Here’s another new Christmas cookie recipe to try! These Butterscotch Eggnog Stars are a unique, pretty, and tasty cookie. Also, I’ve been wanting to try that ‘stained-glass’ effect where you put crushed hard candy in a hole in the cookie, then let it melt while it bakes.
As in the Peppermint Snowballs, you get to wallop the hard candies – butterscotch this time – and get some of that holiday stress out of your system. Don’t overfill the cookie holes, though, since the candy will melt and ultimately fill them in nicely.
I highly recommend going through your spices and throwing out those jars from 2010! It may seem like a waste, but the old spices really lose a lot of flavor and drag down your baking.
I bought new dried spices this year – nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger – and what a difference it makes in the flavor of the cookie! The nutmeg (Penzey’s East Indian nutmeg) really makes these soft little cookies taste like eggnog. Even if you don’t like eggnog, you’ll like that warm, cozy nutmeg flavor.
When you roll out the dough, be sure and generously flour the counter or marble, as well as your rolling pin and star cutters. The dough may stick a little to the surface, so use a light hand when rolling it out.
If you’re looking for a different, pretty, and tasty cookie for the holiday platters, these Butterscotch Eggnog Stars are a good one to go with. They’re a little time consuming because you really need to refrigerate the dough overnight, but it’s convenient that you can make the dough one day, then bake them when you’re ready.
Butterscotch Eggnog Stars
Delicious soft cookies with a crunchy candy center. Pretty for a holiday plate and very tasty!
Ingredients
- 2/3 C butter, softened
- 1 C sugar
- 1/4 C eggnog
- 1 egg
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 C crushed hard butterscotch candies
- Icing Drizzle:
- 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbsp eggnog
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar; beat in the eggnog and egg. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg - gradually add it to the creamed mixture. Divide the dough into 3 portions (it will be a little sticky) and wrap them in plastic wrap. Chill overnight (or put in freezer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, then transfer to the refrigerator).
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Generously flour your counter or marble and gently roll out one portion of the dough to about 1/4" thickness (keep remaining dough in refrigerator until needed). Use a 3 1/2" star cookie cutter and gently cut out as many stars as you can, re-rolling extra dough when needed.
- Transfer the stars to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or buttered aluminum foil). Use a 1 to 1 1/2" star cookie cutter to cut out the centers of each cookie. (I put the cut out little stars on the cookie sheet, too, and baked them along with the big ones - they're cute.)
- Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the crushed butterscotch candies into the star cutout area and gently spread to the fill the hole. Bake the cookies for 7 to 8 minutes until the candy is melted and the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes (so the melted candy will set a little). Transfer to wire rack to cool.
- Combine the powdered sugar and eggnog and whisk until smooth. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies and let sit to harden a bit. Store these cookies in a tightly sealed container.
Notes
The dough is sticky, so don't forego the refrigeration before baking. Use a gentle hand when rolling them out, and plenty of flour so the dough won't stick to your rolling surface.
Don't over bake. Just bake them until light brown around the edges.
For a variation, you could use regular milk in the dough, then use crushed peppermints for the candy center.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 121Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 74mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 0gSugar: 14gProtein: 1g
Nutrition Values are Approximate