For Cakey And Chewy Cookies, Break Out The Eggnog

Eggnog is a staple of the holiday season, especially at adult parties where you're likely to see the rich, sweet drink spiked. However, if you're a huge eggnog fan who's looking to try something different, it shouldn't be too surprising that the egg and cream-based drink works wonders as an ingredient in cookies. In fact, adding eggnog to cookies can completely change the texture of the cookie, as well as its taste.

Eggnog is typically made from egg yolks, heavy cream, milk, and sugar, along with extras like vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sometimes, brandy or rum. All of these ingredients can be easily added to a standard cookie recipe, and some are already common add-ins, making egg nog the perfect cookie complement. You can use premade eggnog or whip it up yourself while you're making the cookies. The result is soft, less crunchy cookies with a texture that's closer to a cake.

As the name suggests, eggs are the primary ingredient in eggnog, and when making this holiday libation, you should lean toward using too many rather than too few. (Although you should still try for the right amount.) Whisk the egg yolks, making sure they're creamy before you add the other ingredients. Two egg yolks are standard for a batch that serves four to five people, which lines up with the number of servings in an average cookie batch, but some versions of the recipe call for a few more. Either store-bought or homemade eggnog works perfectly fine. Store-bought eggnog can simply be poured in with the cookie ingredients before baking, or you can toss all the eggnog and cookie ingredients together and beat the mixture before baking. 

When people who enjoy eggnog describe the flavor, they zero in on the vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The eggs and cream are more mild-tasting ingredients that fill out the background of the drink. This means you should put in some extra effort to make sure the vanilla is quality and the spices are proportioned to your preferences because these can significantly alter the taste.

As with eggnog, there's some variety in how you can prepare your eggnog cookies. Cinnamon and nutmeg are the most traditional ways to add more flavor. Both are nutty and sweet with a slight spiced kick. Some people add chai tea to eggnog cookies to recreate the cinnamon-heavy taste of chai eggnog. Anything chocolate also works perfectly, even chocolate cookies, but beware of making your cookies overly sweet, and think about what might work in a softer pastry-like a cake.

Don't worry too much about whether the eggnog is spiked or not. Since the cookies are baked, they are unlikely to be intoxicating, even if some alcohol remains in dessert bakes. Brandy is sweet enough to be a popular ingredient in cookies, although it's not a necessity.

Alternatively, you can make eggnog icing and drizzle it over regular sugar cookies. This will result in cookies with a less pronounced eggnog taste, but you'll have some control over the intensity of flavor based on how much icing you pipe onto your cookies.