Name: eggnog cookie bars recipe
Prep time: 3 h 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 3 h 55 min
Cuisine: holiday
Ingredients: ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 egg, at room temperature; ⅔ cup eggnog, at room temperature; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour; ½ teaspoon baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature; 2 cups powdered sugar; ¼ cup eggnog, at room temperature; 1 teaspoon vanilla; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; Pinch salt; Festive sprinkles; Crushed candy cane; Ground nutmeg

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the dough:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
2/3 cup eggnog, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup eggnog, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch salt

For topping:

Festive sprinkles
Crushed candy cane
Ground nutmeg

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350℉. In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld electric mixer to beat 1 stick of room temperature butter with the granulated sugar until fluffy and well combined.
Add the egg, ⅔ cup of eggnog, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla and continue beating until smooth and creamy.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and ½ teaspoons each salt, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg.
Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture and fold the two together until the dough comes together. Do your best to get all of the flour that tracks up the sides of the bowl incorporated into the dough, as the flour is what gives your cookie bars their sturdy structure which will be important when it comes time to move and frost your cookie slab after baking
Transfer your eggnog cookie dough into a quarter sheet pan (also known as a 9x13 baking sheet) or other shallow baking dish lined with parchment. Leave a bit of parchment paper overhang to help you lift the cookie bars out once they’re baked.
Smush and smooth the cookie dough out into the pan, aiming for an even layer all the way across. Make sure to get dough into all of the corners; this will give you nice square edges that don’t need much trimming later.
This step is optional, but I usually sprinkle a little crushed candy cane over the dough before the bake, giving the eggnog cookie bars an extra layer of crunchy texture and really letting that Christmas candy cane flavor bake right in.
Transfer to the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until fully set in the center and lightly golden around the edges.
Remove your cookie slab from the baking sheet and let it cool completely. This is a great time to break if you are making these ahead! After it cools, just wrap the slab in plastic and store at room temperature until tomorrow.
When you’re ready to frost and decorate, combine 1 stick of room temperature butter with the powdered sugar and ¼ cup of eggnog.
Beat with an electric mixer until smooth, then add your vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
Beat again until smooth and creamy and thoroughly impossible to resist dipping your finger into!
Plop your eggnog frosting onto your cookie slab, then spread and smooth it into an even layer.
Slice the slab into cookie bars! I like to make them into baton shapes like this, which will yield about 20 cookies, but you could definitely make yours square or rectangular or even use cookie cutters if you like. Trim the edges if you like; this will give them that distinctively cookie bar square edge!
Decorate your eggnog cookie bars as desired. I went with more crushed candy canes and some shimmery gold sprinkles for a festive look. Serve and Enjoy!