These eggnog cookies are soft and chewy cookies topped with a homemade eggnog buttercream frosting. An easy and festive cookie that’s perfect for any holiday party!
It’s that time of the year again…time for baking! I love to bring a selection of treats to gatherings, such as Christmas tree brownies and these amazingly delicious eggnog cookies.
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Recently one of my readers sent me this recipe for her famous eggnog cookies. I was intrigued, because I love the flavor of eggnog, but I’ve never had it in a baked good. Let me just tell you, these cookies have shot to the top of my must-make list. They’re perfectly soft with the most creamy and decadent frosting. The festive sprinkles really make these cookies a show stopper! You’ll be getting a ton of recipe requests when you bring them to your next party.
How do you make eggnog cookies?
This recipe starts with the classic cookie ingredients – flour, two types of sugar, butter and eggs. I use Eggland’s Best eggs for all of my cooking and baking needs. I love all the added nutrition in these eggs and they taste great too – they’re the only egg good enough for families during the holidays! Did you know Eggland’s Best eggs have more than double the omega-3’s and ten times more vitamin E? You can read all about the nutritional benefits on the Eggland’s Best website.
The dough gets spooned onto a baking sheet, then baked until the cookies are golden brown. The finishing touch is a 3 ingredient frosting and plenty of sprinkles.
Tips for eggnog cookies
- This is a soft cookie dough, so to make life easier I coat a tablespoon measure with cooking spray so that the dough doesn’t stick when I’m portioning it out onto the baking sheet.
- You can make your cookies as big or as small as you like, just adjust the bake time accordingly. A tablespoon sized dollop of dough will produce a cookie that’s about 2 inches in size.
- This dough spreads quite a bit, so be sure to leave ample space between your cookies.
- The cookies can be made up to one day in advance, then stored loosely covered until you’re ready to serve them.
- You can use any holiday sprinkles you like – I love these sparkling gold sprinkles, but have also used red and green sprinkles in the past.
One of the key ingredients in this cookie is nutmeg. Be sure that your ground nutmeg is fresh; spices have a long shelf life, but they do tend to lose their potency over time. For the very best flavor, I like to grate whole nutmegs to use in the recipe.
Eggnog Cookie variations
While I love these cookies exactly as written, you can alter the recipe to suit your tastes.
- Chocolate: Try dipping the cookies halfway in melted milk or white chocolate instead of the buttercream frosting.
- Spice: For cookies with a more complex flavor profile, you can add 1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger, ground cinnamon and ground cloves to the batter.
- Glaze: For a different look you can drizzle a simple eggnog glaze over the cookies by mixing together 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of eggnog.
I’m so happy that my reader sent in this recipe because these cookies have now become part of my annual baking traditions. You don’t even have to be an eggnog lover to enjoy these cookies!
Eggnog Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 Eggland's Best eggs
- 2/3 cup eggnog
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup holiday sprinkles
For the frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/4 cup eggnog
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with non stick baking mats or parchment paper.
- Place the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add the Eggland's Best eggs, eggnog and vanilla extract to the bowl. Beat for 1-2 minutes or until well combined.
- Add the salt, baking soda, nutmeg and flour to the bowl. Mix on low speed until just blended.
- Spoon tablespoon sized dollops of the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared pans. You may need to repeat this process if you have more dough left over.
- Bake the cookies, one pan at a time, for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Repeat with remaining pan of cookies.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack until completely cool.
- For the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggnog and beat until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and salt, then beat on low speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy. You can add more eggnog, one teaspoon at a time, to reach your desired consistency if needed.
- Spread a layer of frosting onto each cookie, then top with sprinkles and serve.
This is an excellent recipe! Wow! Should the cookies be kept refridgerated due to the eggnog content?
They’re fine at room temperature for a day but then I’d refrigerate if you’re planning to keep them longer than that!
I made these cookies today and they are so delicious!
So simple to make but the flavor is amazing! I love how moist and soft these cookies are!
Eggnog cookies! Why have I not heard of these before until now? Delicious!
Oh, wow!! I will have to make these for my hubby! He loves eggnog ! Love that you can have these a ll year long!
These are a must have during the holiday season! Definitely Santa approved.
The perfect cookie to add into the Christmas cookie rotation! These have a great flavor and I love dipping mine halfway in white chocolate.
These cookies look + sound amazing!
I think it’s time for some cookie making! We’ve got plenty of eggnog in the house right now!
How fancy and good these cookies look! So fancy!
So soft and fluffy! Love the festive sprinkles on top!
Just made this recipe tonight. All I can say is YUM!!! What a great recipe. This is a keeper for Christmas’ cookie baking. Thanks for so many great recipes.
I love everything about these eggnog cookies!! They will make a perfect addition to the holiday cookie platter!
My favorite holiday drink in a holiday cookie! Perfection!