Eggnog Gingerbread Kugel – a sweet Jewish noodle casserole made with eggnog, holiday spices and a gingersnap crumble topping. This easy make-ahead dessert is perfect for a holiday potluck. It’s a decadent indulgence!
Eggnog, holiday spices, and a gingerbread-style topping give this kugel a unique and delicious flavor. I’m one of those people who absolutely loves eggnog, which apparently isn’t such a rare thing in America. In fact, some Americans love eggnog so much that it once caused a riot.
The cadets of West Point upheld an annual tradition of indulging in spiked eggnog during their Christmas festivities. When Colonel Sylvanus Thayer was appointed the school’s new superintendent in 1826, he challenged this tradition by forbidding the consumption, purchase and storage of alcohol at West Point. The cadets refused to have their tradition taken from them and smuggled in alcohol from nearby taverns. Some even traveled across the Hudson River to be sure they had enough whiskey to get them through the night.
Thayer, knowing that the cadets might not obey his orders, sent two officers to look out for any unusual activity. Sure enough, the night took a rowdy turn, complete with broken windows, fights and more than a few hangovers. In the end 19 cadets were expelled and, perhaps not surprisingly, West Point no longer hosts a large holiday celebration. The raucous event will forever be known as the Eggnog Riot.
This Eggnog Gingerbread Kugel is so delicious, it may very well start a riot in your kitchen! The creamy, dreamy flavor of eggnog takes a basic noodle kugel and makes it into something really special for the holidays. The gingersnap crumble takes it over the top. Happy holidays!
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Eggnog Gingerbread Kugel
Ingredients
Kugel Ingredients
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 eggs
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 3/4 cup eggnog or soy nog
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Dash of nutmeg
- 3/4 cup golden raisins
Topping Ingredients
- 3/4 cup gingersnap crumbs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
- 2 tablespoons sugar
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add egg noodles, stir, and boil until just tender (just slightly al dente). Drain. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the hot noodles and stir to coat.
- In a 14-cup food processor or a large blender, combine 6 eggs, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, eggnog or soynog, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend the ingredients until creamy.
- Add creamy mixture to the noodles in the pot along with the raisins. Stir all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Pour the noodle mixture into a greased 9×13 baking dish.
- Combine gingersnap crumbs and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Chop butter into small pieces and mix it into the crumbs. Use your hands to work the mixture until it’s crumbly.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the kugel.
- Cover dish with foil and place in the oven. Bake the kugel for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10-20 minutes more until the top is golden brown and the center is no longer liquid. May be served warm or cold; refrigerate if you don’t plan on serving it the same day you make it. If you want to reheat your kugel, place it in a 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes; it will warm up more evenly if you cut it into individual pieces prior to reheating.
Nutrition
great recipe thank you
I am going to have to make this again. On my first attempt I used the food processor instead of the blender. I would not do that again. There was too much liquid for my food processor to hold and I lost quite a bit. I noticed the picture was with a blender and I will definitely use that next time instead. My kugel is good but not moist enough since I lost some of the liquid. So, my tip for this recipe is: use the blender and skip the food processor unless yours is extra big.
Great note Samantha, I forgot that some folks don’t own large food processors. I will update the post with the size I used.
I am so happy I found your website! I have signed up for your news letter and have made several of your recipes and enjoyed each and everyone! Many years ago I had a recipe for kugel that called for assembling the ingredients the night before cooking and marinading overnight. In the morning the noodles had absorbed most of the liquid and tons of flavor which made the dish Devine. The recipe was in a small cookbook from Domino Sugar “Sweet Talk”. The book got wet and pages stuck together and I have not been able to find a good recipe until yours. Next time I make it I plan to try marinading to see how it turns out. Thank you for your excellent recipes!
So happy you found the site! 🙂
I have sweet talk cookbook and would be happy to send you the recipe for Best ever noodle pudding
I saw this on FB and had to look it up before heading off to the store. I have a very special spice from King Arthur Flour. It is a Dutch blend named Speculaas which they use in gingerbread. I’m going to use it instead of cinnamon and dash of nutmeg. It includes those two plus ginger and some others that add that certain “je ne sais quoi.” I believe the Dutch Windmill cookies are called Speculaas in the Netherlands. We are having an “All Holidays” potluck, and this will be my contribution.
I tried eggnog for the first time this year and actually liked it. I experimented by putting it in challah french toast and loved it but I love your idea of adding it to kugel. I’m a huge kugel lover and all of these great flavors make it sound even more delicious.
Tori, I have made this recipe twice in the last two days–it is amazing! I did a sugar-free version to take to a Christmas dinner: I replaced the sugar with Splenda, since I figured (correctly) that the texture would not be compromised like it is with cookies/cakes, etc. I substituted sugar-free oatmeal cookies for the gingersnaps, and added nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger to spice them up a bit. I also substituted 1 tsp of rum + 1/2 tsp vanilla for the 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, and added 1/2 tsp of ginger to the creamy mixture. It was a hit! But–because I gave away the entire pan at the dinner, and only got one piece for my husband and myself–I made a second batch tonight. I used sugar and gingersnaps, as called for, but cut the sugar for the topping to 2 tsp. I made all the other changes I did before–the rum extract and the ginger. I just took it out of the oven and it is cooling before I cut it, but it smells absolutely heavenly! I love eggnog and ginger, and kugel, so this distinctive concoction is definitely a keeper for me!! Thank you–I get your newsletter and LOVE your recipes!!