Frosted eggnog cookies are a delicious and festive Christmas cookie recipe! These melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies are easy to make, filled with spice, and topped with creamy eggnog frosting.
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I’ve never been much of an eggnog drinker, but bake those cozy flavors into a soft, frosted cookie (or a butter cake) and I’m sold. These frosted eggnog cookies are spiced Christmas cookies smothered with creamy eggnog frosting, ready in just 20 minutes. Here’s why they make an appearance on my cookie plates every year:
- Quick and easy. This is a drop cookie recipe, meaning there’s no need to chill, roll out, or cut out the cookie dough before baking. Just mix the ingredients, scoop out the cookies, and go.
- Perfectly spiced. It’s easy to go overboard with cinnamon and spice during the holiday season, but I wanted my eggnog-inspired cookies to have just enough. Each bite is swirled with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a hint of rum and vanilla.
- Creamy frosting. A moment for the eggnog frosting, because it turned out as creamy and delicious as I ever hoped. If eggnog isn’t your thing, it turns out just as great with heavy cream, too.
- Holiday-ready. These eggnog cookies are made for afternoons spent cozied up watching Hallmark movies, and they’re right at home on my Christmas cookie platters. I love them next to homemade Linzer cookies, Italian ricotta cookies, and fudgy holiday rum balls.
Between batches of classic cut-out sugar cookies, I love mixing things up with a little something different during the holidays! If you love these eggnog cookies, check out more of the best Christmas cookies, next.
Ingredients You’ll Need
If you’ve never heard of eggnog, it’s a rich, creamy drink traditionally made from eggs, milk, sugar, and cream, often spiked with rum. It’s usually served chilled during the holidays, dusted with nutmeg and cinnamon.
After a few test runs, I channeled those ingredients into a soft-baked cookie with real eggnog in the frosting! Here are some notes on what you’ll need. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for a printable list with the full recipe details.
- Butter – I always bake with salted butter, but unsalted works, too. You’ll want the butter to be at room temperature for the cookies and the frosting.
- Sugar – The chewiest cookies call for both granulated sugar and brown sugar, for extra moisture. You can use light brown sugar or dark. In a pinch, you can use all of one type of sugar in place of the other.
- Eggs – One whole egg, plus an extra egg yolk for richness.
- Extracts – I use vanilla extract, plus rum extract to play up the “eggnog” flavors in the cookies and frosting. If you dislike rum extract, feel free to replace it with additional vanilla.
- Spices – Ground cinnamon and nutmeg fill these cookies with plenty of cozy spice.
- Baking Powder and Salt – Make sure to check the expiration date on your package of baking powder. The fresher, the better.
- Flour – I recommend all-purpose flour.
- Frosting – I make a version of my favorite buttercream frosting flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum extract, with eggnog in place of heavy cream. You’ll find eggnog in the refrigerated section of most major grocery stores, and there are plenty of homemade recipes online, too!
The dough for these eggnog cookies is very similar to my Snickerdoodle cookies. There’s no need to chill the dough in the fridge, so the cookies are ready for the oven in no time. Follow the step-by-step below, and scroll down to the recipe card for printable instructions.
- Mix the ingredients. Start by creaming the butter and both sugars together, then mix in the egg, yolk, extracts, spices, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the flour. Once that’s smooth, slowly beat in the flour until it’s just combined.
- Scoop the cookie dough. Portion the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie (a cookie scoop comes in handy).
- Bake. Pop your eggnog cookies into the oven to bake at 350ºF for 9-10 minutes, until they’re just set. Afterward, move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before you frost them.
- Make the frosting. Meanwhile, add the eggnog frosting ingredients to a mixing bowl and beat them together until creamy and smooth.
- Frost the cookies. Spread the frosting over the cooled cookies, dust with extra spice, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Use room-temperature butter. Take your butter out of the fridge ahead of time so that it can soften to room temperature. If needed, you can quickly soften the butter in the microwave, a few seconds at a time. It should be soft to the touch, but not mushy or melted.
- If you don’t have rum extract but still want the depth of flavor in these cookies, you can use real rum or bourbon instead.
- Portion the dough evenly. I usually scoop no more than 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, this way the cookies bake evenly and don’t over-spread in the oven. Leave about 2” between each cookie on the baking sheet.
- The exact baking times can vary. For soft-baked cookies, you want to pull these from the oven when they’re just set in the center and starting to get golden at the edges. In my oven, they bake for around 10 minutes. I recommend checking the cookies around the 9-minute mark and going from there.
- Make the dough ahead. While chilling the cookie dough isn’t necessary for this recipe, you can refrigerate the dough if you make it ahead. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
How to Store
- At room temperature. The frosted eggnog cookies can be stored airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days, or you can keep them in the fridge.
- Freeze. If you can, I recommend freezing the cookies before you frost them. Store them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookies at room temperature before frosting and serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
These frosted eggnog cookies are delicious, melt-in-your-mouth Christmas cookies filled with spice and topped with creamy eggnog frosting.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
For the Frosting
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon rum extract
- 2 tablespoons eggnog or heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add in the egg, yolk, vanilla extract, rum extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Mix for 1 minute until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn mixer to low and add in the flour, mixing until just combined.
- Using a medium (2-tablespoon) cookie scoop portion the dough out and place it on the baking sheet 2- inches apart.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until the tops are set and the edges are lightly golden.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frost the Cookies
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all the ingredients, and mix for 2 minutes until creamy and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Spread approximately 1 tablespoon of frosting onto each cookie.
- Sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon and nutmeg if desired
Notes
- If you’d prefer not to use rum extract, omit it and substitute more vanilla extract.
- Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 214
- Sugar: 20.6 g
- Sodium: 80.5 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.2 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Cholesterol: 33.9 mg
I didn’t notice until it was too late that the flour didn’t double when I hit 2x, so heads up, double it or you will have cookie sheets of buttery goop!
Thanks for an eggnog cookie recipe without having to buy the eggnog! I usually end up throwing out whatever I have leftover, so these are a much better option.
You’re welcome! That always happens to me too and I wanted to give everyone an option!!
Any substitute for the rum extract or can you just leave it out?
You can absolutely leave it out and just use more vanilla extract in its place!