Christmas is here! Basically, right? I mean we’re counting down single digits, it might as well be knocking on our door right now. If you’re following my Instagram you’ll see we’ve been pretty crazy with things around here. It’s hard to keep up with posting and keeping everyone updated so at some point I just threw my hands in the air and said screw it. Then you know what I did? It’s so crazy, hear me out though. I… enjoyed.. things. What a crazy concept right?
Not constantly keeping everything updated really shows you how much time you dedicate to social media. I couldn’t not do it though. I’m at the point now where it’s less for being a content creator and more just having our family outings and such documented. I don’t know about you but I get stuck for hours just going back in my timeline on Instagram and seeing how far we’ve come with life. It’s an awesome thing to do.
Anyway, here we are, Christmas! Tell me, what is a family tradition you remembered growing up that you still do now? I like that, I think I’ll make that into an actual question for you to answer. Look, I’ll even highlight it for you so you have no trouble finding It when you scroll back for it.
What’s a family tradition you remembered growing up that you still do with your family now?
We had a bunch of stuff we did. I remember going huddling under the tree on a nightly basis, taking all the gifts out from under the tree and stacking and counting them and cleaning the tree skirt and all that stuff. I would try and peek between the folds of the paper to see if I can get a glance of the box of whatever it was that’s hiding till the 25th.
And then December, don’t get me started. December used to last a good 3 or 4 months all on its own. Now time is flying so fast for everyone we have to start decorating for Christmas the week of Thanksgiving just to get more out of it. Good times we had back then.
Anyway, here I am rambling. Let’s get to why you’re here. I know when you promise to talk about rum it can do funny things to a person’s patience level.
So, if you didn’t know, I’m Hispanic. I know, I do and say a lot that would probably have you thinking otherwise. But no, I’m full-blooded Puerto Rican, born and raised in Bronx, NY. And if you know anything about Puerto Ricans it’s that we have a tender spot for rum.
I’m not a big drinker at all. Never was. I’d buy a pack of beer during the fall and winter because those are my favorite flavors, but they’d sit in the fridge for weeks without being touched. I think I do it just to feel like an adult, you know?
But when I do have something, I can take a drink or two no problem. After that, I never tested, and I’m not too keen on doing anything for science in that department. But out of the many traditions my family always had during the holidays, Coquito always stood out for me.
Of course, growing up, I wasn’t allowed to drink the hard stuff. But Coquito for adults usually meant Limber for the kids. (pronounced Leem-bae [yeah, have fun with that, there’s a hard accent at the end like the “be” in “better”]) But more on Limber later, let’s stick with Coquito for now.
Coquito is a Nectar of the Gods. If the gods.. were coconuts. It’s a drink that you’ll be able to easily find in almost any Puerto Rican house come Christmas, as it’s a staple that is expected to be had.
My mom likes to make vats of the stuff and bottle it up and send it off as gifts to family and friends. My sister in-law has become accustomed to this now, so every year when we go over to my in-law’s for Christmas it’s basically my entry fee. So what’s in it? Simple, it’s… Well. There’s… Oh, then you mix it together! Then the rum and stir and that’s it!
OK, seriously, you don’t want me explaining anything to you before it’s time so just hold up until you get to the recipe down there, k sunshine? Now look at my gangsta mom holding a bottle of rum almost as big as she is.
This isn’t your typical mix of drinks that you order from a bar on a Saturday night. I took an afternoon last year with my mom and she was like Dr. Frankenstein putting the concoction together.
And just like your other typical Hispanic dishes, you can have 3 or 4 of the same thing made by different people on the table and they’ll all taste completely different. A lot of purist will tell you something is not real coquito unless it has so and so in it.
But for me, I see it like this: if there’s coconut and rum in it, you can call it whatever you want. I know not everyone is going to make it like my mom, so I invite you to comment below and let me know what you and your family do different.
OK so I think it’s time. Ready? Sit back, chill out, and get ready to press print on my handy dandy printable recipe because you’re going to want to do this in the next week.
And hey, btw, I’m sorry for the bombardment of pictures. It was hard to pick good ones so I just crammed them all in to the post. You’re welcome, slow internet users.
Coquito
Ingredients
Cinnamon Syrup
- .5 cup - Ginger chunks, peeled
- 7-9 sticks - Cinnamon
- 1 cup - Raisins
- 1 tsp - Cinnamon, ground
- 2 cups - Water
Coconut Milk
- 2 each - Coconuts, cut into chunks
- 6 cups - Water
Coquito
- 2 each - Egg Yolks, optional
- 2 cans - Coconut Milk, store bought
- 1 can - Sweet Condensed Milk
- 1 can - Evaporated Milk
- 1 can - Cream of Coco
- 1 cup - Cinnamon Syrup
- 2.5 cups - Bacardi Rum or Coconut Bacardi
Instructions
For the Cinnamon Syrup
- Put everything into a pot and bring it to a boil.
- Lower the heat to med-high and let it reduce down to about 1 cup of liquid.
- Set aside to cool a bit.
For the Coconut Milk
- Crack open the coconut. If you've never done so, be sure to find your local hispanic neighbor as it is in our blood to break down coconuts. Or, if your grocery store is awesome like ours, ask the produce guy if they can open it up for you.
- You want to separate the meat from the skin. Doesn't have to be completely separated, just the husk removed.
- Put coconut chunks and water into a heavy duty blender (probably not a daiquiri maker like my mom) and blend it until well blended.
- Get a strainer and a good size container and strain the coconut pulp from the water.
- Congrats, you just made your very own coconut milk. If you call this a secret ingredient, you wouldn't be wrong.
For the actual Coquito
- In a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks a bit.
- While they're beating, strain the chunks out of the cinnamon syrup and SET ASIDE! You're going to need all that goodness.
- Temper the egg yolks with the warm cinnamon syrup. If you're afraid of tempering... you should be! Nah, seriously, don't freak out. Just slooooowly let the cinnamon syrup drizzle down the edge of the mixing bowl while the egg yolks are being beaten.
- Once the egg yolks have been tempered with the cinnamon syrup, add the sweetened condensed milk and blend.
- Once blended, add all the other 49 cans to the bowl while mixing.
- After all the milks are in, taste for sweetness and cinnamon, add if needed.
- Add the rum and stir gently, as your mixer may be close to capacity.
- Taste and add what you feel is missing. More rum? Sure! (I am not held responsible for any drunk texting during Christmas)
Bottling Up
- When you go to bottle your coconut god blessed holy water, be sure to not forget the stuff you strained from the cinnamon mixture! I really hope you didn't throw that away...
- Go ahead and line up your bottles and start plunking down the cinnamon sticks and the ginger and the raisins. Maybe get about a cup of goodness in each vessel.
Notes
- First off, you're probably wondering why so many cans of milk and not just the whole thing be fresh coconut milk? Elementary, my dear Watson. The various cans of milk all have a much thicker consistency than the fresh milk. So using the cans are going to give you the creaminess you're looking for in the drink. If you use primarily fresh, the end product will be way too watery.
- Speaking of the fresh milk, here's an important thing to look out for: The coconut milk you strain is - get this... - going to look like milk! There is a chance that the coconuts are bad for making coquito. If they are bad, you'll see the milk you strain become separated as in the solids will separate from the liquids and it will look broken. If you come across this, unfortunately you'll have to climb another tree to get different coconuts.
- Nah, jk. But you'll have to scrap all that you just blended and get different coconuts. So my advice, buy a few coconuts from a few different grocery stores. That way if one is bad, you can try again with coconuts that you know are from a totally different source.
- I know you might be a little skeptical about the egg yolks being in there. First of all, don't be a baby. Second, it's totally fine. Just buy yourself fresh eggs that day if you're really that worried about it. Also, if you don't know how to test your eggs in water to see if they're good, then go ahead and check out this link right here. It's a method that I use all the time and it's probably saved my life once or twice.
- The egg yolks are going to give you that eggnog consistency, which is something you want from your coquito.
- Buuuuuuuuuuuuut if you really don't want to use them like for allergy purposes. Then I'll give you a pass and won't call you a baby.
- The reason why you're putting the Sweetened Condensed can first before the other cans, is because it's the creamiest of the bunch. So with that in there first, it's going to let everything else mix up even better, giving it a ponche feel, which is a totally different post. Love me some ponche!
- If you taste the Coquito and need to add sweetness to it, add a bit more of cream of coconut. You don't want it super sweet though, so be mindful.
- I was just kidding about step 8, don't go adding more rum you psycho. You'll water it all up and it will just be coconut cream flavored rum.
- When storing, always keep the Coquito refrigerated, and in something that has a nice tight lid.
- Those bottles you see in the pictures above are perfect. My mom picks them up from Ross/Marshalls/T.J. Max for about $1.99 each.
That’s it! Easy right?! Ok I know, you’ve drank easier drinks. But trust me, you want to take the time to do this. Especially if you’re having a holiday party because that’s when it shines. Just keep it on ice and keep it cool because you see there’s a bunch of dairy in there. But you will not be disappointed.
And the Limber! I almost forgot! Poor kids at your party, they can’t enjoy Coquito. But they CAN enjoy the coconuts out of some Limber.
Here you go, bonus recipe, just for the kids. Remember, DON’T ADD RUM, alki.
Limber
Ingredients
- 1 can - Cream of Coconut
- 2 cans - Coconut Milk
- 1 can - Water
- 1/4 tsp - Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp - Cinnamon, ground
- to taste - Sugar
Instructions
- This one is a lot more straightforward. Just toss everything in a mixer or a bowl and with your favorite cooking utensil, give it a good mix.
- Once everything is incorporated, taste it. It shouldn't be crazy sweet, you're looking for coconut flavor, not a candy. But if you feel like it could use a little sweetness you can add a bit of sugar.
- Once it's mixed nice, divide it up into the cups. Then take a small pinch of cinnamon and sprinkle it on top of each cup. Don't mix it, just let it sit.
- Put the cups in the freezer overnight.
Notes
- For the coconut milk, my mom uses the same homemade coconut milk from making the coquito. So if you want to kill two birds with one stone, make a little more coconut milk than what you need for the coquito when you're making that.
- A can of water is exactly that. Just take one of the empty cans of milk you just poured out and fill it up with water.
- For the cups, you'll need a medium sized plastic cup. Not a solo cup size, and not a little disposable mouthwash cup size. But you're looking for something that will be disposable and easy for a kid to hold.
- A tip for eating this: When it's ready to eat, try and manipulate it out of the plastic cup by squeezing it or letting the cup sit in some hot water for a few seconds. Once you can pop out the entire cup of frozen coconutiness, flip it upside down in the same cup. Or a new cup if you're particular about touching your food. This way, it'll be just like eating a fresh popsicle.
See now THAT was easy, I don’t want to hear any complaining. Matter of fact, I expect a comment below describing how much better I just made your Christmas! Because this liquid gold will do just that, trust me! You still have time before the big day, go ahead and give it a try. And whether you do or not, I hope you have a very merry Christmas!
Side note: It was fun doing this recipe. It was documented last year around this time and I never had a chance to post it so I figured why not now. You think seeing all these pictures was annoying, imagine my mom! Every other minute I was telling her to slow down so I can get a good shot. I don’t think I did too bad considering I only made her redo something once. Something else that was fun was getting my mom to actually measure stuff! Even standing there she was putting stuff together and I asked how much so I can write it down and she said she didn’t know. Good times. I’m looking forward to doing it again.
Another side note: If you’re a fan of podcasts like I am (heck, I host one!), then you NEED to be listening to The Sporkful. Dan Pashman hosts and it’s a very informative and fun listen, learning all sorts of things about food, and the people making it. I bring this up because he very recently had a show dedicated to Coquito! I may be bias but it was a great listen. If you are curious about the deep story behind coquito and what it’s all about, go give it a listen right here, you won’t be sorry.
