These Eggnog Cookies transform your favorite holiday beverage into a delicious handheld treat! Eggnog flavored cookies with a rum sugar glaze.
You know, for someone who doesn’t care for eggnog in its pure form, I sure have thrown a lot of eggnog recipes your way over the holidays.
You guys loved my Eggnog Cheesecake Cookie Cups I decided to continue with the eggnog theme and make these delicious Eggnog Cookies!
Despite hating eggnog in its pure, thick, unappealing natural form, I actually love the flavor it gives to baked goods. Simply swapping out milk for eggnog in a recipe will really transform it and give it a perfect amount of spice and flavor.
How to Make these Eggnog Cookies
To make these cookies, I started with my very favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Seriously if you guys have not tried these you NEED to. So good.
I halved the recipe to make a smaller batch, and with a few quick additions and substitutions, these Eggnog Cookies were born.
I opted to put rum into both the cookies and glaze, but if you prefer them without or want to make them kid-friendly, you can use rum extract or vanilla extract instead. If you use extract, be sure to use the amount indicated in the recipe because it’s more concentrated than rum.
Cookie Tip
Be sure to use full-fat eggnog for this recipe. Low fat or alternate versions are too thin and will cause your cookies to spread too much.
Chill That Dough!
As with all cookie dough, I recommend chilling it for at least 3 hours. This helps the flavors meld but, more importantly, ensures your cookies won’t spread too much in the oven.
What I like to do is portion out all of the dough using a cookie scoop and place the dough on a lined baking sheet. You can crowd them at this point, as it’s just for chilling. With this technique, you only need to chill the dough for about an hour or so.
Once chilled, I roll each scoop into a ball to help ensure they bake up perfectly round in the oven. This isn’t a must-do, but I think it makes for prettier cookies.
Also, don’t crowd your cookie sheets! I found that when I baked fewer cookies per sheet, they turned out better. I did 10 medium (1 1/2 Tbsp) cookies per sheet.
These Eggnog Cookies are the perfect treat for your holiday table.
A bit of a kick from the rum for the adults (if you include it) or a festive sweet treat for the kids (young and old). The eggnog flavor really comes through, so if you like eggnog you will love these cookies!
Looking for More Holiday Cookie Recipes?
- Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
- Stained Glass Cookies
- Snow Capped Gingersnaps
- Snowball Cookies
- White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Tips for these Eggnog Cookies
- RECIPE REVISED DEC 16, 2020 – Some of you were experiencing super flat cookies with the original recipe so I’ve revised it and clarified some things.
- Don’t use low-fat eggnog. It’s not as thick and your cookies will bake up flat.
- I haven’t tried these with almond milk or soy milk eggnog so can’t say how they’ll turn out. If the eggnog is on the thicker side it should be ok!
- Be sure to chill your cookie dough or the cookies may spread too much. I like to portion the dough into balls first and then chill it in the fridge for a couple hours. If not portioning you’ll need to chill it for longer until it’s firm.
- I gently roll the chilled dough balls before baking to make them nice and round. They bake up prettier this way.
- The cookies are cakey when still warm but will settle and deflate into chewy (slightly cakey) cookies.
Eggnog Cookies
Ingredients
Eggnog Cookies:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light-brown sugar packed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp rum or 1/2 tsp rum extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 large egg yolk* room temperature
- 1/4 cup eggnog room temperature, do not use low fat
Rum & Eggnog Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp rum or 1/2 tsp rum extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbsp eggnog
Instructions
Eggnog Cookies:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Beat butter and sugars on medium speed until pale and fluffy (approx. 2-3mins).
- Reduce speed and add egg yolk, eggnog, and rum. Beat until well combined.
- Add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Refrigerate cookie dough for at least 3 hours up to overnight.**
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (1 1/2 Tbsp), portion cookies onto your baking sheets. I did 10 cookies per sheet.
- Bake for about 9-11mins or until golden on the edges. Remove from oven.
- Let cool on pans for 2 minutes, then transfer onto wire racks to cool completely. ***
Rum & Eggnog Glaze:
- Stir all ingredients with a fork until well combined. Drizzle over cooled cookies and sprinkle with nutmeg if desired.
Olivia says
RECIPE REVISED DEC 16, 2020 – Some of you were experiencing super flat cookies with the original recipe so I’ve revised it and clarified some things.
Jessica says
I made these and they were completely flat…. not sure what I did wrong so I made another batch and yet again completely flat…. I even chilled them for about 5 hours and still they were flat… the flavor is great but look horrible! Lol
Olivia says
Hi Jessica! Ok, I’m going to re-test this recipe this week. Too many people are coming out with flat cookies and that should not be the case if the dough is properly chilled. Did you use low-fat eggnog by chance?
Olivia says
Hi Jessica! I just revised the recipe today to one that should not cause as many issues. Let me know if you give it another go!
Andrea says
Complete flop! I chilled the dough overnight, made them into balls, chilled the balls, and they spread into flat pancakes.
Olivia says
Hi Andrea! Sorry to hear these didn’t turn out for you. Is it possible something was off when you measured the ingredients?
Teresa Lewis says
I made this recipe and my whole family absolutely love them they came out so divine! I will be making these time and time again thank you so much for sharing
Olivia says
Hi Teresa! So happy you and your family loved these. Thanks for the feedback!
Lisa says
Just found your site. I am going to make one of the bundt cakes with eggnog and also the eggnog cookies! I will let you know how they turn out.
Olivia says
Hi Lisa! Yay! I hope you love them 🙂
Linda G says
Can I use low-fat eggnog in this recipe?
Olivia says
Hi Linda! Yes, that should work fine.
Violet C says
How would you store these and can you freeze them once baked?!
Olivia says
Hi Violet! Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They freeze amazingly well too!
Sharon says
I just took my cookies out of the oven. They smell wonderful!
However mine are quite flat and not very cake-like.
Could it have been old baking soda?
I would like them a little thicker.
Olivia says
Hi Sharon! Did you chill your cookie dough? I recommend baking from very well chilled dough so they don’t spread as much. Also, you can try reducing the oven temp to 325F and baking a bit longer. All ovens vary so it’s possible yours runs a little hot. But you should definitely test that baking soda to see if it’s still active. Mix it with a bit of vinegar — if it bubbles up it’s still good.
James Weare says
I’ve made these twice this week and they are delicious!! The only thing I’ve noticed is that the dough is way too tacky to handle by hand once mixed! I use cling wrap to shape it into a log and then slice and bake once chilled. Works great! And the icing is perfect! This is a new holiday tradition at my house, thanks for sharing!
Olivia says
Hi James! So happy to hear that you loved these 🙂
Debra B says
I was really excited to try these cookies, but I found the flavor lacking. Nutmeg, rum, and eggnog were not very noticeable.
I did try your scoop and chill method to save on time. I plan on adding icing tomorrow. Hopefully, this will improve the flavor.
Olivia says
Hi Debra! I hope you like them better with the glaze. I would suggest sprinkling a bit more nutmeg over the glaze if you’d like a bit more flavour.
Missy says
Hi. Our egg nog is the kind with alcohol in it. It’s very thick. Just cream, rum, brandy, whiskey. It’s very thick. Would you still add the 1 tsp of rum? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Missy! How thick are we talking? Ours is thicker than cream, but not too much. I would leave out the 1tsp of rum or swap it for vanilla. You may need to add a bit more eggnog if the dough is too thick.
Missy says
Thanks! It thick, like cream. Pennsylvania Dutch brand…Thanks for your reply!
Bonita says
I’m having so much fun looking over your site! Like you I dislike heels (they hurt), used to be plumper, have to make myself work out, much prefer warm weather (ex moved us to Idaho, 40 below…I left him there), co-founded a small computer game company ( the 2000 dot.com crash ended that), didn’t want kids (God blessed me with 3 anyway, love em to death), have had many rescue dogs and a daughter who brings home enough animals I’ll never want for more, the other daughter is a pastry chef/baker, and the gamer group meets here every Friday night. As for always being cold, don’t worry, life will fix that – it’s called menapause, so enjoy it now.
Looking for a new cookie to contribute to the local homeless shelter. I make southern boiled custard instead of eggnog – pretty much same thing but yolks only. Do you think changing the egg content will matter? And do you think this recipe would lend itself to lowered sugar/sweetener subbed for sugar? They asked if I would try it for the special needs of some of their guests since I am also pre-diabetic (from all that baking!)
Olivia says
Hi Bonita! Nice to “meet” you 🙂 Is the custard the same consistency as eggnog? If so it should work fine. You can try lowering the sugar a bit, but I’d recommend substituting a sweetener instead. I hope that helps!
Alice White says
Is it alright to keep them in the fridge overnight instead of just a few hours?
Olivia says
Hi Alice! Do you mean the cookie dough or the finished cookies? Cookie dough will be fine in the fridge overnight. The finished cookies I would store at room temperature in an airtight container.
SuziQ says
It’s been my observation of people who do not like eggnog is the tecture or thickness of the drink. I love it anyway you serve it. But for the other people, try adding some gingerale or sprite or a non cola (clear) soda to it. You might be able to use sparkling or club soda also. This cuts the thickness of the taste and makes it more refreshing and palatable. I am going to make the cookies with the eggnog and I’m sue they will taste delightful.
Olivia says
That’s a greta tip Suzi! It’s totally the texture for me — even adding some milk I bet would help. I’ll give it a try 🙂
Meg | Meg is Well says
I’ve always loved all the spices in eggnog but the texture sometimes leaves me feeling ambivalent about it. I love all the edible eggnog treats you’ve been sharing though!
Olivia says
Thanks Meg! It’s totally a texture thing with the eggnog for me too :\.
Kristen Chidsey says
What a fun little cookie. I am not typically an eggnog fan, but in cookie form, I will gladly eat a few.
Olivia says
Me either! I won’t drink the stuff, but baking with it is a whole ‘nother level 🙂