Re-create the flavor of eggnog in a cookie this holiday season with this recipe for eggnog snickerdoodles, courtesy of New York Times baker and general cookie spokesperson Vaughn Vreeland, author of the new cookbook, “Cookies: The Best Recipes for the Perfect Anytime Treat.”
The secret ingredient here, according to Vreeland, is rum extract.
“An extra egg yolk in the dough and a dusting of nutmeg-sugar yield a cookie that’s custard-like on the inside and crisp on the outside. These cookies are great with a bourbon neat,” he writes.
Eggnog Snickerdoodles
Yield: Serves 24 cookies
INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tablespoon rum extract
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar and baking soda and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, cream together the butter, 1 3/4 cups (350 grams) of the sugar and the salt on medium-high until very smooth and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, return the mixer to medium speed and add the whole egg and egg yolks, incorporating each before adding the next. Add the rum extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to beat for another minute or two.
Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. (You may want to start by “pulsing” the flour, so that it doesn’t go everywhere.) Set the dough aside to hydrate for about 10 minutes while you prepare to bake.
Position racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Make the nutmeg-sugar mixture by combining the remaining 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar with the nutmeg in a small bowl.
Roll the dough into balls, each one the size of a golf ball or about 45 grams, then roll each dough ball in the nutmeg-sugar. Transfer the balls to the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake 10 to 13 minutes, until slightly puffed and just set, switching racks and rotating the pans front to back halfway through.
Let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. These cookies are even better the day after they’re made, and will keep for 4 days sealed in an airtight container.
Reprinted with permission from “Cookies: The Best Recipes for the Perfect Anytime Treat” by Vaughn Vreeland and The New York Times Cooking. © 2025 by The New York Times Company. Photographs copyright © 2025 by The New York Times Company. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.