12 Cookies of Christmas - Egg Nog Thumbprints

I absolutely love egg nog. Who doesn't? Well, actually, I know a few people who don't. Since I can't imbibe in the nog in the tradition I'd like to this year, I've found a new way to enjoy it. This was a recipe that I completely made up on the fly.



I am not a huge fan of baking mixes. They usually taste chemically to me. My lovely sister-in-law, Cyndi, uses boxed cake mix and replaces the oil with butter, the water with milk and adds a carton of sour cream and her cake is awesome, but that usually as far as I go. At Trader Joe's however, they have some really awesome mixes. I recommend the truffle brownie mix and the vanilla cake mix. Also, the pumpkin pancake mix. I digress. I had never seen the sugar cookie mix, and I think it might just be out for Christmas, so I picked up 2 boxes.


I wanted to make thumbprint cookies, but I wanted to give them a better holiday flair, so I added a teaspoon of rum extract and a pinch of nutmeg.

The directions on the box tell you to chill the dough, then roll it out and cut it into shapes. I immediately used a cookie dough scoop to roll them into balls. Please ignore all of the stains on my pizza stone.

Immediatly after pulling out of the oven, smush a little well into the center of each cookie. This won't work after they've cooled down.
The sugar cookie mix from Trader Joe's came with frosting and colored sugars, but normally I would use a royal icing.

So here it is, Egg Nog Thumbprints! If you try them, let me know!
1 package of sugar cookie mix
1 t. rum extract
1/4 t. (or so) of nutmeg

- mix cookies according to directions and add extras.
- roll cookies into balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- bake according to directions
- smush with a spoon to make a little well in the center. A table spoon works well for this.
- cool completely and fill wells with icing.