15 Excellent Ways To Use Up Your Leftover Eggnog

There's nothing that quite captures the holiday season like a glass of eggnog (spiked or not). With its warm, seasonally-appropriate spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and clove, this custardy and often-alcohol-laced drink has become a staple of holiday parties. Its origins can be traced back to medieval posset in Britain, where it was enjoyed by aristocrats, but eggnog as we know it today came to America in the 1700s. Even George Washington had a personal recipe for the egg-and-milk-based cocktail, which was popular thanks to the ample livestock in the new world.

These days, you aren't limited to creating the drink yourself at home; commercial versions exist in just about every form imaginable, including vegan and lactose-free versions, and come in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties. While the drink is just as delicious when you're relaxing at home as when you're at a party, you may find yourself with way more than you need, especially if you've tried taste-testing different brands of eggnog to find your favorite. Luckily, there are lots of tasty ways to repurpose your leftover eggnog and we have 15 excellent ideas for you.

That's right, we said eggnog syrup. If you thought putting eggnog inside your pancakes was the only way to give your short stack the holiday treatment, you'll love this option for taking things up a notch. Eggnog syrup is best made with real maple syrup and eggnog that you actually like to drink since the flavors aren't diluted but instead amplified. With just a little bit of heat, eggnog and maple syrup combine to make a luxurious creamy topping that's just as well suited to your pancakes as to your bowl of ice cream. 

To make the sauce extra velvety, add butter to the mixture while it's heating in the saucepan, and then drizzle it over your pancakes while it's still warm. Without the butter, it's also a great addition to your coffee in place of cream and sweetener, giving you a little holiday boost without buying any specialty syrups. 

If you're trying to create a holiday dessert worthy of centerpiece status, look no further than using your leftover eggnog in a festive cake that is sure to impress even the most hard-to-please relative. Just as with pancakes, making a cake with eggnog is as simple as substituting the holiday favorite in place of your milk and some of your eggs in your favorite vanilla cake recipe. Or, to make things even easier, add it directly to a boxed cake mix. Add some of those warm, characteristic spices to help punch up the eggnog flavor either way, and consider adding brandy, bourbon, or rum to give the cake that spiked eggnog feeling that's perfect for the adults.

If your family is all about pie instead of cake during the holidays, you can't go wrong with an eggnog pie or cheesecake. Whether you'd like to make a baked version that treats the eggnog as a base for custard or a no-bake pie with instant pudding mix and whipped cream to help stabilize the mixture atop a graham cracker crust, you can't go wrong with eggnog pie. Or put in the extra effort and make a baked cheesecake where the eggnog is mixed with cream cheese, flour, sugar, eggs, and spices and baked to creamy perfection. 

Whether mixed with maple syrup or not, eggnog is a great way to add creamy sweetness to your coffee. If you're an iced coffee lover, there's arguably no better use for your leftover eggnog than to freeze some into ice cubes that will slowly melt into your drink, adding flavor rather than diluting it like traditional ice cubes. Because your ice cubes won't melt immediately in the already cold coffee, you'll want to prepare your cup as usual (if perhaps a bit strong). Then, as the ice cubes melt, you'll get even more of the creamy sweetness (and a bit of holiday spice) from the drink. 

Eggnog ice cubes are also great in your coffee-based smoothies and shakes, or you can freeze them in larger molds with a popsicle stick for a festive frozen treat. If you'll be eating them like popsicles, you can even experiment with adding mix-ins like mini chocolate chips, crushed peppermint candy, coconut, or chopped nuts. 

Just because eggnog is sweet doesn't mean that it can't have a place in your holiday dinner side dishes. No, we're not suggesting you add it to your gravy, but certain dishes can really benefit from just a splash. Take mashed sweet potatoes as a prime example. Using eggnog instead of milk or cream in the dish lends it the much-desired creaminess. It also adds the perfect touch of sweetness and spices that puts it somewhere between traditional mashed sweet potatoes and a sweet potato souffle. Balance the sweetness with the addition of herbs for an unexpected side dish that will complement foods on both ends of the flavor spectrum. 

Perhaps needless to say, this addition is best suited to non-alcoholic eggnog varieties as no one wants to get a buzz from their mashed sweet potatoes or experience the somewhat astringent flavor of bourbon or rum with their root vegetables. Or so we assume. 

Because spiked eggnog with bourbon, brandy, or rum is a holiday favorite itself, it's likely you've never thought of adding it to other popular cocktails in place of milk, but that's a perfect use for leftover eggnog. Somewhat akin to a boozy iced eggnog latte, making an eggnog White Russian is as simple as mixing your favorite coffee liqueur (like Kahlúa) with a bit of vanilla vodka and your creamy leftover eggnog and serving it over ice. What could possibly make a better after-dinner cocktail than that? 

An eggnog martini is certainly a contender. Instead of the coffee liqueur for your over-ice White Russian, an eggnog martini mixes eggnog with amaretto liqueur and vanilla vodka. Simply shake the mix with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain it into a chilled martini glass. Let's just say it's the way James Bond prefers to drink his eggnog. Okay, maybe not, but it should be.

If adding eggnog directly to your baked goods isn't to your taste, but you'd still like a bit of that flavor on your desserts, you can't go wrong with using some in icing or frosting for your cookies, cupcakes, and more. First, let's establish the difference between icing and frosting. In very basic terms, frosting is typically lighter and fluffier, while icing is typically thinner and more like a glaze. Both are delicious, and both are a great way to use leftover eggnog. 

To make eggnog frosting, substitute eggnog for some of the milk in your favorite buttercream recipe. Using eggnog in place of all the milk could make your frosting too thick to spread, so experiment with the proportions; add a bit of nutmeg to really bring out the flavor. For eggnog icing, bring your leftover eggnog, butter, and sugar to a boil, then remove from the heat and whisk in some powdered sugar until it reaches your preferred consistency. 

Pudding can be a bit divisive. Should it be served warm or cold? Is it too one-dimensional to stand on its own as a dessert? Does it remind you too much of elementary school packed lunches to be truly enjoyable? No matter your perceived stance on pudding, eggnog pudding is definitely worth a try during the holiday season. The eggnog is combined with egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt for a super easy stovetop pudding. Just heat it while stirring it constantly until it's thick, then transfer it to a bowl and apply plastic wrap directly to the top to avoid the formation of skin, then refrigerate.

The nutmeg and other spices from your leftover eggnog give the pudding a bit more dimension than your standard vanilla Jell-O pudding cup or instant pudding. An optional splash of bourbon as it cooks makes all comparisons to the pudding of your childhood nothing more than a fading memory. Top it with homemade whipped cream and a sprinkling of chopped roasted nuts for a decidedly adult dessert worthy of the holiday season.