Eggnog Tea Cookies

Image from Eggnog.ws (a website about eggnog!)

I have one word for you: Eggnog. The delicious, creamy, incredibly bad-for-you but oh so delicious holiday drink - spiked or not - that everyone looks forward to. I even look forward to it, and I'm Jewish! :)

Here is a recipe that I found a while ago that is quite delicious. Though the recipe does not call for actual eggnog, the addition of nutmeg & rum makes them taste just like the favorite drink of the holidays.

Eggnog Tea Cookies

- For the Cookies -
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp grated or ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup grated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract

- For the Icing -
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
2 TBSP milk
1/4 tsp rum flavoring or light rum

Red & Green candied cherries for decoration (to make a holly type decoration - don't use maraschino - too squishy & wet!)

Stir flour, nutmeg, and salt together for the cookies in a bowl; set aside. (To use whole nutmeg, grate it on a spice grater, or scrape the surface using a paring knife. The entire nutmeg is usable and keeps indefinitely in an airtight jar.)

Cream 2 sticks butter and granulated sugar together in another bowl with a mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; beat until incorporated, then mix in the flour mixture just until blended. Cover and chill dough for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

Roll dough into scant 1 1/2-inch balls. (Use a TBSP measure.) Arrange on prepared baking sheets spacing 2 inches apart. Bake 10 minutes, or until firm to the touch and light brown on the edges. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Blend powdered sugar, 2 TBSP butter, milk, and rum flavoring together for icing, using a hand mixer. Frost cooled cookies, then decorate with candied cherries or ground nutmeg. Allow icing to harden before packaging cookies.