Eggnog Cookies with Browned Butter Icing

My Day So Far: Playdate with daughter, totally random errands (buying toothpaste and balloons?!), mother/daughter grilled cheese lunch.

Naptime Goals: Bake Eggnog Cookies for Ashley's housewarming, finish online Christmas shopping, Ironing (least favorite chore). 
Tonight's Meal: Leftover Eggplant and Prosciutto Lasagna.

Parenting Lesson of the Day: Do pick up balloons for your friend's party; don't take your two year-old with you unless you expect to buy her balloons, too.

*Note: I am thrilled to submit this cookie recipe to the 12 Days of Sharing event taking place at In Jennie's Kitchen. Jennifer Perillo and her co-hosts are doing a fantastic job using this event to help end hunger, a cause that is especially relevant during the holiday season. I hope you'll use the donation button to the right of this post to make a donation to Share our Strength this holiday season.

We are all crazed during the holiday season, myself included. As you can see from the list above, my goals these days are ambitious, but no less so than anyone else I know. Everyone seems to be running to and fro, purchasing gifts, rushing to performances and prepping for holiday parties. I find that day to day parenting is a lot of work and adding a major holiday season on top of these duties is enough to send anyone over the edge. To keep myself from crossing to the other side I do my best to plan my days carefully to keep them manageable and reasonable, and to enjoy myself while I get things done. To kick off the celebrations this weekend we are going to our friend's Ashley and Kevin's housewarming party at their new home in Westchester, and I am bringing eggnog cookies.

I love baking just as much as I love cooking (as if you couldn't tell that already!). Over the past year, while the my daughter has graduated from crawling to walking to running full stop, I've figured out that if I want a hassle-free baking experience the best time to do it is while she naps, or is out on a weekend activity with her father. Additionally, since I have other things to do while I have free time, like laundry, present wrapping, etc, it is best for me to have dinner already planned so as not to overload myself with too much to do in one two-hour stretch. On this occasion I had my Eggplant and Prosciutto Lasagna in the fridge from the previous night, so all I needed to concentrate on was my eggnog cookies and other chores.

This recipe was given to me by my friend Susan who ripped it off of the back of an eggnog carton a few Christmases ago. Over time I've adapted it, adding spices and a little boozy flavor, and changed the topping from an eggnog to a browned butter icing. I prefer the browned butter icing since it has a sweet nutty flavor that works well with the eggnog in the cookies and adds a complexity to the dough rather than icing in the original recipe. Unlike a lot of Christmas cookies these have more shortbread taste, dense and buttery with a hint of spice, they are cakey and less sweet then many more conventional holiday treats.

Since these are so easy to make squeezing cooking baking in along with the rest of my naptime to-do list was not a problem. While they baked I was able to catch up on laundry, and then I iced them after I'd finished my online Christmas shopping. I know Ashley is going to love these when I take them to her house this weekend, and thank goodness I doubled the recipe, because my family loves these, too.

Eggnog Cookies with Browned Butter Icing

1 c. unsalted butter, softened

1 c. granulated sugar

1 egg

1 c. non-alcoholic eggnog (not low-fat!)
1 t. rum extract

3 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. Kosher salt

1/2 t. nutmeg

1 t. cinnamon

For Icing:

adapted from Martha Stewart Cookies

5 T. unsalted butter
2 c. powered sugar

1/8 c. evaporated milk

1 t. good quality vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line cookie sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.

2. In an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and eggnog, mix until smooth. Then add the rum extract. Mix to incorporate.

3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

4. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls on the cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie begin to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool.

5. To make Icing: Sift confectioners' sugar in a bowl. In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter and allow to cook until it turns a golden brown and has a nutty flavor. About 3 minutes. Swirl butter occasionally during cooking. Remove from heat and immediately add to confectioners sugar, bringing in any browned buts from the pan. Add evaporated milk and vanilla, stir until smooth. Allow to cool and ice the cookies.

Naptime Notes:

Recipe Props: For eggnog lovers this is the ultimate cookie. Cakey, buttery and not to sweet, these cookies are the perfect treat for the holidays or to add to any cookie plate.

Peparation Notes: If you don't have time to bake these immediately, simply wrap the dough and put in the fridge. It will stay just fine. Also, if you need to wait to ice the cookies, place them in an airtight container and they can be iced up to 12 hours after being baked without loosing any flavor.

Stopwatch: Making this dough takes about 15 minutes, and the icing another 5 minutes.

Reviews: Even my daughter liked their slightly boozy flavor!

Eggnog Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust & Pomegranate Glaze

It is easy for me to go overboard when consuming holiday desserts. I find it impossible to resist the tray after tray of sugary cookies and chocolate bark candy that are found at my every turn this time of year. After all, these treats only come around once every 11 months, which, in my mind, practically makes it a requirement to sample everything within arms length during this brief period. (I wonder, does eating Christmas cookies in December count as eating seasonally?) For those of you with more self control than I, here is a holiday dessert that is worth every calorie: Eggnog Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust and Pomegranate Glaze. If you have to pick and choose the sweets you eat this holiday season, do yourself a favor and enjoy a slice of this. I promise, this cake is so good it is definitely worth passing up all of the peppermint bark, snickerdoodles, chocolate crackles and peanut butter blossoms in sight.

In our household I am clearly the one with the crazy sweet tooth. My husband and daughter both like treats now and then, but my daily routine requires at least two items of chocolate before 5pm, as well as a sweet dessert post-dinner. It is a good thing I live in New York, one of the few cities where you exercise without even knowing it. In fact on most days our car sits, neglected, in a garage 20 blocks away while the pedometer attached to the stroller (yes, they exist) calculates that I walk at least 3-4 miles. Rain or shine. It is a wonderful solution to enjoying holiday desserts - my mini-walking mararthons - the only problem is that I end up browsing boutique windows and food shops while en route.

Last week when we were trotting down Broadway at our usual brisk clip I noticed one of my favorite boutiques had set up a little display of Christmas packages in their window. Christmas?! Already?! How did it sneak up so soon!! It took me a minute to accept that the holiday season is truly upon us, but once I did, I got kind of excited. It is time for all of the fun holiday shopping, decorating, socializing, and, of course, cooking.

As I not-so-subtley noted above, there are several (hundred) Christmas desserts in my repertoire that I will be sharing with you, and today I am going to start off with a bang. I love making this cheesecake because it is terrifically simple and utterly delicious. When I made my first of many for the season last week I had no problem baking it during my daughter's afternoon naptime. In fact, the timing worked beautifully because it was able to cool fully prior to the addition of the glaze.

The best part about this cheesecake is that it tastes like the best version of eggnog you have ever had. Sweet, spicy and just a little boozy, it is a truly decadent adult treat. When I adapted this recipe long ago I added a gingersnap crust to balance the cakes smooth, creamy texture with a subtle crunch. The pomegranate glaze, inspired by a strawberry syrup I had once been served over cheesecake, gives the eggnog flavor a shot of sweet fruit, almost like a garnish.

I'll admit, I made this last week for us to enjoy all by ourselves. My husband adores cheesecake and I, feeling so incredibly inspired by the window display, couldn't help but get excited for the holiday season. It is more common that I take it to friends or add to our holiday buffet, guests are always wowed by the way the pomegranate seeds sit on top of the cake like little shiny rubies. I know I'll be making this again shortly, I already promised my friend Ashley I would bring it to her open house in a few weeks. Until then I plan to start dipping into the rest of my Christmas repertoire. But, for more on that, you'll have to wait until next week. 

Eggnog Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust and Pomegranate Glaze

loosely adapted from the Mystic Seaport All Seasons Cookbook by Mystic Seaport Museum

For the Crust:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 3/4 c. gingersnap cookie crumbs

3 T. brown sugar

For the Cake:

32 oz. whipped cream cheese, softened

16 oz. sour cream (full-fat), stirred

1 stick (8 T.) unsalted butter

5 eggs

2 T. cornstarch

1 1/4 c. sugar
2 1/2 T. Dark rum

2 T. Cognac

1 t. nutmeg

For Glaze:

1/2 c. sugar

1 T. cornstarch

3/4 c. pomegranate seeds

1/2 c. POM Wonderful (or any other brand pomegranate juice)

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan.

2. For the Crust: Prepare the crust by melting the butter and combining it with the gingersnap crumbs and brown sugar in a large bowl. Make sure all of the ingredients are moistened evenly. Press them into the bottom of a springform pan and bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is nicely toasted. Set aside to cool.

3. For the Cheesecake: In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend cream cheese, butter and sour cream together until completely smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Next, add cornstarch, sugar, vanilla, rum, cognac and nutmeg. Beat on high speed until well blended. With the mixer on low, beat in eggs one at a time, making sure the mixture is very smooth after each addition.

4. Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the cooled gingersnap crust. Then, wrap the pan very tightly with aluminum foil so that it can be placed in a hot water bath. (You are not going for looks here - wrap the aluminum foil as tightly as possible - you don't want the batter ruined by water seeping in!!) Then, fill a deep baking or roasting pan with water until it is at least halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake cheesecake for 60-70 minutes. Or, until it is set and the top is light brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

5. For the Glaze: Add sugar, cornstarch, pomegranate seeds and pomegranate juice to a small saucepan. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half and starts to get syrupy. Allow to cool to room temperature before drizzling over cool cheesecake to serve.

Naptime Notes:

Naptime Recipe Props: This is a decadent treat that is formal enough to serve at almost any occasion. If you want to play with the flavors you could try adding a cranberry or blueberry glaze, or do a graham cracker crust instead.

Naptime Stopwatch: The batter took about 15 minutes to make, and the pomegranate glaze another 10 minutes. It is important to prepare the crust before everything else, it needs to cool before the batter is poured on top.

Naptime Notes: My daughter wasn't excited about the pomegranate glaze but loved the cheesecake. My husband? Well, he could have polished off the whole thing if I'd allowed him. This is a great dessert for parties, too. It looks splendid on a buffet table.