Eggnog Snickerdoodle Cookies

Amazingly soft and tender snickerdoodle cookies made with actual eggnog and drizzled with a decadent eggnog glaze! Great for any holiday cookie tray, or to leave out for Santa!

Perfect for any holiday dessert tray, and SO easy to make!  We love holiday sweets like my Crockpot Candy and this is one of my Desserts you’ll definitely want in your recipe box!

EGGNOG SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES

Have you started your holiday baking?  I…….. haven’t (eeeeeek!).  Truthfully I’ve been feeling under the weather lately, and with all the commotion this time of year, things are getting away from me.

This weekend we have our annual cookie decorating party, where I make about 4 batches of my no-fail sugar cookies (plus some fun appetizers), and invite over neighbors and friends to decorate the cookies.  It’s always so fun.  So I’ll be getting some baking in at least lol.

These eggnog snickerdoodles are just the thing to spice up anyone’s holiday cookie tray!  Soft and chewy, with plenty of warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, a little rum extract, and of course, eggnog!

HOW TO MAKE EGGNOG SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES

This recipe may have a lot of ingredients and steps, but don’t be intimidated 🙂 The ingredients mainly repeat from one section to the next, and I elaborated a lot in the steps to make things perfectly clear.

1. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, spices)
2. In a separate bowl, cream together wet ingredients (butter, extracts, sugars, egg, eggnog)
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, slowly, until just combined
4. Scoop and roll into balls
5. Chill dough balls
6. Roll balls in sugar mixture
7. Bake and cool
8. Drizzle with glaze

COOKING TIPS FOR EGGNOG COOKIES

• Room temperature ingredients – for the best results when baking, your cold ingredients should be at room temperature so they can incorporate fully into the dough.
• Use full-fat eggnog – I tested this recipe with both full-fat and low-fat eggnogs and the low-fat cookies spread a lot more in the oven (even with the same chilling time), so I’d definitely go with the full-fat variety.
• Don’t skip the chilling – this cookie recipe, as most do, requires you to chill the dough.  This is for two main reasons, first, the flavors have more time to meld together.  Secondly, it keeps the dough from spreading too much when baking.
• Use real butter – this isn’t the time to use shortening or margarine.  Those perform differently in baking recipes, and this recipe was only tested using real butter.
• Use fresh ingredients – some of these are obvious, like using non-expired eggs, but did you know using older baking soda/baking powder can affect the way your cookies bake?  Over time, leavening agents (which is what baking soda and powder are) lose their efficacy, and won’t give your cookies that thick, soft texture.

If you’re unsure if your baking soda or powder are still good, drop a pinch in some hot water.  If it fizzes, it’s still good!  If not, then you’re in need of some new ingredients.

VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE

• Lighter eggnog flavor – if you prefer a more subtle eggnog flavor, omit the eggnog in the glaze and rely on the eggnog in the cookie itself to impart a delicate flavor.
• Extra rum – if you like your eggnog boozy, you might like your glaze that way too!  Feel free to add some rum to the glaze.

MAKING EGGNOG SNICKERDOODLES AHEAD OF TIME

Cookies are great to make ahead of time, and these snickerdoodles are no exception!

The dough can be made and rolled into balls and refrigerated a day ahead of baking (although you’ll want to keep them covered so they don’t dry out).

And the dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months as well.  Just thaw in the refrigerator and bake as directed.

STORAGE

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. For longer shelf life cookies can be refrigerated or frozen.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE

• Stand Mixer – I love using my mixer to make cookies, but they can be pricey.
• Hand Mixer – this model is a true workhorse in my kitchen!
• Baking Sheets – I love the large size and how sturdy these pans are.
• Parchment Paper – no cutting required, these sheets fit perfectly in the baking sheets above.

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Eggnog Snickerdoodle Cookies

5 from 8 votes

Author: The Chunky Chef

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Calories: 121

Servings: 48 cookies

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Fun holiday spin on a classic cookie, made with real eggnog!

Ingredients

DRY INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1 tsp cream of tartar
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ pinch of salt

"WET" INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 tsp rum extract (real rum can be substituted)
• ▢ 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg room temperature preferred
• ▢ 1/3 cup eggnog room temperature preferred

SUGAR TOPPING

• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cinnamon

EGGNOG GLAZE

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup eggnog
• ▢ 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1/8 - 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

SUGAR TOPPING

• Combine sugar topping ingredients in a shallow bowl. Set aside.

MAKE THE COOKIES

• Line a large plate, platter, or cookie sheet with wax paper. Set aside for now. This will be used for chilling the balls of dough.
• Line another baking sheet with parchment paper (for baking) and set aside for now.
• Mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and cream of tartar).  Set aside.
• Start mixing "wet" ingredients: In a separate bowl, cream room temperature butter, vanilla extract, and rum extract together. Add sugars (brown and granulated) and mix until fluffy. 
• Add egg and eggnog and mix well.
• Stir in combined dry ingredients, half of the mixture at a time, stirring until JUST mixed each time.
• Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to scoop out approximately 1 inch balls, and use your hands to gently roll them into a ball. Place onto prepared plate (with the wax paper).
• Place cookie sheet in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
• When done chilling, preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
• Roll each ball into sugar topping mixture and place back onto wax paper lined plate.
• Place cookie dough balls onto prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between for optimal baking, slightly flatten each ball, and bake 8-10 minutes.
• Let cool on baking sheet for 5-7 minutes before transferring to wire cooling rack.
• You will have to bake the cookies in batches, so be sure to put the cookie dough balls back into the refrigerator while the other ones are baking.

GLAZE THE COOKIES

• Mix together glaze ingredients (powdered sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and eggnog) until smooth.
• Drizzle over completely cooled cookies.

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Chef Tips

• Prep time does not include chilling, as that amount will vary from person to person.
• Flour amount will also vary from person to person, as things such as altitude and humidity can affect the amount needed.

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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