These eggnog cookies are puffy and chewy with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ¾ cup of eggnog! A spiced rum buttercream adds a fluffy festive touch.
Photography by Kelly Neil
Other than candy cane, gingerbread, and mincemeat is there any flavour as nostalgic as eggnog during the holidays? Maybe, but not for me. There’s something about its smooth, creamy, nutmeg laden, milkshake-like consistency that fills me with joyful memories of Christmases past. Memories of my years as a child, when I’d sip a tall glass alongside a plate of homemade cookies, and then later as an adult with a splash of rum at a neighbourhood party. This cookie recipe is inspired by the latter.
The eggnog cookies themselves are puffy and chewy, with just the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg—oh, and ¾ cup of eggnog! The buttercream is whipped light and fluffy and flavoured with a healthy hit of spiced rum (if you prefer not to use alcohol, you can easily swap in rum extract). I also have directions on how to make the recipe ahead of time so you can cookies directly from frozen when visitors arrive! And don’t forget the pretty gold sprinkles.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
For The Eggnog Cookies
- Eggnog—Essentially a drinkable custard, eggnog is traditionally made with cream, sugar, eggs, and nutmeg. This recipe has been tested with regular eggnog and has not been tested with light eggnog.
- Rum Extract—A flavouring agent which can be found in the baking aisle of most major grocery stores. It’s made from rum but contains little to no alcohol.
- Egg—We use large eggs for our recipes.
For The Spiced Rum Buttercream
- Spiced Rum—As the name suggests, spiced rum is rum with spices added. Extremely complimentary flavour for anything made with eggnog.
- Powdered Sugar—Also called icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar.
Method
Make The Eggnog Cookies
Add the flour, spices, baking powder and soda, and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined.
Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until creamy then add the egg and rum extract.
Mix well then add the eggnog. Mix until well combined. The mixture may look a bit curdled. This is ok.
Scoop the flour mixture into a fine mesh sieve set over the bowl. Use the back of a spoon to press and sift the flour into the bowl.
Some nutmeg bits may remain in the sieve. Add them to the bowl. Mix on low with the paddle attachment then finish mixing by hand.
Scoop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 11 to 13 minutes, or until light gold on the bottom and baked through.
Make The Spiced Rum Buttercream
Place the butter in a mixing bowl. Mix with the whisk attachment until fluffy. Add the vanilla and salt and mix again.
Add the powdered sugar to a fine mesh sieve set over the mixing bowl. Sifting the sugar removes and lumps. Mix until creamy/
Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the spiced rum to taste, mixing in between each addition. Once you like the flavour it’s ready for the eggnog cookies!
Spread or pipe the spiced rum buttercream onto the cooled cookies. I like the homemade look but a piping bag also works well. Garnish with sprinkles and serve!
Tips & Notes
If you don’t own a stand mixer, use a hand mixer, or make the cookies by hand with a wooden spoon.
Sifting the flour isn’t necessary, however, I like to think it adds a lightness to the eggnog cookies they wouldn’t have otherwise.
Eggnog cookies are best served fresh. Carefully packing them into a cookie tin and freezing them the day they’re made is a good way to keep them.
I have only tested this recipe with regular full-fat eggnog.
Freeze & Bake Option For Eggnog Cookies
Scoop the cookie dough onto a small tray that fits in the freezer. Once solid remove what you need and bake.
Substitutions
I haven’t tried this but light spelt flour can usually be substituted at a 1:1 ratio for all-purpose flour.
If you can’t get or find rum extract, brandy extract is a good substitute. Worst case scenario just use vanilla.
If you don’t want to use spiced rum in the buttercream, add rum extract by the ¼ teaspoon until you are happy with the flavour.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Mincemeat Cookies
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Coconut Sugar Cookies (vegan)
Sugar & Spice Cookies
Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies (Slice & Bake)
Recipe
Eggnog Cookies With Spiced Rum Buttercream
Description
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Stand mixer
- Fine mesh sieve
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- Cookie scoop
- Wire rack
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
Ingredients
For The Eggnog Cookies
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter, room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons rum extract
- ¾ cup eggnog
For The Spiced Rum Buttercream
- 1 cup butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons spiced rum, or ½ to 1½ teaspoons rum extract to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Set aside.
- Place the butter and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, cream the ingredients together on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through mixing.
- Add the egg and rum extract. Mix until well combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the eggnog and mix again until combined. At this point the mixture may look a bit curdled. This is normal, especially if your eggnog is a bit cold from the fridge and has cooled the butter.
- Place a fine mesh sieve over the mixing bowl. Scoop the flour mixture into the sieve. Use the back of a spoon to press and sift the flour into the bowl of wet ingredients. Some of the ground nutmeg may be too large to pass through the sieve so just dump it into the bowl after all of the flour is sifted in.
- Switch to the paddle attachment. Mix the cookie dough on low until the flour is justcombined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to finish mixing the dough by hand. Be sure to stir underneath all of the dough to incorporate any loose flour.
- Use a small cookie scoop (about 2 teaspoons) to scoop 12 portions of dough onto each prepared baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Note that the dough is very soft! For best results, fill the scoop with dough then press it firmly along the inside of the bowl to level it off, removing any excess dough from the scoop.
- Place the cookies in the preheated oven. Bake them for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the bottoms are light gold. Cutting a cookie in half is the best way to be sure they are baked through. Remove the cookies from the oven and cool them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Spice Rum Buttercream
- Cream the butter with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt and mix to combine. Sift the powdered sugar through a sieve into the bowl then mix to a thick frosting. Add the spiced rum by the teaspoon, mixing well between each addition, until you are satisfied with the flavour. I usually use around 2 tablespoons of rum. Spread the buttercream on the cooled cookies and decorate however you like!
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