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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Eggnog Shortbread Cookies for the Holidays

    Oct 26, 2020

    By Michelle Weiner

    These Eggnog Shortbread Cookies are a fantastic holiday bite! A little eggnog icing and an easy spiced shortbread cookie make for a killer Christmas cookie that you’ll want to make every year.
    No ratings yet
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 15 minutes
    Chill Time 2 hours
    Jump to Recipe Leave a Comment
    overhead of multiple shortbread cookies with icing and gold luster dust stacked on each other.

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    These Eggnog Shortbread Cookies are a fantastic holiday bite! A little eggnog icing and an easy spiced shortbread cookie make for a killer Christmas cookie that you’ll want to make every year.

    Jump to:
    • The main ingredients
    • How to make them step-by-step
    • Extra tips
    • Recipe

    Eggnog isn’t just for drinking!

    Eggnog is such a classic holiday drink. I think it’s fantastic in small quantities to drink, but when it’s in cookie form...all bets are off! 

    These eggnog shortbread cookies will be a hit during your cookie swap, at a holiday party, or even for just you and your family hanging this season. 

    overhead of shortbread cookies with icing and gold luster dust stacked on eachother

    The eggnog flavor comes in with the cinnamon and nutmeg added to the shortbread cookie dough and the eggnog liqueur icing. It’s a really nice balance of sweet icing and buttery cookie that people will ask you to make year after year!

    The main ingredients

    Cinnamon, nutmeg, and eggnog liqueur.

    That’s it! It’s basically my standard slice and bake shortbread cookie recipe with a little holiday cheer. I do have some tips for you below when shopping for this recipe.

    overhead of two large jars of powdered sugar surrounded by two sticks of butter, a cinnamon jar and vanilla extract container.

    The spices

    Cinnamon is the easy one. You can grab whichever cinnamon you normally get or learn about the different types of cinnamon in this article from basically and hunt down some Ceylon cinnamon.

    When it comes to nutmeg, make sure to use whole nutmeg that you grate yourself (you’ll need to get yourself a Microplane grater if you don’t have one). 

    Here’s the deal. Pre-ground nutmeg doesn’t hold it’s a flavor well. It easily tastest like nothing compared to the freshly grated stuff. So, splurge on some whole nutmeg, a Microplane grater if you don’t have one, and embrace the fresh nutmeg life. 

    Also...whole nutmeg lasts a very long time, so even though that first purchase might seem a bit pricey, it’s a small investment in your baking that you won’t regret!

    Eggnog

    There are so many options when it comes to eggnog. There are non-dairy options, liqueurs, and homemade versions. 

    For this recipe, I call for a boozy eggnog. I like the boozy bite that it adds to the eggnog icing.

    I found a bottle during December at my Trader Joe’s, and there are a few other boozy brands in stores during the season if you don’t have a TJ’s near you. 

    Not a fan of the boozy version of eggnog? Or maybe your party guests don't partake. You’ll just need to pick up a non-boozy brand of eggnog and test it out in the icing recipe. 

    I haven’t tried making the icing with anything other than the boozy stuff, so keep that in mind. You’ll just need to try to get the icing to a consistency that works well for your decorating needs. 

    How to make them step-by-step

    Here are some step-by-step pics to help you make the best eggnog shortbread cookies! Also, check out the video on YouTube for more tips.

    butter and powdered sugar creamed together in a glass bowl

    Step 1: Use an electric mixer to cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together.

    a glass bowl of cookie dough with two copper measuring spoons next to the bowl

    Step 2: Slowly beat in the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon until the dough begins to come together.

    Shortbread cookie dough on a dark brown cutting board in process of being rolled into a log of dough

    Step 3: Form the dough into two logs, wrap in parchment paper, and chill for at least 2 hours.

    shortbread cookie dough being sliced into cookies on a dark brown cutting board

    Step 4: Slice that dough into ¼-inch thick slices.

    evenly spaced baked shortbread cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet

    Step 5: Bake the dough until the bottom edges begin to brown, about 14 minutes.

    Baked shortbread cookies being iced with white icing and topped with gold luster dust.

    Step 6: Once the cookies are cool, make your icing and ice those cookies!

    Extra tips

    Looking for some extra tips to help you along your baking adventure? Here’s some info on how to make these cookies ahead of time and how to store them for the best outcome!

    Make them ahead of time

    If you’ve read the post on making slice and bake shortbread or cranberry white chocolate shortbread, you know that you can absolutely make these cookies in advance! Such a win, especially during the holiday season when schedules get crazy.

    The cookie dough can be made ahead up to three days before you plan on baking them. Just follow the recipe instructions up to chilling the dough. Wrap it up tightly, and let it chill.

    Close up of a shortbread cookie with a bite taken from it with crumbs around the cookie

    You can also freeze the well-wrapped dough up to three months before baking. Just chill the dough as you’d normally do, so it holds its shape, and pop it into an airtight container. It freezes very well.

    When you’re ready to bake the shortbread, let it thaw in the fridge overnight or on the counter for about an hour or so. The dough should still be cold, but it needs to be thawed just enough to be sliceable.

    The best way to store them

    The most important thing to do before storing these cookies is to let the eggnog icing set completely.

    If you don’t you may end up smashing the icing on top of some of the cookies and that’s not cute, especially if you plan on bringing them to a holiday cookie swap. 

    The icing takes about 8 hours to fully set. So I leave the cookies out overnight and then store them in an airtight container when the icing has hardened.

    a glass platter filled with shortbread cookies topped with icing and gold luster dust with drinks in the background

    It’s time to bake!

    Make these eggnog shortbread cookies for all of your holiday parties, Christmas cookies swaps, or just as a fun treat. 

    When you do make them this season, please leave a comment below to let me know how you like them! 

    Recipe

    overhead of multiple shortbread cookies with icing and gold luster dust stacked on each other.

    Eggnog Shortbread Cookies

    These Eggnog Shortbread Cookies are a fantastic holiday bite! A little eggnog icing and an easy spiced shortbread cookie make for a killer Christmas cookie that you’ll want to make every year.
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    Author: Michelle Weiner
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American, Scottish
    Keyword: christmas, cookie swap party, holiday
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Chill Time: 2 hours
    Makes: 40 cookies

    Equipment

    baking sheet
    hand mixer
    dry measuring cups and spoons

    Ingredients

    Cookies

    • 1 cup salted butter, softened
    • ¾ cup powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

    Icing

    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • 7 teaspoons eggnog liqueur or non-alcoholic eggnog
    • luster dust or sprinkles optional
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    To make the cookies

    • Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until it just becomes light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
    • Add flour, nutmeg and cinnamon. On low speed, beat until the dough just starts to come together, about 3 minutes.
    • Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press together to form a log. Divide the dough in half and form each piece of dough into a 6-inch log. Wrap in parchment paper and chill for at least 2 hours, up to two days.
    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
    • Slice each log into ¼ to ¾ inch slices and evenly space on the baking sheets. You should have about 40 cookies.
    • Bake until the bottom edges of the cookies just start to brown, 14-16 minutes.
    • Allow cookies to cool completely before icing.

    To make the icing

    • Whisk the powdered sugar and eggnog liqueur together until smooth. If needed add additional liqueur or powdered sugar to get a consitency that is thick enough to ice the cookie with.
    • Evenly spread the icing on the cookies, about ½ teaspoon per cookie, and if you want, add luster dust or other sprinkles and enjoy!
    Did you make this recipe?Share a pic and tag @cupofzest and use #cupofzest so I can see it!

    Notes

    • This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
    • If you are planning on packing these cookies up, make sure the icing is fully set before doing so.

    Watch the Video!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 85kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 144IU | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg

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    Hi, I'm Michelle and welcome to the party!

    After of working in the culinary world for over 10 years, I'm sharing the skills I've learned with you here at Cup of Zest. I'm here to help you invite your friends over more and stress less when cooking for them. Glad you're part of the crew!

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