Crisp and tasty, these cookies look and taste like winter holiday fun!  They are a great addition to any cookie platter – looking so festive, and a nice contrast to heavier and chippier cookies (which I happen to adore).  These are great for all those vanilla fans and those who enjoy a butter cookie with great flavor.  Although there is no actual store bought eggnog in this recipe, there is a nice healthy dose of rum and a sprinkling of nutmeg that is the essence of eggnog.  Sylvie and Alisa really liked these a lot.  Our friend Mike did too as he carefully placed one cookie after the other in his mouth – one at a time and about 5 times in a row.  A finalist in the cookie contest in the December issue of Cooks County Magazine these are a winner… Enjoy!

As usual, remember that you can make this dough in advance and roll it into logs and slice and bake fresh on the day you need it.  Look at the bottom of the oatmeal raisin cookie post for tips on how to do that.

Remember to look at baking tips for how to measure flour properly.  Makes a huge difference in butter cookies…well, all cookies, well all desserts!

eggnog snickerdoodles:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons rum
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

With the paddle attachment of your mixer (or hand held beaters) beat the softened butter with the sugar on medium high speed until light and fluffy – about 3-4 minutes.  Scrape down the bowl midway and continue to beat.  Add the eggs one at a time followed by the rum and mix until incorporated.

On the lowest speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Try not to overwork the dough.

At this point, you can roll into logs and freeze and complete the rest on cooking day. (Let sit in fridge or counter to soften as you do have to form these into balls – hard directly from freezer.)

Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a 1 inch ball – and repeat with dough.  Lightly press each ball down – or use a measuring cup (lightly greased on bottom) to push these down into a 1/2 inch round.

Bake until the edges are nice and golden about 8-10 minutes.  Remember to switch and rotate baking pans throughout cooking.

As the cookies cool, make the dusting powder.  Combing the confectioners’ sugar with the nutmeg and using a fine mesh strainer, then dust the cookies generously with the spiced sugar.

These retain their crisp for about 3 days in an airtight container.  Enjoy –

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