Eggnog Thumbprints

Cookie #1 from this year’s Christmas cookie tray. What can I say? These cookies are the bomb (that’s right kids, Mom just said “the bomb”, deal with it). Always one of the first to disappear from my Christmas cookie tray. Festive, sweet, and a bit boozy; always a good thing at this time of year. I stumbled across this one on Allrecipes four years ago and we look forward to them every Christmas.

The icing is what really puts these cookies over the top. I highly recommend using Captain Morgan Spiced Rum but any rum you’ve got on hand will do the trick. Don’t let this nearly empty bottle lead you to believe that we are sloshing the Captain Morgan every night. I’m not a fan of drinks made with rum in general but have it on hand for certain of our friends who love the stuff (you know who you are). It’s also excellent for baking as I’ve found with this recipe.

Once you’ve made your cookie dough you’ll form 1″ balls and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. I’m a big fan of parchment paper but if you don’t have it just place them directly on to ungreased baking sheets.

Make an indentation in the center of each cookie with your thumb or index finger. I use my thumb cause we like a whole lotta icing on each one. Did I mention the icing is amazing?

I use a disposable pastry bag to pipe the icing on to the cookies. Any old way will work. You can put the icing in regular plastic sandwich bag and snip the bottom corner to use as a homemade pastry bag or just spoon it right on.

A final dusting with some nutmeg to finish them off.

They have Christmas written all over them.

Stay tuned for the remaining cookies pictured above.  Happy Holidays!

Eggnog Thumbprints

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon rum (Captain Morgan Spiced Rum works well)
• Ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together 3/4 cup butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; beat into the creamed mixture just till slightly combined. Finish by mixing with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place balls 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined or ungreased cookie sheets. Make an indention in the center of each cookie using your thumb or index finger.

Bake for 12 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, and rum. Pipe icing on to cookies. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Let stand until set before storing in an airtight container.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com