Soft Eggnog Sugar Cookies with Whipped Eggnog Frosting

I feel I should dedicate all eggnog recipes (you know the two of them I now have on my site) to my husband, Brian. He loves eggnog. Oh my gosh, he loves it. And so do 2/3 of our children. We are a house divided, you see, when it comes to drinking the stuff. Our fridge is stocked with it throughout December because Brian buys it. In fact, it took me a few years to figure out why he begged to do the grocery shopping for about four weeks out of the year. Apparently it’s easier to sneak the carton of eggynoggy in the house if it’s buried in a bazillion other grocery bags.

I’m betting that most you are also divided on the issue of eggnog. Am I right?

For those of you who love eggnog, take heed. These cookies are an eggnog lover’s dream come true. And to be perfectly honest, coming from an apathetic view of eggnog, I’ll concede these cookies are quite tasty. I ate one and thought “mmm, pretty darn good” while the 66% of my household that love eggnog ate five, each, and were giving each other high fives and doing heel kicks declaring them the best cookies ever. Eggnog lovers. They’re a weird sort.

The cookie itself is magically soft and perfectly, sweetly flavored with eggnog, nutmeg and cinnamon (and a beautiful hint of rum extract) while the frosting is ethereally light and creamy amplifying the eggnog flavor even more.

Tis the season for eggnog. I think you should find an eggnog lover and make their life complete today with these cookies. They’ll probably love you forever (so seek wisely).

One Year Ago: Chocolate Pudding Pretzel Pie
Two Years Ago: Homemade Eggnog
Three Years Ago: Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Sage Browned Butter

Yield: Makes about 24-26 cookies

Soft Eggnog Sugar Cookies with Whipped Eggnog Frosting

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Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup butter (12 tablespoons, 1 1/2 sticks), softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 large egg yolks (1.25 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
• 1/2 cup eggnog (see note)

Frosting:

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 tablespoons eggnog
• 1/4 teaspoon rum extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (8 ounces) powdered sugar
• Nutmeg for sprinkling (see note)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, silpat liners or grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whip the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together with an electric mixer (handheld or stand) until light and creamy, one minute or so. Add the egg yolks and mix until combined. Add the vanilla, rum extract and eggnog and mix on low speed (it will splash a bit) until just combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix again until just combined. Using a cookie scoop or two spoons (the dough will be very soft), scoop the dough into 1-2 tablespoon-sized mounds (I use a #40 cookie scoop) and place a couple inches apart on the baking sheets.
5. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes. They shouldn’t be browned on the sides at all if you want them to stay really soft; they’ll have flattened into a nice cookie shape and will be just slightly puffed.
6. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets out of the oven for a couple minutes before removing them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. For the frosting, whip the butter until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add the eggnog, vanilla extract and rum extract. Mix to combine (again, be aware it might splash a bit). Add the powdered sugar and whip the frosting until very light and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Add additional eggnog as needed if you want to thin the frosting a bit.
8. When the cookies are cool, spread frosting evenly on each cookie. Dust lightly with nutmeg.

Notes:

I haven’t tried this recipe using light eggnog. Also, for the nutmeg, fresh nutmeg (grated on a rasp grater) will give the best nutmeg flavor but you can also use nutmeg from a spice jar – dust a little less liberally with nutmeg if using the kind from a jar.

All images and text ©Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Recipe Source: adapted from this recipe at Cooking Classy (cut down the frosting a bit, added weights, increased the flour just a tad so the cookies didn’t spread, and a few other minor changes)