5 Boozy Recipes For A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas could be your favorite time of year or a time that you dread; either way, though, a bit of extra merriness never hurt anybody!

Maybe you need a little something to help relax your uptight in-laws, or do you need something to look forward to after slaving away in the kitchen all day? For Christmas addicts and not-so-jolly holidaymakers alike, adding a bit of booze to Christmas day can make it a little more fun and relaxing.

Christmas day – whether you like it or not – revolves heavily around food. The turkey; the stuffing; roast potatoes and gravy – no matter what ends up on your plate, the roast dinner is a huge part of the day. And it’s the same for the lead-up to Christmas, too!

You know the holidays are beginning when candy canes start popping up in shop windows, or when Yule logs go on display in the bakeries. Food is such a huge part of the holiday season, and we think that you should mix it up by adding an adult twist to some of your recipes!

And don’t forget about the drinks – from mulled wine to Christmas cocktails, everyone enjoys an alcoholic beverage to warm them up in the winter months. That’s why we’ve included a couple of boozy drink ideas for you, too!

Have a gander at our recipes below, which all involve a special ingredient to make your holidays that bit more cheerful: alcohol. Treat yourself to something new and naughty, and find a recipe that makes you even more excited for Christmas.

Mulled Wine Cheesecake

This first recipe has us drooling just at the thought! A combination of one of America’s most indulgent desserts with one of the world’s most festive drinks; it’s definitely a recipe for success.

This dessert is easy to make and has the most Christmassy purple color, making it a treat for the eyes and the tastebuds!

Ingredients

• 12 ½ oz dark chocolate digestive biscuits
• 2 ½ oz unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp cocoa
• 6 ½ sheets of leaf gelatine
• 9 oz sour cream
• 12 ½ oz mascarpone cheese
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 medium eggs (or 3 small eggs)
• 4 oz caster sugar
• 6 fl oz mulled wine (any brand will do!)
• 3.5 oz dark chocolate, melted

Instructions

1. Take a round cake tin and line it with baking paper and butter.
2. Crush your chocolatey biscuits until they are made into little crumbs.
3. In a bowl, mix the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter and cocoa until they have thoroughly mixed.
4. Take the mixture and place it in your cake tin, making sure to press down and spread it evenly. Leave this to chill for around half an hour.
5. Fill a bowl with cold water and soak five of your gelatine leaves until they have gone soft. This should take around five minutes.
6. In the meantime, in a separate bowl, mix together the mascarpone and sour cream.
7. Drain the bowl with the gelatine leaves and get rid of any excess water. Place the leaves in a small saucepan and heat slowly until they have melted. Stir continuously.
8. Once the gelatine leaves have melted, take them off the heat and add the mascarpone mixture to them.
9. Add in your cinnamon and beat this mixture until it is lump-free and the ingredients have mixed thoroughly.
10. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and 3.5 oz of the sugar until it has a thick consistency and begins to ribbon.
11. Fold the egg and sugar mixture into the mascarpone and cream, before pouring it all over the biscuit base in the cake tin. Make sure the mixture is spread evenly.
12. Put the cake tin in the refrigerator until it has set. This will take between three and four hours.
13. Once your cheesecake has chilled almost completely, take the last of the gelatine leaves and soak it for five minutes – again, in cold water.
14. In the meantime, take your mulled wine and heat it over a low to medium flame until it is warmed. Remove the pan from the heat.
15. Drain and remove water from the gelatine and place it into the warmed mulled wine.
16. Add in your remaining sugar and stir the wine mixture continuously until everything has mixed together and the sugar and gelatine have dissolved completely.
17. Let the mixture sit to cool for a few minutes.
18. Once the wine mixture has cooled completely, take a spoon and ladle it over your cheesecake. Pour it evenly across the whole cake.
19. Refrigerate the cheesecake for a few hours.
20. When a few hours have passed, take your melted chocolate and spread it across a plate.
21. Place the chocolate-covered plate in the refrigerator for a few minutes until the chocolate has cooled, but is not yet hard.
22. Take a small but sharp knife, angle it away from you, and scrape the chocolate off the plate to form chocolate curls.
23. Take your cheesecake out of the refrigerator, and decorate it with chocolate swirls. Your delicious cheesecake with a twist is ready to be served!

Boozy Eggnog

This holiday favorite has been around for over a century, now, filling people’s bellies with creamy naughtiness. It would be a crime not to include an eggnog recipe on our list of boozy Christmas treats!

This recipe gives you a choice between using dark rum or Bourbon, so choose your favorite and get whisking!

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 sticks of cinnamon
• 1 vanilla bean pod, with seeds removed
• 1 ½ tsp grated nutmeg
• 5 eggs, separated
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup Bourbon or Dark Rum

Instructions

1. Pour the milk, heavy cream, cinnamon, vanilla bean, vanilla seeds, and 1 tsp nutmeg into a saucepan and mix it all together.
2. Put the saucepan on medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit.
4. Beat together the yolks of your eggs with the sugar in a bowl, until the mixture begins to ribbon.
5. Add in the milk bit by bit and stir continuously until there are no lumps.
6. Pour in your chosen alcoholic beverage and stir it in thoroughly. Refrigerate this mixture and leave it overnight.
7. Once the eggnog has been chilled overnight, beat your egg whites. They should have soft peaks when they are ready.
8. Fold the whites into your eggnog.
9. Pour the drink into your chosen glasses, and sprinkle the rest of the nutmeg over the top for decoration. Sip away!

Tequila Infused Gravy

Gravy is a must-have when it comes to what’s on the table at Christmas. It moistens the potatoes, adds flavor to the veggies, and brings the whole roast dinner together.

Many people add red wine or sherry to their gravy to give it a fruity and deep flavor, but this recipe opts for something a little stronger: tequila! Only one shot is needed for this recipe, so it’s completely up to you what happens to the rest of the bottle…

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp fresh sage, chopped
• 2 tbsp and 1 tsp of flour
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper powder
• 1 shot of Tequila (pick your favorite brand!)
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 cups turkey drippings
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Grab a skillet or deep pan and add your butter. Heat it on medium until it melts.
2. Add in the sage and let the butter simmer for around half a minute.
3. Slowly mix in the flour, chili powder, and cayenne pepper with a whisk.
4. Pour in the tequila (yay!) and lime juice, and whisk continuously for a few minutes.
5. When the alcohol has burned off, pour in your stock and keep whisking. Get the mix simmering until it thickens. This should take around three minutes.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. This delicious gravy is ready to be poured all over your Christmas dinner! Slurp it up before everyone else steals it!

Vodka Cranberry Sauce

Perfect for serving with your home-cooked turkey and in leftover sandwiches, this boozy sauce is the perfect addition to your Christmas larder. It’s too easy a recipe to ignore! So, go on – make a spirit-full delight out of those healthy cranberries. This one’s on the naughty and the nice list.

Ingredients

• 16 oz fresh cranberries
• 1 clementine, juiced with zest grated
• 4 tbsp vodka
• 2.5 oz caster sugar

Instructions

1. Add your cranberries, clementine juice and zest, and vodka into a pan and put it on the heat. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer, whilst stirring until the cranberries soften and break.
2. Add in the caster sugar and mix it thoroughly.
3. Leave the sauce to cool to room temperature, and it’s ready! Minimal effort for maximum gain.

Christmas Cosmos

Cosmopolitans are a treat at any time of the year, but when a Christmassy twist is added to the classic drink, they become a must-have addition to any Christmas party. The colors of the ingredients make this look like Christmas in drink form!

Ingredients

• 1 cup vodka
• ½ cup cranberry juice
• ½ cup pomegranate juice
• ¼ cup orange liqueur
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 lime, peeled with the peel twisted into decorative garnishes

Instructions

1. Add the vodka, both types of fruit juices, orange liqueur, and lime juice into your chosen jug or pitcher.
2. Stir the liquids together until they have fully combined.
3. Add ice, if you want them to be snowy-cold!
4. Pour the drink into your martini glasses through a strainer, to make sure the drink is smooth.
5. Garnish each drink with a twist of lime peel and get boozy!