These soft and delicious frosted eggnog sugar cookies are perfect for the Christmas holiday season. The cookies themselves are a soft and puffy sugar cookie full of flavor, but the eggnog frosting is what sends this recipe over the top. The frosting gives the eggnog cookies a creaminess that also ramps up the flavor of the eggnog.
The best part about this eggnog cookie recipe is that even some of my tasters that aren’t fans of eggnog said they loved the cookies. These are also eggnog cookies without eggnog in them. Most people that don’t like to drink eggnog aren’t fans of how thick it is and how eggy it tastes compared to milk. For these cookies you take what does make eggnog taste good and pump the flavor into the frosted sugar cookies.
If you are a fan of eggnog, these frosted eggnog sugar cookies taste even better served with a cold glass of ‘nog alongside them. If you’re also a fan of eggnog baking recipes, I suggest trying out my eggnog snickerdoodles and eggnog blossom cookies. These are some of the best eggnog cookies I’ve had, and all three are great for Christmas cookie exchanges.
The base of these eggnog Christmas cookies come from my cakey Valentine’s Day sugar cookies, which are based on the Lofthouse frosted sugar cookies. If you’re not familiar with the name, Lofthouse cookies are the ones you typically see in grocery stores near the entrance/exit and look like thicker sugar cookies with a frosted topping.
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🥘 Ingredients for Frosted Eggnog Cookies
Most of these ingredients you probably have on hand already. This frosted eggnog sugar cookies recipe is split into two components, the soft eggnog cookie, and the eggnog buttercream.
Eggnog Cookie
Flour – All-purpose flour is fine here, but you could also use cake flour if you have it.
Leaveners – Use a mixture of both baking powder and baking soda for a good rise. The baking soda will activate from the sour cream used in the cookies.
Cornstarch – Just a bit added to the flour slightly reduces gluten formation and helps make a tender crumb. Can omit it if you use cake flour instead of AP flour.
Spices – Use a combination of ground cinnamon and nutmeg here to give the cookies their eggnog flavor.
Butter – Use unsalted butter at room temperature. If you use salted, you can omit the added salt in the recipe.
Sugar – White, granulated sugar works best here.
Extracts – Use a combination of vanilla and rum extract. The vanilla adds a nice balance to the flavors, while the rum extract in combination with the ground nutmeg gives the cookies their eggnog flavor.
Eggs – Use two large eggs at room temperature.
Sour Cream – Full-fat sour cream adds a bit of acidity to the cookie and a slightly tangy flavor, it also helps to keep the cookies moist and tender. Use at room temperature also. Optionally, you can also replace some of the sour cream with eggnog.
Eggnog Buttercream
Butter – Use ½ cup of unsalted butter at room temperature for the buttercream. If you use salted butter, omit the added salt.
Sugar – Use three cups of powdered / confectioner’s sugar here. I like to sift it to prevent any lumps or graininess in the final buttercream.
Heavy Cream – You can use almost any milk here, but I prefer heavy cream because the higher fat content gives the buttercream a richer and creamier flavor. You can also optionally replace this with eggnog.
Nutmeg – Reinforce the eggnog flavor in the buttercream with some more ground nutmeg. If you have whole nutmeg, you can also grate that in and top the cookies with some extra grated nutmeg.
Extracts – Again, use both vanilla and rum extract. This time the vanilla is just a splash while the rum is stronger to again reinforce the eggnog flavor.
🔪 How to Make Frosted Eggnog Sugar Cookies
Start with cookie ingredients first, as you’ll want to chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes to an hour before cooking.
Eggnog Sugar Cookie
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add in the extracts and sour cream and mix again until combined, about a minute. Now add the eggs one at a time and mix until just combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low in 2-3 batches until the dough just comes together.
Chill the cookie dough, covered, in the fridge for at least 45 minutes to an hour, and up to 2 days.
Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
Remove from fridge and let stand at room temperature for a bit if too difficult to scoop. Scoop dough with a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop and roll into a ball. Place on baking sheet a few inches apart and press down center with thumb.
Cook for 8-10 minutes (mine usually takes 9). Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
While the cookies are cooling, you can make the eggnog buttercream.
Eggnog Frosting
In the cleaned bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and half the powdered sugar together on medium speed. Once combined, add the rest of the sugar, salt, and nutmeg, and continue mixing until well combined. Paddle or whisk attachment is fine.
Add the vanilla, rum, and heavy cream and mix on low until combined, then at higher speed until fluffy and spreadable consistency.
Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies and add sprinkles if desired.
🍪 Shaping the Sugar Cookies
I wanted a nice, round shape for the frosted sugar cookies that wasn’t domed with tapering and flat edges. After several recipe changes and test bakes, I came up with a good solution. I tried simply scooping and dropping, scooping and rolling into a ball, and scooping, rolling and then flattening to a ½ inch thickness. The winning idea, however, took a page from burger making.
When making burgers, putting a thumb indentation in the middle keeps them from puffing up too much in the center. I tried that with the cookie, and it worked perfectly for the shape I was looking for. The baking powder is going to make the cookie rise in the oven, so the center will puff back up, but the high walls around the thumbprint will melt and spread because of the butter. This method made sure the cookie remained at a decent thickness throughout and limited the spreading.
I do recommend coating your hands with flour. I found it easiest to scoop all the dough balls onto the baking sheet, then coat my hands in flour and roll each ball and place them back onto the sheet and add a thumb indent. Return the dough to the refrigerator between baking batches as well so that the butter doesn’t get too warm.
📖 Variations
Egg Nog Cookies with Eggnog – Using eggnog in eggnog recipes typically doesn’t add enough flavor on its own, and the taste is more diluted. If you’d like to add some though, you can. The sugar cookies use ¾ cup sour cream, and you can replace ¼ cup of that with eggnog. In the frosting you can replace the ¼ cup of heavy cream with ¼ cup of eggnog as well.
Rum – You could use actual rum in the cookies and frosting, but I don’t recommend that. Rum extract in a small amount packs a lot of flavor, whereas actual alcoholic rum is almost undetectable in an eggnog cookies recipe, even when used in a larger amount. If you want to make a boozy version, I’d suggest the eggnog replacement above with eggnog liquor.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
No, the flavors of eggnog come from using ground nutmeg and rum extract. Using eggnog alone to flavor baked goods gives a very subtle and muted flavor. While you can add some eggnog to the cookies and frosting, relying on eggnog alone won’t give you the flavor you’re looking for, and it’s not necessary to use it in the recipe either.
If you make buttercream ahead of time, or have extra leftovers from a recipe, keeping your buttercream refrigerated will make it last at least a week. The cold will also slightly harden the buttercream though. When you’re ready to use it, beat it with a hand mixer again to loosen it and make it fluffy again. If it’s still a bit too hard or thick, add a bit of heavy cream, a teaspoon at a time, until it’s the right consistency again.
🍽 Recommended Equipment
Cookie Scoop – While you could simply eyeball the amount of cookie dough and roll these by hand, I always recommend a decent cookie scoop for consistency. I prefer this Medium Cookie Scoop that will give you consistent 1 ½ tablespoon portions. This helps to ensure you don’t have slightly smaller or larger cookies that could under or overbake.
Fine Mesh Sieve – This is optional, but I always like to sift my powdered sugar in buttercream recipes. Sifting the sugar helps make the final buttercream nice and smooth without lumps or graininess in it. I also prefer this set of 3 Fine Mesh Strainers over a handheld flour sifter because you can use them for sifting as well as for straining a stock or braising liquid, or to safely remove fried foods from hot oil.
Silicone Baking Mat – I love this Silpat Silicone Baking Mat for a lot of baking recipes because they perfectly fit most standard sized half-sheet baking pans and they’re reusable. Using them cuts down on the amount of parchment paper or aluminum foil you go through, saving money in the long run.
❄️ Storing and Freezing
Homemade frosted sugar cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or up to a week refrigerated. Stored at room temperature the frosting will stay soft, while refrigerated it will harden slightly.
You can also freeze these frosted Christmas cookies for 2-3 months, which works great if you make a bunch of Christmas cookies and want all of them ready together for the holiday or a cookie exchange. If the cookies are already frosted, I would recommend freezing for a few hours on a cookie sheet and then moving to an airtight container and separating layers with wax paper.
📋 Recipe
Frosted Eggnog Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Eggnog Sugar Cookies:
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, omit if using salted butter
- 1 tablespoon corn starch, omit if using cake flour
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon rum extract
- ¾ cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
Eggnog Buttercream:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon rum extract
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Directions
Make the Cookies:
- Add 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer cream ¾ cup butter and 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla and ½ teaspoon rum extracts and ¾ cup sour cream and mix again until combined, about a minute. Now add the 2 eggs one at a time and mix until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low in 2-3 batches until the dough just comes together.
- Chill the cookie dough, covered, in the fridge for at least 45 minutes to an hour, and up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove from fridge and let stand at room temperature for a bit if too difficult to scoop. Scoop dough with a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop and roll into a ball. Place on baking sheet a few inches apart and press down center with thumb.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes (mine usually takes 9). Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
- While the cookies are cooling, you can make the eggnog buttercream.
Eggnog Frosting:
- In the cleaned bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the ½ cup of unsalted butter and half of the 3 cups of powdered sugar together on medium speed. Once combined, add the rest of the sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg and continue mixing until well combined.
- Add the ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¾ teaspoon rum extract, and ¼ cup heavy cream and mix on low until combined, then at higher speed until fluffy and spreadable consistency.
- Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies and add sprinkles if desired.
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