These crunchy eggnog sugar cookies are a festive addition to any Christmas gathering. Egg yolks, rum flavoring, and lots and lots of nutmeg give them all the flavor of the classic holiday drink – without the calories.
In my world, the holiday season doesn’t start until I’ve poured my first glass of aged eggnog.
I love it – I have ever since I was a little kid. These days I’ve switched to coconut nog and, even though it’s still delicious, it’s not quite the same as the real deal.
I thought I’d make up for it by incorporating eggnog flavors into other things, starting with these sugar cookies.
These cookies don’t have any actual eggnog in them, but they do use all of the ingredients that give eggnog it’s distinctive flavor: egg yolks, cream (in the form of butter), rum flavoring, a touch of cinnamon, and lots and lots of fresh nutmeg.
They’re crispy and not too sweet, so they’re perfect as an afternoon snack alongside a cup of coffee or tea.
These eggnog sugar cookies were my contribution to this year’s Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, an annual cookie exchange that raises money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer (last year I made cinnamon chipotle crinkle cookies.)
It always amazes me how participants’ cookies criss-cross the country in order to get to their final destinations. I sent a dozen cookies each to Cyndi from My Kitchen Craze, Elizabeth from Cooking with Milton, and Jessica from Stuck on Sweet. In return, I received some delicious citrusy from my friend Bree at Baked Bree, double chocolate chip cookies from Donna at Dang That’s Delicious and German almond crescents from Alexis at Lexi Bites.
Ingredients
- 2 stick butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons rum flavoring or vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg preferably freshly grated
For rolling:
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, use an electric beater to mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and rum flavoring.
- In a second bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
- Heat oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and nutmeg.
- For teaspoon-sized portions of dough into balls; roll in the spiced sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are cracked and the top looks dry. Cool on a wire rack.
- Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
LOVE THESE! These cookies look absolutely perfect!
These sound ddelicious! I love eggnog and wait for it to pop up every year in the stores. I spy Charlie Brown and Snoopy in a photo!
Sent the link to this recipe to my mom! She love sugar cookies and she is going to love making this recipe. The cookies look so delicious
Nice! Sounds good and I can just feel the texture!
Wonderful and original, not to mention mouthwatering cookies here!
These cookies look fabulous! Anyone would be lucky to get them (also, Liz from Cooking with Milton is amazing! Cutest dog ever!).
These sound awesome! Perfect for a holiday cookie swap!
That first photo is SO cute! I’m all about the flavors of eggnog, but drinking eggnog is just not my thing. I’ve already made some eggnog ice cream this year, and here’s another idea to celebrate the flavors without actually drinking the stuff 🙂 Great recipe!