These frosted eggnog cookies feature a melt-in-your-mouth cookie decorated with an eggnog buttercream and a sprinkling of nutmeg!
These eggnog cookies are perfect for a holiday cookie decorating party or cookie gift exchange! With no chill time required and a super simple American buttercream, these cookies are so easy to make. Add a dash of nutmeg to each and enjoy with the boozy drink version!
For more Christmas cookies, try Soft Brown Butter Molasses Cookies, Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies, and Salted Caramel Linzer Cookies.Â
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Why you'll love these eggnog cookies
- Melt-In-Your-Mouth Texture:Â Thanks to the addition of cake flour, powdered sugar, and eggnog, these cookies bake up with an incredible melt-in-your-mouth texture.Â
- No Chill Time: On top of an easy method, the cookie dough doesn't require any chill time! So you can bake these cookies in less than an hour 🙂
- Easy Eggnog Frosting:Â This eggnog frosting is a simple American buttercream that whips up in just a few minutes!
Ingredient Notes
Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions.Â
- Cake Flour:Â Use high-quality unbleached cake flour! The cake flour doesn't actually make these cookies "cakey," but instead gives them that melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Leaveners: You'll need both baking powder and baking soda to give these cookies the perfect rise and texture.
- Sugars: Both granulated sugar and powdered sugar are added to the cookie dough to make them extra soft.
- Butter: Use high-quality European-style butter for best results. My favorite is Kerrygold!
- Egg: You'll need just one egg for the cookie dough.
- Extracts: Use both vanilla and rum extract to bring out the true eggnog flavors.
- Eggnog: Use your favorite eggnog in both the cookie dough and frosting!
- Nutmeg: Add a sprinkle of nutmeg to each cookie for the full eggnog effect.
Kitchen Equipment
Step by Step Instructions
STEP 1: Make the cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and rum extract. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in the eggnog, then the rest of the dry ingredients until just combined.
STEP 2: Bake. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, place the cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Use one finger to pat them down into smooth balls. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until the edges are barely golden.Â
STEP 3: Scoot & Cool. Immediately after they come out of the oven, use a large round cookie cutter or glass to scoot the edges and form a perfectly round cookie. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
STEP 4: Make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. While mixing on low speed, add the sifted powdered sugar a little at a time. Scrape down the bowl, then add the eggnog, extracts, and salt, and continue mixing on low speed until smooth and no air pockets remain.
STEP 5: Decorate. Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the frosting onto each cookie.
STEP 6: Decorate. Spread the frosting with a spoon, then sprinkle each cookie with nutmeg. Enjoy!
Expert Baking Tips
- Use a cookie scoop: Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into equally sized cookies!
- Pat the cookie dough balls: This is a very sticky dough, so to make sure the cookies bake up nice, use one finger to pat the portioned cookie dough into smooth balls.
- Scoot the cookies: Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, use a large round cookie cutter or glass to scoot the edges and form a perfectly round cookie.
- Mix the frosting on low speed: To ensure the frosting is super smooth, mix it on low speed for several minutes after all of the ingredients have been added.
FAQ
Though the cake flour does add to that melt-in-your-mouth texture, if you're in a pinch you can replace it for an equal amount of all-purpose flour or even pastry flour.
I get it, not everyone likes eggnog! But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy these incredibly good cookies. Simply replace the eggnog with an equal amount of whole milk in both the cookie dough and the frosting.
Storage Tips
Store these cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for about 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 moths. You can also freeze portioned cookie dough balls for up to 3 months.Â
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other holiday recipes to try
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Frosted Eggnog Cookies
Ingredients
For the eggnog sugar cookies:
- 240 g 2 cups cake flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 75 g â…“ cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 150 g ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 85 g ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon rum extract
- 56 g ¼ cup eggnog
For the eggnog frosting:
- 113 g ½ cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 340 g 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 30 g 2 tablespoon eggnog
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon rum extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Nutmeg, for sprinkling
Instructions
For the eggnog sugar cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, and rum extract.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Mix in the eggnog, then the rest of the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, place the cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Use one finger to pat them down into smooth balls.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until the edges are barely golden. Immediately after they come out of the oven, use a large round cookie cutter or glass to scoot the edges and form a perfectly round cookie.
- Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
For the eggnog frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.
- While mixing on low speed, add the sifted powdered sugar a little at a time.
- Scrape down the bowl, then add the eggnog, extracts, and salt, and continue mixing on low speed until smooth and no air pockets remain.
For decorating:
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the frosting onto each cookie.
- Spread the frosting with a spoon, then sprinkle each cookie with nutmeg. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use a cookie scoop: Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into equally sized cookies!
- Pat the cookie dough balls:Â This is a very sticky dough, so to make sure the cookies bake up nice, use one finger to pat the portioned cookie dough into smooth balls.
- Scoot the cookies:Â Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, use a large round cookie cutter or glass to scoot the edges and form a perfectly round cookie.
- Mix the frosting on low speed:Â To ensure the frosting is super smooth, mix it on low speed for several minutes after all of the ingredients have been added.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it turned out!