Eggnog Snickerdoodles #FoodieExtravaganza

I have recently mastered the perennial favorite: the Snickerdoodle. For a holiday version, I decided to top the cookies with an eggnog glaze for National Eggnog Month. I invited the rest of the Foodie Extravaganza crew to join me in celebrating this quintessential holiday libation.

LEARN THIS PROCESS! This recipe includes a process to create a powdered sugar glaze. Substitute in whatever liquid you like. I use 1 cup powdered sugar to 2 to 3 Tablespoons eggnog for this cookie, but I have used coffee to make coffee glaze for cinnamon rolls and citrus juice for glaze to drizzle over cardamom sugar cookies. BE CREATIVE...COOK FEARLESSLY!

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! As I said, we are honoring National Eggnog Month. Here's the delicious line-up...

• Eggnog Banana Cream Pie by Palatable Pastime

• Eggnog Crème Brûlée by Karen's Kitchen Stories

• Eggnog Oreo Ice Cream by The Spiffy Cookie

• Eggnog Snickerdoodles by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Eggnog Waffles by Sneha's Recipe

• Homemade Eggnog Americano Coffee Drink by Our Good Life

An Eggnog Tasting Recap

We love eggnog! And a few years ago, we lined up all the eggnogs we could find and judged them. We poured. We tasted. We ranked based on spice, viscosity, sweetness, and best overall. We discussed. We tasted again. And, before falling into a major sugar coma, we crowned a winner: Humboldt Creamery's Organic Egg Nog was at the top of our list.

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

And I will say that for being National Eggnog Month, I haven't had much luck finding eggnog in the stores, yet. But I was fortunate to find a carton of Clover which was Jake's favorite when spiked. To make these an 'eggnog' snickerdoodle, I added the typical eggnog spices into the dough and drizzled an eggnog icing on the top.

Ingredients

makes 2 dozen 3-inch cookies

COOKIES

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter (I use salted, but if you use unsalted add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the dough)

• 1 cup organic granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup organic brown sugar, lightly packed

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

• 2-3/4 cup flour

TOPPING

• 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

EGGNOG ICING AND FINISHING

• 1 cup organic powdered sugar

• 2 to 3 Tablespoons eggnog

• freshly ground nutmeg for sprinkling

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small mixing bowl, blend together the topping ingredients and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until lightened and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and spices.

Sift in the baking soda, cream of tartar, and flour. Use a wooden spoon to incorporate the dough into a ball.

Using a scoop, portion the dough into small balls. Roll the dough in the sugar-spice mixture and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 11 minutes, depending on your preference of doneness. The cookies with spread. The centers should be nicely raised and the edges crisp. The cookies will harden as they cool. While the cookies cool completely, make the eggnog icing.

Place powdered sugar in small mixing bowl. Whisk in eggnog - 1 Tablespoon at a time - until you get the consistency that you want. You want it liquid enough to drizzle, but not too runny that the stripes run together.

Use a microplane to grate nutmeg over the top of the cookies. Let the icing set before serving. Keep in an airtight container until ready to serve.