Delightful Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies: Your Ultimate Holiday Baking Guide
Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies are more than just a seasonal treat; they’re a festive embrace of classic holiday flavors. Infused with rich eggnog in both the dough and a luscious glaze, these cookies are absolutely perfect for celebrating the most wonderful time of the year. Their soft, chewy texture and irresistible aroma make them an essential addition to any holiday gathering or cozy evening at home.
If you’re anything like us, the mere mention of eggnog and cookies ignites a spark of holiday joy. These Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies effortlessly combine two beloved holiday traditions into one delectable dessert. Each bite offers a harmonious blend of festive spices and the creamy richness of eggnog, all wrapped in a wonderfully soft and chewy oatmeal cookie. They are incredibly easy to prepare, making them an ideal choice for filling holiday goodie plates, contributing to festive potlucks, or simply enjoying with a warm cup of cocoa by the fireplace.
Discover the Magic of Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies
Our Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies stand out with their unique double dose of eggnog flavor – generously incorporated into the cookie dough itself and then drizzled with a sweet, creamy eggnog glaze. Beyond the star ingredient, these cookies are beautifully enhanced with warm vanilla and a hint of nutmeg, evoking the quintessential taste of Christmas. The oatmeal base ensures a wonderfully moist and tender crumb with a satisfying chew, creating a delightful contrast with the smooth glaze. Even those who claim not to be eggnog enthusiasts often find themselves falling in love with these surprisingly delicious and festive cookies. Their comforting flavor and delightful texture make them an instant holiday favorite.
Tips for Baking Perfectly Chewy Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies Every Time
Achieving perfectly baked, consistently delicious eggnog oatmeal cookies is simpler than you might think. By following a few key techniques, you can ensure your cookies turn out beautifully every time. Here are our top tips to guide you through the baking process, ensuring soft, chewy, and perfectly flavored results:
- Combine Dry Ingredients Separately: Many cookie recipes, including this one, call for mixing dry ingredients (flour, oats, leavening, salt) in a separate bowl before incorporating them into the wet ingredients. This isn’t just a suggestion; it’s a crucial step! It ensures that leavening agents like baking soda and spices like nutmeg are evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture. This prevents pockets of unmixed ingredients and guarantees a consistent rise and flavor in every single cookie. Skipping this can lead to uneven texture and dense spots.
- Always Preheat Your Oven: Patience is a virtue in baking, and preheating your oven thoroughly is paramount. Placing cookie dough into a properly preheated oven ensures that the cookies begin baking at the correct temperature from the very first moment. This rapid initial heat helps the cookies set quickly, preventing them from spreading too much and resulting in a uniform rise and consistent golden-brown edges. An oven that hasn’t reached its target temperature can lead to flat, greasy, or unevenly baked cookies.
- Embrace the Cookie Scoop: For professional-looking, uniformly sized cookies, a cookie scoop is your best friend. Using a scoop ensures that each portion of dough is the same size, which means all your cookies will bake evenly and be ready at the same time. No more guessing or struggling with sticky dough – a scoop creates perfectly rounded cookies with minimal effort, contributing to a beautiful presentation on your holiday platter.
- Utilize Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mats: To guarantee easy removal and prevent sticking, always line your baking sheets with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This simple trick eliminates the need to grease the pan, making cleanup a breeze. More importantly, it helps the cookies bake more evenly and prevents the bottoms from becoming too dark or crisp, ensuring they slide right off the sheet in perfect shape once cooled slightly.
- Resist the Urge to Overbake: This might be the most vital tip for achieving soft and chewy cookies. When I remove my eggnog oatmeal cookies from the oven, they often look slightly underbaked in the center. This is perfectly normal and desired! Cookies continue to bake and set on the hot cookie sheet for a few minutes after being removed from the oven, a process known as carryover baking. Overbaking can lead to dry, crumbly cookies, so trust the process and take them out when the edges are just golden brown and the centers still look a little soft.
Essential Ingredients for Your Festive Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies
Crafting these delicious Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies requires a thoughtful selection of ingredients, each playing a crucial role in achieving their irresistible flavor and perfect texture. Here’s a closer look at what you’ll need:
Sugars – We use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar to create a balanced sweetness and ideal texture. Brown sugar contributes moisture and a delightful chewiness, along with a subtle caramel note, while granulated sugar helps with crisp edges and overall structure. For the best results, ensure your brown sugar is fresh, soft, and moist; if it’s hardened, a quick trick is to place a slice of bread or an apple wedge in its container overnight to soften it.
Shortening – This recipe calls for shortening, either regular or butter-flavored. Shortening is fantastic for cookies as it has a higher melting point than butter, which means it helps prevent excessive spreading during baking, resulting in taller, chewier cookies. While you can substitute butter, be aware that your cookies might spread a bit more, potentially becoming thinner and crisper.
Egg – A single large egg acts as a vital binder, bringing all the ingredients together into a cohesive dough. It also contributes to the cookies’ structure, richness, and moisture, ensuring they don’t turn out dry.
Eggnog – The star of the show! Use any brand or variety of your favorite eggnog. Its creamy texture and characteristic holiday spice blend are what infuse these cookies with their signature festive flavor and moistness.
Vanilla extract – High-quality vanilla extract is essential for enhancing all the other flavors in the cookie dough. Its warm, sweet aroma complements the eggnog beautifully. Opt for pure vanilla extract for the most authentic and robust flavor.
Eggnog extract – While potentially a little tricky to find, eggnog extract is a game-changer for intensifying that unmistakable eggnog flavor in your cookies. It provides a concentrated burst of holiday spice and creaminess that truly elevates the overall taste. If you can’t find it, don’t worry, the cookies will still be delicious with just the liquid eggnog and vanilla, but the extract adds an extra layer of depth.
Nutmeg – Just a touch of freshly ground or pre-ground nutmeg pairs exquisitely with eggnog, highlighting its traditional spice profile. Its warm, slightly sweet, and woody notes are characteristic of classic holiday baking. You can certainly swap it out for cinnamon, or even add a pinch of both for a more complex spice blend if you desire.
Oats – We prefer old-fashioned rolled oats for their hearty texture and chewiness in these cookies. They provide a satisfying bite that distinguishes oatmeal cookies. However, if you prefer, you can use quick oats, which will result in a slightly denser and softer cookie. A combination of both also works wonderfully to achieve a nuanced texture.
Flour – Standard all-purpose flour is our go-to for its versatility and reliability in cookie baking, providing the necessary structure without making the cookies too heavy. If you opt for wheat flour, the cookies will be denser and their consistency will change slightly, but they will remain delicious and offer a nuttier flavor profile.
Salt – A small amount of salt is crucial for balancing the sweetness and intensifying all the other flavors in the cookies. It prevents the cookies from tasting bland and brings out the best in the spices and eggnog.
Baking soda – This is our primary leavening agent, responsible for helping the cookies rise and achieve their characteristic soft texture. Ensure your baking soda is fresh and active for optimal results; old or expired baking soda won’t provide the lift needed.
EGGNOG ICING Ingredients
The creamy eggnog icing adds the perfect finishing touch, enhancing both flavor and presentation:
Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar, powdered sugar forms the base of the icing, providing sweetness and a wonderfully smooth, lump-free texture. Its fine consistency allows for a silky, pourable glaze.
Eggnog – A small amount of liquid eggnog is used to thin the powdered sugar into a glaze, further infusing the icing with its distinctive holiday flavor. You can adjust the amount slightly to achieve your desired consistency, from a thin drizzle to a thicker, opaque coating.
Eggnog extract – Again, eggnog extract is highly recommended here to deliver a robust eggnog flavor to the icing. This ensures the glaze complements the cookies perfectly. If eggnog extract is unavailable or if you prefer a less intense eggnog flavor, a touch of vanilla extract can be used as a delicious alternative.
How to Make Easy and Delicious Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies
Ready to bake a batch of these holiday favorites? Follow these straightforward steps to create soft, chewy, and perfectly glazed Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies that will impress everyone:
Begin by preheating your oven to 350° F (175° C). This ensures your oven is at the optimal temperature for consistent baking from the start.
MAKE COOKIE DOUGH
In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, shortening, and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat these ingredients together for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light, fluffy, and well combined. This creaming process incorporates air, which contributes to the cookies’ soft texture. Next, add the egg, liquid eggnog, vanilla extract, and eggnog extract. Continue to beat for another 2-3 minutes until everything is thoroughly incorporated and smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are mixed.
In a separate medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: old-fashioned oats, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk them together thoroughly until uniformly distributed. This step is crucial for even baking and rising. Once the dry ingredients are ready, gradually add them to the wet ingredients in the large bowl. Mix well, starting on low speed and increasing gradually, until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to tough cookies.
BAKE COOKIES
Using a cookie scoop or a rounded teaspoon, drop portions of the cookie dough onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Ensure there’s enough space between each cookie for even baking and spreading. For consistent results, each scoop should be roughly the same size.
Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until their edges appear lightly golden brown. Remember, the centers might still look slightly soft; this is ideal for a chewy texture. Once baked, remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes. This allows them to finish baking through carryover heat and firm up before you transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Cooling completely is essential before glazing.
MAKE ICING
Once your cookies have cooled entirely, it’s time to prepare the delightful eggnog icing. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, liquid eggnog, and eggnog extract. Whisk these ingredients vigorously until all lumps of powdered sugar have dissolved and you have a smooth, pourable glaze. If the icing is too thick, add a tiny bit more eggnog (½ teaspoon at a time) until you reach your desired consistency; if it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Spoon or drizzle the finished icing generously over the top of each cooled cookie. Allow the glaze to set before stacking or storing the cookies.
Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup shortening
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup eggnog
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon eggnog extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
EGGNOG ICING
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons eggnog
- ¼ teaspoon eggnog extract or vanilla extract for a milder flavor
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
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MAKE COOKIE DOUGH: In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the brown sugar, shortening, and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg, eggnog, vanilla extract, and eggnog extract, beating for another 2-3 minutes until well combined.
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In a separate medium bowl, combine the oats, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk well to ensure even distribution. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
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BAKE COOKIES: Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving some space between each.
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Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers still look slightly soft. Let them cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
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MAKE ICING: Once the cookies are completely cooled, prepare the icing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, eggnog, and eggnog extract until smooth and lump-free. Spoon or drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies and allow it to set before serving or storing.
Nutrition
Do I Have to Use Eggnog Extract for My Cookies?
While this recipe definitely recommends using eggnog extract to give both the cookies and the glaze a more pronounced and intense eggnog flavor, it’s not strictly mandatory. The eggnog extract acts as a flavor booster, ensuring that the distinctive holiday taste truly shines through. If you can’t find eggnog extract or prefer a subtler flavor, you can certainly use vanilla extract in its place. The cookies will still have a delightful mild eggnog essence thanks to the liquid eggnog incorporated into the dough, but the overall “eggnog factor” won’t be as robust without the concentrated extract. It’s a matter of personal preference and how much of that signature holiday taste you wish to infuse into your festive treats.
What Kind of Oats Are Best in Oatmeal Cookies?
The choice between quick oats and old-fashioned rolled oats for your oatmeal cookies largely comes down to personal preference and the texture you desire. In this recipe, I’ve opted for old-fashioned oats, which I find create a wonderfully hearty and chewy cookie with a more substantial bite. The distinct texture of rolled oats makes the cookies feel truly wholesome and adds a satisfying mouthfeel – it almost makes it easier to justify having a few for breakfast! However, quick oats are a perfectly acceptable alternative. If you use entirely quick oats, your cookies will tend to be a little denser and puffier, with a softer, more uniform texture since the oats are cut into smaller pieces and cook faster. Many bakers also enjoy a combination of both quick and old-fashioned oats to achieve a nuanced texture that offers the best of both worlds. Feel free to experiment with whatever type of oats you have in your pantry or whatever texture you prefer in your favorite oatmeal cookies!
How Long Do Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies Stay Fresh?
These delightful Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies are best enjoyed within the first day or two for peak freshness, but they will remain delicious for a good 3 to 4 days when stored properly. To maintain their soft texture and rich flavor, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature. If you prefer, you can also store them in the refrigerator, which can extend their freshness slightly, though the texture might firm up a bit. A handy tip: if you plan to enjoy these cookies over several days and want to maximize their shelf life, consider leaving the glaze off until just before serving. Unglazed cookies can last up to a week in an airtight container, allowing you to glaze them fresh for a perfect presentation whenever needed.
Can I Freeze Frosted Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies?
Yes, Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies are excellent candidates for freezing, making them a fantastic make-ahead option for the busy holiday season! However, we highly recommend freezing them *before* applying the glaze. Freezing frosted cookies can be a bit more challenging; you’ll need to carefully layer them with parchment paper to prevent sticking and transfer of the icing. More importantly, when frosted cookies thaw, the icing can sometimes become watery, sticky, or “sweat,” which can negatively impact its appearance and texture, making them look less appetizing. For the best results, bake and cool the cookies completely, then freeze them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 2-3 months. When you’re ready to serve, simply thaw the cookies at room temperature and then prepare and drizzle on the fresh eggnog glaze. This method ensures your cookies look and taste their absolute best!
Can I Experiment with Flavored Eggnogs?
Absolutely! The world of eggnog has expanded far beyond the traditional, with many exciting flavored varieties available during the holiday season. You can find options like pumpkin spice, pecan pie, and even peppermint-flavored eggnogs. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to put a unique spin on these cookies, go right ahead and try them with your favorite flavored eggnog! The beauty of this recipe is its adaptability. Whatever your preferred eggnog flavor is, it will likely translate beautifully into a delicious and uniquely festive cookie. Just imagine the subtle notes of pumpkin or the refreshing hint of peppermint complementing the chewy oats and warm spices. It’s a wonderful way to personalize your holiday baking and impress your guests with a creative twist on a classic!
Explore More Fantastic Christmas Cookie Recipes!
If you’ve loved baking these Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies and are looking for more festive inspiration, you’re in luck! The holiday season is the perfect time to explore a variety of delicious cookie recipes. From classic cut-outs to unique flavor combinations, there’s a perfect cookie for every occasion and taste. Don’t forget to check out these other great Christmas cookie recipes to round out your holiday baking repertoire:
- CHRISTMAS JELLO SUGAR COOKIES
- CHRISTMAS LIGHTS CUT OUT COOKIES
- FROSTED EGGNOG COOKIES
- CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE BARS
- STACKED CHRISTMAS TREE COOKIES
- CHRISTMAS CUT OUT COOKIES
- CHRISTMAS SPRINKLE COOKIES
- BEST CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES
- CLASSIC CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE
- MINT CHRISTMAS COOKIES
- BEST GINGERBREAD CUT OUT COOKIES
In conclusion, these Eggnog Oatmeal Cookies truly capture the spirit of the holidays in every bite. With eggnog thoughtfully incorporated into both the soft, chewy cookie and its sweet, festive glaze, they are an undeniable crowd-pleaser. Whether you’re baking for family, friends, or a holiday party, these cookies are a perfect choice to bring warmth and cheer to any occasion. Enjoy the magic of holiday baking!