Zoraida's Coquito

When Zoraida is in the house, it’s not Christmas until everyone have a glass of coquito in their hands! Zoraida is one of those amazing people that everyone should have in their lives—kind hearted, caring, fun, joyful, curious, and not afraid to say anything. I’m lucky enough be able to call Zoraida a friend and spend some time with her this holiday season. Zoraida has got that magic touch when it comes to cooking, especially with delicious and savory dishes like roasted pork or holiday concoctions like coquito.

So what is coquito? It could be described as Puerto Rican eggnog, but that doesn’t quite do it justice. It’s smooth and creamy with flavors of coconut and loaded with lots of Bacardi. If you’ve never tasted it, then you really need to try it.

Zoraida was nice enough to share her recipe with me to post here, but I have to warn you that even when people use her recipe it never quite comes out like when she makes it! She somehow gives it that little extra splash of love that shines through when you take a sip. This recipe will make one gallon’s worth of coquito.

Zoraida’s Coquito
4 15 oz. cans of cream of coconut
4 12 oz. cans of evaporated milk
6 egg yolks
Bacardi light rum
vanilla extract
ground cinnamon

1. In a blender combine one can of cream of coconut (make sure you scoop out anything left in the can when you pour it out), one can of evaporated milk, two egg yolks, Bacardi, a dash of vanilla extract, and a dash of cinnamon.

2. Blend the ingredients together and pour into an empty gallon container.

3. Repeat until the rest of the ingredients are used up.

4. Serve over ice.

The result is such a delicious treat that you’ll never want to celebrate the holidays again without it. As the concoction gets colder it will get thicker and creamier, and you’ll want to shake up the gallon container before serving it. You can add as much Bacardi as suits you—there’s no specific amount in Zoraida’s recipe, so you’ll just have to add that ingredient by feeling, or rather, by tasting.

Thanks so much to Zoraida for sharing this special treat with us!