Eggnog inspired snickerdoodles with eggnog flavored white chocolate chunks
Kids love them. Old people love them. Everyone loves them. Snickernogs are a universal crowd pleaser that folks never knew they were missing.
At first glance, these cookies may rightly remind you of the beloved Snickerdoodle, but watch out for their cheerful punch of rum and nutmeg! Now you can enjoy the taste of eggnog without embarrassing yourself at your company Christmas party.
On Thanksgiving evenings, after a full day of indulging and watching the Detroit Lions lose, Dad would always open a can of Bordon’s Eggnog and we’d say a toast to the start of the Christmas season. Similarly, this cookie recipe should be the first to kick-off your holiday baking season!
Or just bake more.
Snickernog Cookies
Eggnog inspired snickerdoodles with eggnog flavored white chocolate chunks
Ingredients
Eggnog candy chunks (optional, but highly recommended)
- 5 ounces white chocolate melting wafers (e.g., Ghirardelli White Melting Wafers)
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon rum extract
Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups white granulated sugar
- 2 eggs (large)
- 2 teaspoons rum extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Sugar mixture coating
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Eggnog candy chunks (make ahead of time, allow one hour)
- Melt the white chocolate wafers slowly using a double boiler technique. Stir frequently.
- Once completely melted, remove the chocolate from the heat and immediately stir in both the nutmeg and rum extract.
- Quickly scoop the melted chocolate onto wax paper and spread into a bar with an even thickness of at least ¼ inch. If needed, use a second piece of wax paper on top to help you push it down and flatten it.
- Allow the bar to cool completely, then cut it with a long bladed chef's knife. While firmly holding the knife handle in one hand, press down on the top side of the dull blade with your other hand. Cut into ¼ inch (or larger) chunks.
Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter till it’s pale and fluffy.
- Add the white sugar and beat 1-2 minutes until smooth.
- Add the eggs, rum extract, and vanilla extract, and beat another 1-2 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cream of tartar, salt, and baking soda.
- (If using electric stand mixer, switch to paddle attachment) Gradually combine the dry contents into the large mixing bowl and stir until the dough is mixed evenly.
- Add the eggnog candy chunks and stir until combined, but be careful not to overmix – you don’t want to crush the chunks into tiny bits!
- Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Sugar mixture coating
- In a small bowl, mix the white sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
- Use a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to ball the dough, then roll it in the sugar mixture to thoroughly coat it.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the balls on cookie trays lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, leaving room for the cookies to expand during baking. Flatten each dough ball to ½ inch.
- Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes. Move them to a wire baking rack and allow to cool.
Alternates & Substitutions:
- Although we don’t recommend it, if pressed for time, you can leave out the eggnog candy chunks and the cookies will still taste awesome. They’ll just be slightly less noggy and sweet.
Tips & Tricks:
- To replicate a simple double boiler for melting the chocolate, you can fill a small saucepan with 1/2 inch of water and set the heat to medium. Place the chocolate melting wafers in an oven safe glass mixing bowl (e.g., Pyrex) and set it on the saucepan over simmering water, ensuring the glass bowl does not touch the water. Slowly and continuously stir until the wafers melt completely.
- In our first trial of this cookie recipe, we chopped the eggnog candy chunks too small, and they melted completely into the cookie. Bigger chunks are better, anyways, right? Keep them at least 1/4 of an inch.
- Small bits will likely flake off during the chopping. These flakes should be mixed into the dough with the chunks. They are too good to waste!
- We flattened the cookie dough balls to 1/2 inch before baking. The lid of a Talenti gelato pint worked just fine for this! Flattening the dough allows the cookies to be baked in less time, so the eggnog candy chunks don’t fully melt away.
these do taste just like eggnog. thx for sharing!