Name: Eggnog-Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats; ¾ cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar; ½ cup all-purpose flour; ½ tsp. kosher salt; ½ tsp. baking soda; ¼ tsp. baking powder; ½ tsp. ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg; ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes; 1 large egg yolk; 1 large egg white; 1¼ cups powdered sugar; ½ tsp. vanilla bean paste; ⅛ tsp. kosher salt; A few splashes of eggnog; Ground nutmeg to sprinkle on top

Joy Wilson is unabashedly #TeamEggnog. So much so that when the pastry pro—better known online as Joy the Baker—spotted an early delivery of the creamy holiday elixir at her neighborhood grocery store this past October, she couldn’t walk away. “I had a small cup before bed,” she admits. “It just felt so indulgent and sort of naughty.”

Naturally, a woman who treats eggnog like a clandestine treat has a cookie to match. And this time they’re perfectly timed for the season: eggnog oatmeal cookies.

Wilson’s slice-and-bakes nod to another one of her sweet obsessions, Mother’s brand oatmeal cookies. “We didn’t keep a lot of cookies in my house growing up, but Mother’s were always tucked away in the back of the cupboard,” Wilson recalls. “And they were elite!” Her riff produces the same signature squish but with a twist; we’re talking about the nog, of course. With just a few drops, a simple icing goes from enjoyable to (forgive us) egg-ceptional.

And now residents of the greater Houston area have a chance to sample them from Joy the Baker herself as she unlocks the doors of her home for a monthly pop-up she’s calling Bakehouse Texas.

A portrait of a woman holding baked goods outside on a porch

“My friend calls it the holiday house because it’s so big, it just feels like it’s meant for holidays,” she says of her 1888-built Victorian in Bellville. “It has a garage and workshop in it, perfect for a weekend bakery.”

Wilson says that after years of hosting a cooking class in a double-shotgun house in New Orleans, the move to a big spread in Bellville felt like a natural next chapter. “So customers will walk in my backyard, there will be coffee and community, and you can just pick up your bakery box and hang out if you want—that’s the idea.”

Customers will also have the chance to pre-order boxes packed with four dreamy desserts. “Every month, there will always be a big bakery-style chocolate chip cookie and a kolache. Then two other items will change.”

As for the eggnog oatmeal cookies? There’s a good chance those cheeky bites of good cheer will be found in the Bakehouse Texas’s December box.

Eggnog-Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

For the cookie dough

- 1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¾ cup firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 large egg yolk

For the icing

- 1 large egg white
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla bean paste
- ⅛ tsp. kosher salt
- A few splashes of eggnog
- Ground nutmeg to sprinkle on top

Preparation

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, grind the oats to a flour. Add the brown sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and process briefly to blend. Toss in the butter cubes and process until the butter is well incorporated and the dough begins to clump and pull off the sides of the bowl. Add the egg yolk and pulse until the dough comes together with no dry pockets. You may want to carefully use a spatula to shimmy any dry patches from the corners of the bowl.
Line a work surface with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Turn out the dough onto the plastic wrap and form it into a log about 10 inches long and 1½ inches in diameter. Wrap the dough tightly. Chill the dough until firm, about 3 hours in the refrigerator.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a thin, sharp knife to slice the dough log into 2 dozen rounds, each just shy of ½-inch thick. Place the dough rounds on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden and firm on the edges with a bit of give in the centers, about 12 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely—they will feel soft but will crisp all the way through as they cool.
In a small bowl, combine the egg white, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix with an electric hand mixer until smooth and thick. You could also do this in a medium bowl by hand. Whip in 1 teaspoon of eggnog until smooth, adding a bit more as necessary. To frost the cookies, working 1 at a time, kiss the tops lightly to the surface of the icing. Don’t fully submerge the cookies to allow some golden cookie to show through the icing.
Let the excess icing drip off for a moment, and then set the iced cookie on a wire rack. Before the icing on the cookie sets, sprinkle with a pinch or two of ground nutmeg. If the icing in the bowl begins to firm while you’re dipping, loosen it with a few drops of water. Allow the icing to dry completely before serving, about 1 hour.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Kinsey Gidick is a freelance writer based in Central Virginia. She previously served as editor in chief of Charleston City Paper in Charleston, South Carolina, and has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Travel + Leisure, BBC, Atlas Obscura, and Anthony Bourdain’s Explore Parts Unknown, among others. When not writing, she spends her time traveling with her son and husband. Read her work at kinseygidick.com.

tags:

Eggnog-Iced Oatmeal Cookies

For the cookie dough

For the icing

Preparation

Related Stories:

Trending Stories: