Now that I’m officially in the Christmas spirit, there’s no stopping the baking and carolling for the next four weeks. I’m a woman possessed, and I’m not even a little bit sorry about it.

Last week, while perusing the grocery store, I happened upon a sale that I just couldn’t resist: eggnog! It was as though Atlantic Superstore knew precisely what was in my heart, and I grabbed a litre to put in my basket faster than you can say Mistletoe.

Rarely will I sit down and drink a cup of eggnog – even with rum – but I do love, love, looooove its spicy, creamy taste. As I prepared to do some baking for the week, I thought of my eggnog sitting unopened in the fridge and considered having a glass with a freshly baked sugar cookie… and then I had a better thought: I’d bake the eggnog right into the cookie.

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. eggnog (I used Scotsburn low-fat)
• 3 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar (you can’t skip this – it makes the cookies fluffy!)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cloves, nutmeg or allspice

For rolling

• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter/margarine and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla and eggnog and mix until well combined. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt and spices.
3. Gradually add flour mixture to your wet ingredients, beating until mixed.
4. Roll cookie dough into balls by the tablespoonful, and then roll through your sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place one inch apart on a baking pan, covered in parchment paper.
5. Bake 12 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 350*C or until just barely browned. The cookies will be puffy and soft.

Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days, or wrap in a festive cookie tin for a beautiful gift… assuming you don’t eat them all first.