Easy Eggnog Cookies

Christmas cookies should taste like Christmas, and these eggnog cut-outs deliver. Real eggnog replaces the standard milk in roll-out cookie dough, lending its rummy, custardy character to a tender shortbread-style biscuit dotted with warm nutmeg.

The technique is simple, but two details earn this cookie its place on the holiday tray. First, the chill is non-negotiable. The dough is sticky right after mixing, give it at least an hour in the fridge so the butter firms up and the flour fully hydrates. Cold dough rolls thin without tearing and holds intricate cookie cutter shapes through baking.

Second, roll the dough thinner than you think, ⅛ inch is the target. Thicker cookies stay soft like eggnog cake; thinner ones bake into crisp, snappy biscuits with delicate decorated edges. Both are correct, depending on what you’re after.

The egg white wash before baking is the move that makes these look bakery-quality. It seals colored sugar and decorative bits to the surface and gives the cookies a subtle sheen as they bake.

Pro Tips

• Use freshly grated nutmeg instead of pre-ground. The flavor difference is dramatic in a cookie this delicate.
• Reroll scraps once. Twice and the dough toughens from overworking.
• Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for even browning.
• These cookies freeze beautifully unbaked, freeze on a tray, then bag, and bake straight from the freezer adding 1-2 minutes.

Variations

• Drizzle the cooled cookies with a simple eggnog glaze (powdered sugar plus a splash of eggnog) for triple eggnog impact.
• Add 1 teaspoon rum extract to the dough for a more pronounced spiked-eggnog flavor.
• Sandwich two cookies with vanilla buttercream and a sprinkle of nutmeg for an eggnog whoopie pie.