Eggnog Cookies {Melt-in-Your-Mouth}

Published December 5, 2019. Updated February 27, 2024

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These Eggnog Cookies are a staple holiday recipe! Once you try them you’ll want to make them at least once every Christmas season. They’re a soft and fluffy, cake-like cookie with a deliciously tender texture, the perfect amount of spice, and a rich eggnog frosting.

Image of plate full of frosted eggnog cookies.

The Best Soft Eggnog Cookies!

These eggnog cookies are a ready holiday favorite (and family favorite too)! They’re deliciously soft and completely divine cookies that do just as their titled – they melt away in your mouth!

With their delicate texture and generous coating of eggnog frosting they are likely to become a cookie you’re not going to forget about. They really do taste just like eggnog in cookie form, so really they are one of the ultimate Christmas cookies!

You wouldn’t believe how quickly we finished these off. I think they definitely need to be a new Christmas tradition for my family, and yours too.

If you love eggnog I can pretty much guarantee you’ll love these cookies! Yes eggnog is great but it doesn’t quite curb those dessert cravings but these however definitely do the trick.

We all love the classic cookie recipes during the holidays but it’s always so fun to add a new flavor to the mix like these! People will love them!

Watch the Video!

 

Eggnog Cookies sitting on a Christmas plaid tablecloth.

Eggnog Cookie Ingredients

To make these you’ll need:

  • All-purpose flour – I like to use unbleached all purpose flour but standard bleached flour works too.
  • Granulated sugar, brown sugar and powdered sugar – that’s a lot of sugars. We’re making cookies!
  • Ground cinnamon and nutmeg – these spices help give the cookie a classic eggnog flavor.
  • Baking powder – this helps the cookies rise, don’t forget it.
  • Salt – this brings out the flavors of the cookie.
  • Unsalted butter – don’t use margarine or shortening, stick with butter for best flavor and texture.
  • Egg yolks – egg yolks are used in eggnog so that’s what we go with here too.
  • Eggnog – I’ve made these with both traditional eggnog and low-fat, the low fat spread more so I recommend sticking with the full fat stuff.
  • Vanilla extract and rum extract – the vanilla offers that classic background flavor while the rum flavor mimics that in eggnog.

Ingredients needed for eggnog cookies

How to Make Eggnog Cookies

These cookies are a breeze to make, and no chilling dough or cutting shapes here! Here’s what you’ll do to make them:

  • Preheat oven and prepare baking sheets: Preheat oven to 350°F, line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon for 30 seconds, set aside.
  • Cream butter with sugar: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.
  • Mix in wet ingredients: Mix in egg yolks one at a time, blending just until combined after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract, rum extract and egg nog.
  • Blend in dry ingredients: With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
  • Drop spoonfuls of batter onto cookie sheets: Scoop dough out by the heaping tablespoonfuls and drop onto prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inches apart.

Eggnog Cookies

How to Bake and Frost Cookies:

  • Bake then cool: Bake in preheated oven 11 – 13 minutes. Allow to rest on baking sheet several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
  • Make the frosting and spread over cooled cookies: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter until very pale and fluffy. Add in rum extract and 3 Tbsp eggnog and mix in powdered sugar. Add additional eggnog to reach desired consistency.

Eggnog Cookies shown here before and after baking on parchment paper lined baking sheet.

How to Store Eggnog Cookies:

  • Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.
  • They keep well for about 4 days.
  • For longer shelf life cookies can be frozen.
  • Bring to room temperature before serving.

Red plate full of 14 frosted eggnog cookies.

More Christmas Cookie Recipes You’ll Love!

Close up image of eggnog cookies

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

4.82 from 97 votes

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Eggnog Cookies

With their tender cake-like texture and generous coating of eggnog frosting they are likely to become a new favorite holiday cookie!
Servings: 32 cookies
Prep30 minutes
Cook12 minutes
Ready in: 42 minutes

Ingredients

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup (113g) butter, at room temperature (I used 1/4 cup salted and 1/4 cup unsalted butter)
  • 3 - 5 Tbsp eggnog
  • 1/2 tsp rum extract
  • 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon for 30 seconds, set aside. 
  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. 
  • Mix in egg yolks one at a time, blending just until combined after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract, rum extract and egg nog. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. 
  • Scoop dough out by the heaping tablespoonfuls and drop onto Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-inches apart. 
  • Bake in preheated oven 11 - 13 minutes. Allow to rest on baking sheet several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely then frost with Eggnog Frosting and sprinkle tops lightly with nutmeg.

For the Eggnog Frosting:

  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter until very pale and fluffy. Add in rum extract and 3 Tbsp eggnog and mix in powdered sugar. Add additional eggnog to reach desired consistency.

Notes

  • Cookies previously listed 2 1/4 cups flour (spooned and leveled method) when using the easier scoop and level method this is only 2 cups to equal the same amount. If you'd like cookies to be a little thicker you can add 2 extra tablespoons of flour.
Nutrition Facts
Melt-In-Your-Mouth Eggnog Cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 172 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 33mg11%
Sodium 66mg3%
Potassium 54mg2%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Sugar 17g19%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 245IU5%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 27mg3%
Iron 0.5mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.
Recipe originally shared Nov. 2013, photos and text have been updated.

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382 Comments

  • Joan

    I doubled the recipe and they turned out perfect! The dough was sticky and not great to work with but they tasted amazing! Great recipe

  • Jamie West

    Soft and delicious! I didn’t make the frosting, as I Iike to freeze the dough and bake on demand. I didn’t think it needed it. Eggnog flavor was there!
    Suggestion: Try rolling the dough balls rather than just dropping them. I found this made the cookies spread less and you wind up with a prettier, rounder cookie.
    I read the comments/questions before I made this and experimented with a couple of things people were asking about.
    Rolling in sugar – yep! You can do this — I used sanding sugar (which is a trick I use for snickerdoodles (nice bit of crunch!) and turbinado sugar. Both worked great. I think the turbinado had a little more flavor.
    Freezing the dough – yep! You can do this too. I rolled up dough balls and put them on a wax-paper-lined cookie sheet and froze for an hour and then put them in a freezer bag. You can bake them from frozen — just add a couple of minutes. I actually think this improved the fluffiness/texture of the cookie.
    Yummy way to use up leftover eggnog (or just a reason to buy eggnog in the first place!).

  • Asia

    I don’t know what happened to this recipe, but it’s horrible. The cookies came out flat and gooey on the ends. I made them multiple times last year and they never looked like this. I was going to take them to a Christmas Eve party, but now I have to toss them and go buy cookies from the store. Super disappointing. Wish I would’ve written down the recipe last year instead of just saving the link. I’m still in shock… I told multiple people I was bringing these. So annoying.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I’m sorry to hear this! Did you use a different brand/ runnier egg nog this year?

      • Michelle

        I had a similar issue last year. I still loved them but they were a bit of a nightmare to make. For success, I had to pull them out mid-bake and use the glass method (put over the cookie and swirl) to pull the spread in a bit and make them round again – then bake extra. I want to try again this year as I got quite a few compliments on them and the flavor was on point! Is there a brand of egg nog you like or something to look for or avoid?

        • Jaclyn

          Jaclyn Bell

          Sorry they gave you trouble! I’ve just found the thicker brands of eggnog do tend to work better than those that are runny. Something like Southern Comfort or Meadow Gold.

          • Dianne S

            I always use Southern Comfort with excellent results. Been making these cookies multiple times during the holidays for 3 or 4 years. ♥️