There it was, tucked among traditional holiday standards on a cookie tray in the employee break room. I opted for one of the more brightly colored and decadently filled others, but took one of these to save on a plate for later...when I would inevitably crave the mid-shift sugar high. I was presently surprised by the flavor of this unassuming little cookie! Not only was the thick frosting sweetened with the unmistakable beverage, but the cookie was perfumed with eggnog as well! I immediately asked my co-worker, Kathy, for the recipe and happily added it to my rotation. I made the large batch of dough a few days before Christmas and baked some off right before guests arrived for dinner. I saved the rest to slice and bake just after the New Year. Plus, making frosting was a great excuse to use up the remaining eggnog!

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup store bought eggnog (best quality you can get)
5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)

Frosting Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup eggnog
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon (just a pinch) salt

Cookie Directions:

Making this recipe was really quite simple. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl once. Slowly add the eggnog into the butter mixture in a steady stream. Once incorporated, turn the mixer off and in a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and nutmeg. Turn the mixer on slow and carefully add the flour mix into the dough until just incorporated; do not over mix. Divide the dough among four sheets of plastic and shape (by rolling) into approximately 10" logs. Make sure the dough is well sealed and place into the refrigerator overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F and slice the logs into 1/4" rounds. Place the dough circles onto a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet, 1" apart. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes. The edges of the cookies will be dry, but the middle puffy and a little underdone in appearance. The bottoms will be browned slightly so be careful not to over do it. Cool completely. Meanwhile, make the frosting by creaming the butter and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer on high for about a minute or two. Slow speed to the lowest setting and gradually add the sugar, alternating with the eggnog until creamy. Don't over-mix. Use a small offset spatula to spread the frosting. It hardens a little, so they stack nicely.