Eggnog Scented Sugar Cookies with Easy Vanilla Icing.

Name: Eggnog Scented Christmas Sugar Cookies with Easy Vanilla Icing.
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter (softened); 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar; 1 vanilla bean (seeds removed (optional)); 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon almond extract* (optional); 1 egg (at room temperature*); 1/3 cup high quality eggnog; 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 4 cups powdered sugar; 2 tablespoons meringue powder; 6-8 tablespoons water; 1 vanilla bean (seeds removed); 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; assorted food coloring, holiday sprinkles and or candies, to decorate (optional)

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November 27, 2015

Posted in Cookies, Desserts

I can now officially talk all things Christmas!!!

Eggnog Scented Sugar Cookies with Easy Vanilla Icing | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

And clearly I could not be more excited!

But first, happy Friday! How was everyone’s Thanksgiving? Did you all fill up on turkey, gravy and stuffing? Was everything perfect? Do you have horror stories?!?

TELL ME!! I so need to know. Mine was awesome, but I will tell you more about it on Sunday or Monday. I want to keep things short and sweet today since we are celebrating my younger brother Malachi’s 20th birthday and I need to actually try to be present!! Which means not spending the entire day working. Actually, this is an order from the fam, so I am trying my hardest.

That said, let’s talk cookies!!

Christmas Eggnog Scented Sugar Cookies to be exact! Aren’t these so fun? I mean, I know they don’t look all professional and perfect, but I have never claimed to be a pastry chef with mad skills at decorating. I actually want to pull my hair out most times I set out to make the “fancy” sugar cookies.

But these sugar cookies are easy. You can decorate them however you please (and for me that clearly means holiday sprinkles all the way!) and the dough is simple as can be… as is the icing. And umm, my dough is extra special since it’s spiked with a little Christmas eggnog.

Don’t be freaked if you’re not a fan of eggnog, you will still enjoy these sugar cookies. The eggnog really just keeps the cookies soft, moist and lends a nice sweetness that just kind of reminds you of all things Christmas. It’s perfect.

So a few notes. I make my sugar cookies a little different from most. Instead of refrigerating my dough before rolling them out and cutting the shapes, I do the opposite. I like to roll my dough out while it’s at room temperature. I think it just makes cookie making SO much simpler. I mean, the dough is so easy to work with and it never cracks. I do use flour to keep it from sticking, which I know some people are against, but I don’t know, I love the way my sugar cookies turn out. Once the cookies are all cut, shaped and on my cookie sheet, THEN I place them in the freezer (on the cookie sheet), for about 20-30 minutes to firm up before baking. This step insures the cookies don’t spread or change shape while baking.

Then off to the oven they go!!

Once the cookies have cooled I frost them with my simple vanilla icing. I like to use meringue powder in my icing, it just gives the icing a nice glossy look and also helps it to set and harden. If you don’t have meringue powder or don’t want to buy it, no biggie. You can omit it, but your cookies may take a little longer for the icing to set and harden. As for decorations, I keep it simple, holiday sprinkles work just fine for me. An artist I am not.

OKAY, but I did try kind of hard on those santa hats and faces. I used colored red and green icing (I like to use gel food coloring) and simple sprinkles. It actually wasn’t too hard.

Pat on the back for those santa cookies! 🙂

The rest were all made with sprinkles and icing. Super simple, but so cute! Or at least I think so!

Aside from all the cuteness, these eggnog scented sugar cookies are actually delicious! They’re soft in the middle, sweet and vanillay… pretty much Christmas perfection! You have to try them for your next cookie party or holiday baking day!!

PLEASE!!!

4.19 from 22 votes

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

The Recipe

Eggnog Scented Christmas Sugar Cookies with Easy Vanilla Icing.

By halfbakedharvest

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: christmas cookies, cookies, easy, eggnog, vanilla icing

But these sugar cookies are easy. You can decorate them however you please (and for me that clearly means holiday sprinkles all the way!) and the dough is simple as can be... as is the icing. And umm, my dough is extra special since it's spiked with a little Christmas eggnog.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 48 Cookies

Calories 111 kcal

Ingredients

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean seeds removed (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract* optional
1 egg at room temperature*
1/3 cup high quality eggnog
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Easy Vanilla Icing

4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons meringue powder
6-8 tablespoons water
1 vanilla bean seeds removed
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
assorted food coloring, holiday sprinkles and or candies, to decorate (optional)

Instructions

To make the cookies, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract and almond extract in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about a full 3-5 minutes.
Add the egg and eggnog and mix until evenly combined. Add half the flour, baking soda and salt, beating until combined. Then add the remaining flour and beat until the dough forms a ball.
Generously flour your work surface. Divide the dough in half and flatten each half into a disk.
Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Make sure you are using enough flour or your dough will stick. You can also roll the dough out between two piece of wax paper. Cut out the cookies into your desired shapes. Carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment line baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the freezer, freeze until very firm, about 25 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the remaining disk of dough.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven for 12-15 minutes or until just lightly golden brown. Do not over bake. Cool on the baking sheet five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, combine the sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mixing on low speed, add 6 tablespoons water. Mix until icing holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface of the mixture for 5 seconds when you raise the paddle. Add the vanilla bean seeds and nutmeg, mix until just combined.
Frost the cooled cookies and decorate as desired. I like to keep things simple and use holiday sprinkles to decorate most of my cookies. You can also use food coloring and color the frosting red, green or whatever colors you like. To pipe the icing onto the cookies, add the icing to a gallon size ziploc bag (or a piping bag), then snip of a small portion of the corner off.

Recipe Notes

*If you do not have almond extract on hand or cannot find it, feel free to just leave it out. BUT if you can find it, I think it really adds a lot.

**To quickly bring your eggs to room temperature, place them in a large bowl with their shells on. Cover them with warm water and let them sit 5 minutes.

***The cookie dough can also be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month. To bake remove from the freezer and let sit on the counter for 5 minutes prior to baking. Bake As directed.

Don’t forget, always accompany your cookies with a large mug of milk…or maybe a cold eggnog….ooh, or maybe even hot cocoa!?!

If you make this recipe, be sure to tag your photo #halfbakedharvest.