Yes, yes, yes! Time to get out your ugly holiday sweaters and get comfy, y'all! My budget-friendly Eggnog Cookies are the perfect sweet treat to make and share with friends and family this holiday season. The cookie base is made with simple ingredients like flour, sugar, and spices, and then I add a buttery frosting to top it all off. They're sweet, creamy, and have a subtle hint of rum flavor without springing for an expensive bottle of the real stuff. These easy-to-make cookies will be the perfect addition to any Christmas party or festive cookie plate this year!
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Eggnog is Long history As a holiday drink, spread All Way back to medieval Britain, with many variations and adaptations over the years. But these days, we usually drink a creamy, spicy drink, often paired with rum, whiskey or brandy. But I know not everyone is a fan of drinking straight-up eggnog. So, I wanted to find a way to incorporate those delicious flavors into tasty treats that everyone could enjoy!
What are Eggnog Cookies?
These melt-in-your-mouth eggnog cookies are soft, chewy, and full of holiday flavor. They are essentially simple Sugar cookie base, but I add cinnamon, nutmeg and rum extract to the batter to give it a distinct eggnog flavor. And of course, a creamy frosting made from butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream (and a little more rum extract!) helps bind everything together. Even if you're not a fan of eggnog, give these cookies a try—you'll be surprised how much you love them. 😉
Here's what you need to make this recipe for eggnog cookies:
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour to give the cookies structure and create a soft but firm base for the frosting.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Both of these leavening agents help the cookies rise and give them a light texture.
- Unsalted Butter: This recipe calls for cookie dough and butter for the frosting. I recommend using softened butter to make sure it mixes well with the other ingredients. Let sit at room temperature for about an hour or you can use it Marsha's tip Fill the glass with hot water, pour it out and cover the stick of butter with the hot glass to soften!
- Granulated Sugar: Adds just enough sweetness and moisture to the batter.
- Eggs: I use a large egg to bind everything together.
- Nutmeg and Ground Cinnamon: These spices help create the classic eggnog flavor. I also add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness!
- Vanilla Extract and Rum Extract: Rum extract is more budget-friendly than using actual rum or eggnog, and I like how the flavor can be controlled this way. If you're not sure about that, you can skip adding it to the frosting and just start with cookie dough. Vanilla extract is a must-have flavor enhancer for this recipe!
- Powdered Sugar and Heavy Cream: When mixed with butter, vanilla extract, and rum extract, these ingredients make the most delicious frosting for our easy eggnog cookies recipe.
This easy eggnog cookie recipe is really easy and perfect for first time cookie makers! But to help you out, here are some tried and true tips and suggestions:
- Gradually add the dry ingredients so as not to over mix the flour. Adding it all at once makes it harder to mix and also increases the chance of overworking the dough, which can result in tough and dense cookies.
- Don't skip the chill time. I know it can be tempting to skip this step and bake the cookies right away, but trust me, chilling the dough stops them from spreading too much (they will still spread a little, but not as much as if you skipped it. Chill time). It also makes the dough easier to handle while making balls.
- Coat the cookie dough balls evenly in the sugar. As you are making snickerdoodlesYou want to make sure the cookie dough balls are evenly coated in sugar. It adds a little extra sweetness and helps develop a fine, chewy crust when baking.
- I recommend letting your cookies cool before icing. If they are still warm, they will melt your eggnog frosting!
- You can top your cookies with any festive decorations you like. I used pearl sugar as an optional topping in the photos shown here, but cinnamon, ground nutmeg, sanding sugar, sprinkles, granulated sugar, or extra powdered sugar are all great additions.
Storage instructions
These Frosted Eggnog Cookies will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days. However, please note that this is only a guideline and will depend on the freshness of the heavy cream used in your frosting. You can freeze these cookies (without frosting) in layers of parchment paper for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature before adding the frosting!
Eggnog Cookies Recipe
These homemade eggnog cookies are delicious, soft, perfectly spiced, and topped with a creamy, buttery frosting. Perfect for Christmas!
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Cookie Ingredients
- 2 ¾ Cup flour ($0.52)
- ¼ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg ($0.55)
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon ($0.04)
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder ($0.04)
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda ($0.01)
- 2 sticks Unsalted butter, softened ($2.13)
- 1 ½ Cup granulated sugar, divided (reserve ¼ cup for rolling) ($0.52)
- 1 big egg ($0.30)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ($0.29)
- ½ teaspoon Rum extract ($0.18)
Icing Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cup Powdered sugar ($0.82)
- ¼ Cup Unsalted butter, softened ($0.53)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ($0.29)
- ¼ teaspoon Rum extract ($0.09)
- 3 tbsp Heavy cream ($0.30)
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Preheat oven to 350F. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk to combine and set aside.
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Add the room temperature softened unsalted butter and 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar to a mixing bowl. Mix them with a hand mixer on low speed.
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Whisk together the eggs, vanilla and rum extract and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix on low until combined.
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Gradually add all the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until a sticky dough forms.
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Chill the dough for 20-30 minutes. Then, using a 1 ounce cookie scoop, portion out the cookies and roll each into a ball in your hand. Roll each ball in remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar.
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On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place dough balls 2 inches apart and flatten slightly in the bottom of a clean cup.
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Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let them cool completely before frosting, about 10 minutes.
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To make the icing, add the powdered sugar, unsoftened unsalted butter, vanilla extract, rum extract, and heavy cream to a mixing bowl and mix on medium-high with a hand mixer until lightly whipped and creamy.
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Transfer the icing to a piping bag (or a ziplock bag with one corner removed!) and frost each cookie. Alternatively, you can smooth the frosting over each cookie by hand with a butter knife. Enjoy!
Let's see how Calculate the cost of the recipe here.
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Hand mixer
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baking sheet
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piping bag, Optional
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1 ounce cookie scoop
Serving: 1CookieCalories: 224kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSodium: 108mgFiber: 0.4g
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How to Make Eggnog Cookies – Step by Step Photo
Preheat oven to 350F. Combine 2 ¾ cups flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon baking soda in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, add 2 sticks of room temperature softened unsalted butter and 1 ¼ cups of granulated sugar. Mix them with a hand mixer on low speed.
Whisk together 1 large egg, ½ tsp vanilla and ½ tsp rum extract and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix on low until combined.
Gradually add all the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until a sticky dough forms.
Chill the dough for 20-30 minutes.
Then, using a 1 ounce cookie scoop, portion out the cookies and roll each into a ball in your hand. Roll each ball in remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar.
On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place dough balls 2 inches apart and flatten slightly in the bottom of a clean cup.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let them cool completely before frosting, about 10 minutes.
To make the icing, combine 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup softened unsalted butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon rum extract, and 3 tablespoons heavy cream in a mixing bowl.
Mix on medium-high with a hand mixer until smoothly whipped and creamy.
Transfer the icing to a piping bag and frost each cookie. Alternatively, you can smooth the frosting over each cookie by hand with a butter knife. Enjoy!