Healthy Eggnog Sugar Cookies

 
After stumbling across a decent deal on artificial trees in my area, I made a spur of the moment decision to purchase one to give my new house a festive feel for the holidays. As much as I adore real Christmas trees, we have enough family members with fir allergies that I didn’t want to risk it!  

My parents and brother helped me set it up (my short height prevented me from reaching the tippy top!) and fluff out its branches to give it a fuller, more realistic look. After nestling tiny white twinkle lights all around its branches, we stood back and admired our work.

“Are you going to buy ornaments for it too?” my mom asked.

“I’m not sure… Maybe? I don’t want to get a bunch of ornaments just to fill up space… But if I find cute ones I like, then sure!” I replied, thinking out loud in the process. “I still think it looks really pretty without them though—thank you guys!”

My mom smiled back at me. “We didn’t put up any ornaments one year, only the lights, and we still liked our tree then, too.”

Two days later, an email from Target popped up in my inbox, offering a good deal on all Christmas décor. I clicked over to the website, intending only to look at their holiday wreaths, but…
 

 
I ended up browsing through their Christmas ornaments online, too. Within just a few minutes, I had found multiple sets of beautiful dainty glass balls, pinecones, sleigh bells, and icicles… All of which found their way into my online shopping cart.

I opted to pay online and pick up in the store, and I totally intended to return anything I didn’t like, including the somewhat iffy-looking wreath and tree skirt I threw in on a whim. Yet an hour later, once I picked up my purchase from the Target store and returned home, I laughed.

I absolutely loved everything! So the next day, with classic holiday music playing in the background, I fully trimmed my tree, from the glittering star topper down to the chic white tree skirt, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of decorating my first Christmas tree.
 

 
And these Healthy Eggnog Sugar Cookies were the perfect treat to nibble on while I worked! They’re soft and chewy with lots of sweet holiday flavor. That indulgent eggnog taste, along with warm nutmeg and cozy cinnamon… True perfection!

Yet these cookies contain no refined flour or added sugar, and they’re really easy to make! (No mixer required!) Even better, they’re just 22 calories!

Pure holiday cookie bliss!
 

 
So let’s go over how to make these healthy eggnog sugar cookies!

You’ll start with whole wheat pastry flour (like this!) and two spices, cinnamon and nutmeg. I can’t imagine enjoying eggnog without nutmeg—such a classic holiday treat!—and the cinnamon rounds out that warm and cozy spice flavor.

Whole wheat pastry flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They both have the same health benefits, but whole wheat pastry flour has a lighter taste and texture… Which lets the sweet flavor of these healthy eggnog sugar cookies truly shine!

Unlike traditional sugar cookie recipes with a full stick or two, you only need 2 tablespoons of butter in this healthy recipe. Yes, just 2 tablespoons! You’ll also melt the butter for two reasons: (a) melted butter creates softer and chewier cookies and (b) it’s much easier than remembering to set out butter in advance with enough time to let it properly soften.

I’m all about easy and healthy cookie recipes, especially during the holidays!
 

 
Then you’ll skip the eggs and mix in eggnog instead! I actually used this vegan almond milk “nog,” which contains no eggs yet tastes just like eggnog, because of my brother’s egg allergy. I wanted him to be able to eat these cookies too!

Just remember, you need to use room temperature eggnog. Don’t use pour it out straight from the fridge! If your eggnog is cold, it will immediately re-solidify the melted butter, causing the mixture to look curdled. Not good! So just set out your eggnog ahead of time, or pop it in the microwave for a bit if it’s the vegan kind, before adding it to your mixing bowl.

Hint: If you use that same almond milk nog, then your healthy eggnog sugar cookies can be vegan! (And just as delicious!)
 

 
You’ll actually use two extracts in these healthy eggnog sugar cookies! The first is vanilla extract, which is fairly predictable… But the second extract is my secret ingredient. Any guesses? If you’ve made my ultimate healthy sugar cookies before, then you may know what it is…

It’s butter extract! Butter extract adds that same rich buttery flavor to your healthy eggnog sugar cookies that extra butter would—but for a fraction of the calories! It’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages, just like vanilla extract. You can typically find it on the baking aisle right near the vanilla extract. I promise it’s worth buying to make these healthy eggnog sugar cookies!

And of course, you’ll need to sweeten your cookies with something… But that’s where things get a bit tricky—and a bit nerdy!
 

 
Nerd Alert! In order to give your healthy eggnog sugar cookies a strong eggnog flavor, you’ll use 6 tablespoons of eggnog. However, that adds a lot of liquid to your cookie dough… Which means if you added “regular” sweeteners (like coconut sugar, maple syrup, or honey), that would add way too much liquid to your cookie dough. Your cookies would have a bready or muffin-like consistency, and you wouldn’t be able to roll out the dough or cut it into shapes!

So instead, you’ll use a combination of liquid stevia (this one!) and erythritol (like this!). Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly!). It’s also highly concentrated, so you just need 1 ½ teaspoons.

That really helps with these healthy eggnog sugar cookies! The liquid stevia adds the equivalent of nearly ¾ cup of granulated sugar, but it barely adds any liquid to the cookie dough. Hooray!

Hint: This is the liquid steiva I use because I love its flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. I buy mine online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)

However, the liquid stevia doesn’t add quite enough sweetness, at least for my taste, so that’s where the granulated erythritol comes in! When you add it to your cookie dough, it doesn’t create nearly as much “liquid volume” as regular granulated sugar, which means your healthy eggnog sugar cookies still turn out with (a) the perfect sweetness level and (b) the perfect soft and chewy texture {not bready or muffin-like}!

Kind of nerdy… But totally worth it!
 

 
After chilling your cookie dough, it’s time to roll it out. I use a special trick for rolling out the healthy eggnog sugar cookie dough…

I leave the cookie dough in between large sheets of plastic wrap, which means I don’t have to flour my work surface or my rolling pin—and it makes clean-up a breeze! Such a nifty trick, right?

Time to cut out the shapes! I used the smallest star cookie cutter in this set. Remember to pull away the unused dough from your cookie dough cut-outs, instead of the other way around. By pulling away the unused dough first, your cut-out shapes easily peel away and maintain their perfect shape. (Instead of turning out stretched or lopsided!)

Then pop your healthy eggnog sugar cookies in the oven, set a timer, and…
 

 
Enjoy your festive holiday cookies! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your healthy eggnog sugar cookies!

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Healthier Eggnog Snickerdoodles
♡  Healthy Eggnog Pound Cake
♡  Healthy Eggnog Scones
♡  Healthier Eggnog Fudge
♡  Healthier Baked Eggnog Donut Holes
♡  Healthier Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls