25 Days of Cookies: Egg Nog Cookies

I love egg nog. Specifically, Hood Golden Egg Nog. It is the creamiest and the sweetest and the bestest egg nog in the world! But I have a problem. Apart from being one of the unhealthiest beverages in the world, I have a dairy allergy. Raw dairy it would seem. Egg nog makes me downright miserable within an hour.

While looking up recipes to try out for this cookie countdown, I came across a recipe for Egg Nog Cookies! Whaaaat? I was thrilled! Went right to the store today and bought the smallest container of golden egg nog I could. Thus, Cookie #11 was baked!

 They came together fairly quickly but I let the dough chill in the fridge for a little bit and in between batches. My first bite? Tasty...but they needed something extra. The flavor of the egg nog wasn't really coming through. My mom really likes them despite her dislike of the drink. Disappointed, I pondered on how I could save these so I could share them with all of you. And a quick fix presented itself!

A glaze! I really loves glazes on cookies. They provide a textural difference that some cookies desperately need. I decided to make an egg nog glaze, well more an icing really, for the tops of these cookies. It's exactly what these cookies needed to make that egg nog flavor pop!

Egg Nog Icing

The Taming of the Roux 

• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon brandy
• 1 tablespoon egg nog (Hood Golden if you live in the region where Hood is available)

Mix the ingredients until they are well combined. If it seems a little too stiff, add a little more egg nog, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. It should be smooth and viscous.

Spread on top of your cookies and give the icing time to harden. I decorated a few for the pictures I took but the rest of my cookies just have 1/4 teaspoon of icing spread on them. 

The Egg Nog cookie recipe can be found here on the NorthPole.com and I urge you to make the icing for the tops of them. It makes a huge and marvelous difference!