This eggnog pie was inspired by the classic Christmas eggnog punch. It’s a rich, creamy, boozy Christmas dessert that imparts a tremendous amount of comfort thanks to its hefty splash of rum, er, we mean, its familiar flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg.
It’s actually quite a lot like cheesecake…aside from the face that it packs a punch that’s guaranteed to make you jolly after a slice or two. We like to classify it under “holiday desserts for parties where people like to party.” [Editor’s Note: Best not to place this anywhere near the kids’ table!]
Why Our Testers Loved This
There’s a whole bunch of reasons our recipe testers adored this holiday pie. It’s easy to make and can be made in advance, making it perfect for holiday parties. They also loved the creamy but light, not-too-sweet filling.
Ingredients at a Glance
- Cream cheese–Use full fat for the creamiest texture. Make sure that you have your cream cheese at room temperature when assembling the filling.
- Sour cream–Use full-fat sour cream for the best texture.
- Rum or bourbon–Any type of rum or bourbon will work here, but we like using dark or spiced rum or bourbon best.
How to Make This Recipe
- Prepare the crust. Crush the graham crackers and mix them with melted butter. Press them into the bottom of a 9-inch round fluted tart pan.
- Make the eggnog filling. Beat the cream cheese until very smooth, then mix in the eggs, vanilla, rum or bourbon, spices, sugars, and salt. Beat until creamy.
- Assemble the pie. Wrap the outside of the tart pan in foil and place it on a baking sheet. Pour the filling into the crust and top with extra grated nutmeg.
- Bake the eggnog pie. Cook at 325°F until the edges of the pie are lightly browned, and the center still has a little jiggle. Cool completely and chill before serving.
Common Questions
A dollop of freshly whipped cream and a sprinkle of ground nutmeg is the only adornment this pie needs. Our testers loved serving it with bourbon or rum-spiked whipped cream.
The pie can be made up to 3 days before serving. Store in the refrigerator, loosely covered with plastic wrap.
Helpful Tips
- To save time, use a store-bought graham cracker pie crust.
- Store the pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Great Eggnog Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Eggnog Pie
Equipment
- 9-inch (23-centimeter) tart pan with sides 3 inches deep, preferably springform
Ingredients
For the graham cracker crust
- 7 ounces graham crackers or digestive biscuits
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for the pan
For the eggnog pie filling
- 1 1/3 cups cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 tablespoons dark rum or bourbon
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 cup soft dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Make the graham cracker crust
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C). Butter a 9-inch (23-centimeter) round fluted tart pan with sides 3 inches deep.
- Toss the crackers or biscuits in a food processor or blender and blitz until fine crumbs form or place them in a resealable plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Stir in the melted butter and mix until all the crumbs are well coated. If the mixture seems dry, add a little more butter.
- Press the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
Make the eggnog pie filling
- With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth and nary a lump remains. Add the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, rum, cinnamon, apple pie spice, nutmeg, brown sugar, sugar, and salt and beat or whisk until smooth and creamy.
Assemble the eggnog pie
- Wrap the outside bottom and sides of the pan in foil, then place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and pour in the filling. Grate a little extra nutmeg over the top of the pie.
- Bake the eggnog pie in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling is set but still has a slight wobble in the center. (The pie may puff during baking and deflate during cooling. That’s okay. And the wobbliness in the center will go away as the pie rests.)
- Let the pie cool in the pan on a wire rack until room temperature. Loosely cover the pie and slide it in the fridge at least 8 hours and up to 3 days before slicing and serving. Add a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.
Notes
- Shortcut–Use a store-bought graham cracker crust instead of making one.
- Make-ahead–The pie can be made up to 3 days before serving.
- Storage–Keep the pie in the fridge, loosely covered with plastic wrap.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This eggnog pie worked perfectly. The flavor was subtly spiced.
On removing the pie from the oven, it was a darkish brown and had a slight wobble in the center and no surface cracks. The pie stayed in the fridge for a few days and the crumb softened a bit, but it wasn’t soggy when we were eating the last piece.
If you’re a fan of eggnog, you’ll love this eggnog pie. I really did enjoy this. It has all the same flavors, including nutmeg, which really add to the pie.
As far as texture, it was a little lighter than a cheesecake, but had the same mouthfeel—very smooth and creamy. The crust was also good, not soggy at all, very crumbly, and almost crisp. (The graham crackers were pulsed in the food processor.)
I made my own apple pie spice, which I believe intensified the spice flavor and gave the pie a speckled color from the cardamom.
The pie is already rich, so whipped cream took it up another notch, adding a bit of freshness to the spicy eggnog flavor.
It’s a nice variation on cheesecake and I think it will be welcomed at this year’s Thanksgiving dinner!
I was immediately drawn to this eggnog pie recipe. The idea of basically drinking spiked crème anglaise is enough reason for me to drink a cup or two each Christmas season. Could it be as good as it sounded?
When I read over the ingredient list, it seemed similar to a cheesecake, with a lot of rum added! My cream cheese was at room temperature, but I still used an electric mixer to ensure there were no lumps in the filling.
I started with just 2 tablespoons rum, thinking that was already a lot of rum, but went ahead and added the remaining 2 tablespoons. I poured the filling into the crust and it filled the pan about halfway.
I baked the pie for 50 minutes, which was enough time. It was still a bit shaky but set on the sides. The pie did “puff up” and fill the entire crust, so I suppose it was good that it had the extra room although it did fall back once it cooled for about 2 hours.
The texture of the pie reminded me of a cheesecake. It wasn’t overly sweet. The texture of the pie was definitely better after refrigeration, and the alcohol taste was a bit less pronounced when it was cold.
The pie cut very nicely. I whipped up some cream and sweetened it with confectioners’ sugar and added vanilla and spooned it on top of the pie. The whipped cream really added to the taste.
This eggnog pie recipe was a relatively easy holiday dessert that would be great to bring to a party. However, it’s boozy, so maybe not something for an all-ages party.
The graham cracker crust is quick and simple and the filling came together easily as well. Next time I might strain the custard filling.
The pie was very rich and could easily serve 10 people.
I found the pie to taste better after a day—the flavors seemed to have melded a bit. I made some rum-flavored whipped cream to enjoy with the pie as well. Both together were very rum-flavored, if you’re into that sort of thing.
This pie brought to mind flavors of eggnog. The finished result was well-balanced with no one flavor standing out and was well-received by my guests. The most frequent comment was that tasters liked the lightness of the holiday dessert.
If I didn’t know rum was in the pie, I would never have known it was there. I made the pie with only 3 tablespoons rum, and I would probably have liked the additional tablespoon of rum. I served it with rum-spiked whipped cream and a sprinkle of fresh nutmeg.
This would be a great thing to make when you don’t want to run to the store, as these ingredients are always in the house. The pie only lasted overnight so I’m not sure about storage!
‘Tis the season for eggnog in its every variation! The eggnog pie came out a beautiful cream color with a very soft filling.
After the pie cooled, I noted that it was too sweet. After a day in the refrigerator, the taste changed. It was perfect with sweetened whipped cream and a hot eggnog latte.
Thanks so much for this delicious, so–easy and so seasonally-appropriate pie! It was a nice not-so-rich dessert which presented beautifully as the final act of Christmas Eve dinner. I loved that I could make this the day before, stick it in the refrigerator, and not worry about it again until we were ready for dessert. I did not have a tart pan with 3” high sides I made it in my 9” tart pan (removable bottom) with only 1.5” sides—although I had about 1/4 cup of the graham crumb/butter mixture left over, the specified amount of filling fit perfectly without any overflow. The resulting ratio of crumb crust to pie was perfect, the crust did not try to steal the show. I took the pie out of the oven at 52 minutes which was perfect. The pie was easily released from the sides of the tart pan by just gentling pushing up on the removable bottom. It sliced up beautifully. The only change I would try next time is to increase the warm spice flavor by upping the quantity of cinnamon, and/or adding cardamon. Another possibility that crossed my mind is adding cinnamon chips to the filling.
Magnificent, Lynn! And you are so very welcome! Love your thinking and how you’ve made this recipe suit your needs and your tastes for both this time and next! We so appreciate you taking the time to let us know how much you like this recipe. More than words can say. Wishing you and yours all the magic of the season and looking forward to hearing which recipe on the site you try next…!