. I'm a sucker for foot-garb.

The Test Kitchen is back. 
I got a lot of much needed sleep (I'm also a sucker for sleep-garb) while Ace organized the test kitchen and affixed many shelves and stuff to the office. Bless his ever-screw-affixin'-heart. I'm very happy to report that I'm now back in business and yes, it will take me a while to catch up on the e-mail! That being said, thank you all for the well wishes and love. It has been such a wonderful adventure!
 Tara is Gone and Chicklet is Visiting.

Evil Tara has been my go-to girl when it comes to updating the facebook pages and I'm so thankful for her help the last few weeks as I've been offline!  In case you missed the news, Evil Tara (AKA  my darling friend and awesome marketing director here at CTB) is traveling to Paris this week (no doubt eating amazing chocolates,cheeses, and croissants)...and I made sure she had some good meals to go with her in her luggage (as if she really needs more food in Paris). I swear, it was the only way I could make it to France this year!  In case you missed it this is the link: How to make mylar packed just add water meals for camping and travel.

Evil Tara's dog Chicklet is here taking over the kingdom. 

 All hail!  She's been getting way too much attention from my son Face, who insists that the little princess doesn't need to get her feet cold on the patio. He'll sit there until his own little rump is numb. Bless his heart. 

Oh hey, we also got a really cool vintage Coke machine for Christmas. What do you think? Why are you reading this tiny print anyway?

 Evil Queen Chicklet, with her delicate little paws, has also not had to even walk around the yard.  She is getting very spoiled here at the Petersen Dog Resort. " Faster my cute little-boy-minion! " Now, I realize she can walk around just fine. I'm having a hard time convincing my son otherwise.  Our yard is now a full half-acre. What shall we do with that much space?!I will be hard-pressed to separate the two pals when Evil Queen Chicklet does have to leave.

Now on to the Nog.  My main idea for this mix came when a gal asked me if I had a good recipe for eggnog she could make for her son who was overseas with the military. It broke my heart to tell her, "no I don't." I've been feverishly perfecting this recipe since that time. I don't think it will make it to her son in time for Christmas, since it is already passed, but hopefully it will bless a few lives in the future.
As a random side note, So far, we haven't given Chicklet any eggnog. I'm told that little doggies get the doggie toots when they drink milk? Is there any truth to that? I don't know. I don't want to find out. I'm happy not knowing if the dog will get violent silent...never-mind.  In the meantime, we've been making a lot of eggnog for the humans.  This is a basic shelf-stable mix that is just add water and one that is wonderful hot or cold. I'm personally partial to a hot cup of  spiced eggnog with a piece of 6 grain cranberry oatmeal bread.  Yes, this instead of hot cocoa (Did I just say that out loud? I swear if you dare tell my love Chocolate that I've been kissing a mug of nog, I'll deny it...)

I use whole egg and creamy buttermilk powders because they are pasteurized and shelf stable. I love the use of the sour cream powder as well for added richness.  The ultra-gel works as a thickener in the mixture to add some body (and is what is used in instant pudding mixes).  This mix is good up to 3 years when stored in an oxygen free environment. 

CTB Delicious Homemade Buttermilk Eggnog Mix

2 cups  instant non-fat dry milk
1/2 cup buttermilk powder
2 cups sugar or sugar free alternative like granular erythritol
1/2 cup  powdered whole egg
1 cup ultra gel (optional)
1/2 cup powdered sour cream
1T  vanilla powder

1 T LorAnn Rum Bakery Emulsion
1/2 tsp salt
1T Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Spice blend chef-tess-spices
1 tsp Orange Brandy (grand-marnier-type) flavored oil
1 tsp fresh nutmeg, fine ground

To make the mix: 
Combine all dry ingredients. Slowly drizzle the baker's emulsion and brandy oil into the dry mix and whisk well until well combined.

I'm partial to fresh ground nutmeg. My kiddos sometimes can be found carrying them in their pant pockets...because they're as weird as their mother. Officially. 

To make the eggnog:
Combine 1/2 cup of the eggnog mix with 1 cup warm water (or more, depending on how thick/thin you like your eggnog). Chill for 2 hours for cold egg nog or serve hot for those who like to kiss mugs of hot nog. 

There you go. Make some delicious homemade buttermilk eggnog mix! 

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess