Traditional snickerdoodles are delicious. The acidic cream of tartar in the dough gives the cookies a characteristic tang that offsets their cinnamon sugar sweetness; it also reacts with baking soda to make the cookies rise and then collapse during baking, giving them their crinkly appearance. We thought this classic cookie was open to reinterpretation, so we decided to make snickerdoodles infused with the flavor of everyone’s favorite holiday beverage: eggnog. Simply adding eggnog to the dough threw off the ratio of wet to dry ingredients, making the cookies spread too much and become cakey; not to mention, the flavor of the ’nog was not at all detectable in the finished cookie. Instead, we took the flavors that make eggnog what it is and isolated them, adding a shot of rum extract (straight rum didn’t carry a strong enough flavor) to the dough and substituting nutmeg for the customary cinnamon. We highly recommend enjoying these cookies alongside a chilled glass of eggnog. You can substitute rum for the rum extract, but the flavor won’t be as pronounced.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (12½ ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups (10½ ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoons rum extract
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in bowl.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and rum extract and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, slowly add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Working with 1 tablespoon dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Using bottom of greased dry measuring cup, press each ball to even ½-inch thickness.
- Bake cookies until edges are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Repeat with remaining dough. Let cookies cool completely.
- Whisk confectioners’ sugar and nutmeg together in small bowl. Dust cookies with confectioners’ sugar mixture before serving.