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Rum flavored Eggnog Snickerdoodles are rolled in a nutmeg and cinnamon mixture. They are the perfect holiday cookie!

Eggnog is one of my favorite holiday flavors. These Eggnog Snickerdoodles along with Eggnog CookiesEggnog French Toast, and Eggnog Bread are among some of our favorite festive treats.

Eggnog Snickerdoodles frosted and decorate on a white plate


A holiday twist on a classic

When it comes to holiday baking, I definitely think that eggnog is an underrated flavor. Everyone goes for peppermint and gingerbread, but eggnog is one of my favorites!

These eggnog snickerdoodles are soft and tender, just slightly crisp around the edges, and full of delicious eggnog flavor. They’re simple to make, and perfect for holiday parties or serving with a big cup of hot cocoa!

The cookies are made with eggnog in the dough and a splash of rum extract to give them that perfect eggnog flavor. One of the fun things that makes these cookies unique is that instead of rolling them in a cinnamon sugar mixture, like a regular snickerdoodle, they’re rolled in a nutmeg and sugar mixture.

They are topped with a delicious eggnog glaze. You can pipe the glaze into snowflakes, or just drizzle it over the cookies. Either way, they’re totally delicious!

How to make eggnog snickerdoodles

PREP. Preheat the oven to 350. Line two large baking sheets with parchment or spray with cooking spray.

COMBINE. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and 1 cup sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the egg, rum extract, and eggnog, and mix to combine. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg, and mix until a soft dough forms.

DIP. In a small bowl, whisk together the ½ cup sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Scoop the dough into one inch balls and roll in the sugar mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheets.

BAKE. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.

DECORATE. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar and enough eggnog to make an icing that is easy to drizzle but not too runny. Pipe snowflakes onto the cooled cookies, or drizzle with the icing.

Eggnog Snickerdoodle balls dipped with nutmeg sugar mixture

Recipe Tips

  • Chilling: If you find the dough to be a bit sticky to roll into balls, chill it for 30 minutes first.
  • Don’t over bake. Remove cookies right as they are about to be finished. They’ll continue to bake to perfection while cooling on the cookie sheet.
  • Piping Hack: If you don’t have a piping set, then use a Ziploc bag with a small piece of the tip cut off.
  • Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is not listed as an ingredient. Some of you may be of the opinion that you cannot have a snickerdoodle without it. If you would like to substitute the ½ tsp baking soda with 1 tsp of cream of tartar you can. It may produce a slightly different cookie, but it will be close enough.
  • Rum Extract: The rum extract has the rum flavor but not the alcohol content.
rolled and dipped balls of eggnog snickerdoodles

Storing Info

Like many other cookies these store well in both baked and dough form.

STORE baked cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week. Be sure the frosting has set before stacking. Place a piece of white bread in the container to help keep the cookies soft.

Freezer: Separate layers with parchment paper and store in an airtight freezer safe container for about a month.

Dough: The dough can be frozen for 1-2 months before rolling in the nutmeg/sugar mixture and baked. 

  • Roll dough into balls and place them on a cookie sheet. 
  • Freeze them for about an hour, once they are frozen place them all in a freezer safe Ziploc bag. 
  • Label the bag and include bake temperature and time. 
  • Thaw on the cookie sheet before baking. 
  • Bake time may need to be adjusted so watch carefully.
frosted Eggnog Snickerdoodles stacked on a white plate
4.96 from 25 votes

Eggnog Snickerdoodles Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
Rum flavored Eggnog Snickerdoodles are rolled in a nutmeg and cinnamon mixture. They are the perfect holiday cookie!
Servings: 36
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients 

Dough

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp rum extract
  • 1/2 cup eggnog
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Sugar Mixture for rolling

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 T cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Icing

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350. Line two large baking sheets with parchment or spray with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and 1 cup sugar, until light and fluffy. Add the egg, rum extract, and eggnog, and mix to combine. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg, and mix until a soft dough forms.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the ½ cup sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Scoop the dough into one inch balls and roll in the sugar mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom. Let cool on pan for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
  • While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar and enough eggnog to make an icing that is easy to drizzle but not too runny. Pipe snowflakes onto the cooled cookies, or drizzle with the icing.

Nutrition

Calories: 104kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 13mg, Sodium: 76mg, Potassium: 17mg, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 95IU, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Calcium: 8mg, Iron: 0.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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Thanks for sharing this eggnog snickerdoodle recipes with us Alicia!

For more amazing recipes by her, head over to The Baker Upstairs.



About Alicia

Hi! I’m Alicia and I blog at The Baker Upstairs. I am in love with all things food! I love to bake bread, cupcakes, cookies… you name it! When I’m not baking, I am running after my two adorable little girls, working as an RN, knitting, reading, and trying to squeeze in time with my husband every day.

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38 Comments

    1. Either one! If you do freeze after baking, just make sure they have fully cooked before freezing. There are instructions in the post that explain a little more how you can freeze the cookies.

    1. Great! If you freeze, just separate layers with parchment paper and store in an airtight freezer safe container for about a month. You can also freeze the dough balls before rolling in sugar/nutmeg.

  1. I’m struggling. I’ve made these the last few years and they’ve been great, but now my dough is so sticky I cannot even touch it to roll in the sugar mixture. I kept adding small amounts of flour but no no avail. What am I doing wrong?

    1. Sometimes if my cookie dough is sticky or hard to work with, I will chill the dough for a bit before rolling. Perhaps that will help?

  2. 4 stars
    just tried the recipe and my cookies did not spread at all. They stayed as little poofs, still tasty but they don’t really give that same spreading that normal snickerdoodles do. Any ideas what could have gone wrong? Mine also looked way darker with the 2 tbsp of cinnamon added for rolling.

    1. I am sorry they didn’t spread. There are so many reasons that can affect the outcome of cookies, so it’s very hard to know & pin point. Did you add the other ingredients with the cinnamon for rolling?

      1. Yes I added everything listed except i swapped the rum extract for vanilla. I was hoping for the spread that your regular snickerdoodle recipe does. They are super tasty and Everyone loves them though! =) They just give a more 2 bite cake look then a cookie.

    1. It does harden, but doesn’t get too hard. I have put them on goodie plates & they seem to do ok. Hope that helps!

  3. 5 stars
    Made two batches of these last night and they are a hit at the office! the eggnog flavor is definitely subtle but I like it! Consistency of the cookie is perfect. I found the estimate of 3 dozen cookies per batch to be very accurate.