Stop hunting for coquito. Here’s how to get Puerto Rican eggnog in Miami
The first time Cindy Kruse tried eggnog, she understood the obsession over Puerto Rican coquito.
“Eggnog was completely flat,” said the Puerto Rican pastry chef, who makes some of Miami’s best cookies at Cindy Lou’s Cookies in Little River. “I thought, ‘Where’s the coconut? Where’s the spice? Where’s the deliciousness?’”
Coquito is arguably the king of the boozy, egg-based holiday drinks. (Of course, people will argue because the internet.) It ups the ante over eggnog, Cuban crema de vie, Haitian kremas and Venezuelan ponche crema with one major ingredient to set it apart: coconut.
“Coquito is like eggnog con sazon y amor,” Kruse said.
Yet you rarely find coquito for sale. It’s usually only drunk during December. It uses eggs and rum, which makes it a hassle for restaurants without a liquor license to make and sell. (La Cocina Cocteleria, the Hialeah bar owned by Jewish-Puerto Rican restaurateur Matt Kush, serves his grandmother’s recipe year round.) Mostly it remains the domain of the home cook.
But that’s OK, because it’s easy to make.
Coquito has as many versions as there are Puerto Rican moms making it. Just google “best coquito recipe,” and you’ll have endless choices. Some insist it must contain eggs. In some parts of island, they call any version with egg a “ponche.” (I like an eggless “light” version from New York’s Coqui the Chef, which she shared on the James Beard award-winning podcast, the Sporkful.)
Kruse grew up helping her mother make coquito in Puerto Rico, starting the first week of December.
She asked her mother for her recipe when she moved to Las Vegas and found herself homesick at the holidays.
“Coquito meant Santa was coming,” she said. “One sip of that coquito brought back all the good memories of the holidays and family. It’s nostalgic.”
While some families guard their coquito recipe as a family secret, Kruse shared the recipe her mother, Leonor Velazquez, makes every year. (Kruse also makes an inspired carrot cake at her cookie shop using her mother’s recipe.) And she gives away bottles of coquito to friends as Christmas gifts. “It’s rich but so yummy,” she said.
“Coquito is part of the festivities. It’s always invited to the party.”
Leonor Velazquez’s coquito recipe
12 egg yolks
3 cans of evaporated milk
3 cans of Coco Lopez coconut cream (available in the mixed drink section of the grocery aisle or at liquor stores)
1 can of condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups white rum
In a stainless steel bowl, using a wire whisk, mix the egg yolks together. Pour the cans of evaporated milk, Coco Lopez and condensed milk into the yolks and continue to whisk until smooth and incorporated. Add the cinnamon, vanilla extract and white rum and whisk until well incorporated. Pour into a container and refrigerate. Note: this whole process can also be done in a blender, but I find it more satisfying doing it all by hand. — Cindy Kruse
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
