Coquito

Well, this one has been an adventure.

Coquito is a Puerto Rican "version of eggnog" so good those who try it never go back to the store-bought carton.  I'm sure eggnog is as easy to make as coquito, but I definitely had to jump through way more hoops to get a good recipe.  I started off following a recipe my mom which she got from a local chef.  My mom didn't follow it word for word, and I certainly didn't.  Had I followed her instructions exactly, it would have been quite liquid (and not as boozy).  What Chef Rosita did include was a spice tea, rather than chucking in a whole bunch of spice powders.

The spice tea is tricky--you're essentially pouring very flavorful (super spicy!) water into your beverage, which will, obviously, water it down.  The key then is to concentrate the tea further (advice from my godmother).  Nevertheless, my original version used Chef Rosita's spice tea recipe:

Spice tea:
2 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks (doesn't have to be four, seriously)
8 whole cloves (also a ton! but it's good)
4 or 6 star anis
3 1" ginger pieces (peeled and mashed)

Heat the water over a medium fire and let the spices seep for 20 minutes.  Strain and let cool.

I wasn't too concerned with making sure my ginger was perfectly peeled (I also had little ginger left), especially since everything else is in it's whole form.  I did try to smush it a bit in a mortar and pestle (I am a chemist, after all!). In terms of the heat, I'm quite impatient and not very disciplined so I just turn up the heat until I feel it gets hot.  You should be careful not to let it boil since the internet tells me this could produce an odd bitter flavor.  You can also include whatever spices you want but these are the ones traditionally used in Puerto Rican desserts (so don't skip the anis!).

After much searching and head scratching I decided to merge Chef Rosita's recipe with that of Chef Daisy Martinez.  I found Daisy's recipe on TheKitchn.  TheKitchn offered a "light weight" recipe (ie. awful) followed by Daisy's recipe for a chocolate version.  I eliminated the chocolate and heavy cream from her recipe but took the quantities of eggs.
Lo and behold, the only recipe on the internet that might actually work (it is party-approved as well).

Coquito:
1 can coconut cream
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup spice tea
1 cup of white rum (or to taste)

Pour the coconut cream, evaporated milk, and condensed milk into a bowl and mix.  Continue by adding the eggs and beating them well (aim for frothy, but it'll be good either way).  Finally add the cinnamon and rum.  Beat until frothy once more, pour into bottle and store in fridge.

That's pretty much it.  It was a smash hit at our holiday party!  Delicious.

One note: I did have a non-alcoholic version (also did not have eggs) that I left in the fridge over winter break.  I think it might have fermented.  Thus, I conclude that either the alcohol or the eggs (which have anti-microbial properties for all you salmonella-fearing wimps) prevent these beverages from going bad.  The boozy version didn't make it past the party but my parents have bottles of these that have been sitting there for months and are still good.