Eggnog Thumprints

 I have been wanting to try this recipe for a long time!  It comes from a fantastic Holiday Sweets and Treats recipe book, a treasure that I found at a library book sale. These are such a delicious little pop of sweet goodness, rolled into a lovely tiny cookie! Don't let the name fool you, there is not actually eggnog in the recipe. These are tender, walnut-encrusted, nutmeg infused butter cookies, with a creamy, rum flavored filling!

Here it is, I hope you try them and I hope you love them!

Eggnog Thumbprints

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 slightly beaten egg whites (i added a bit of water to mine to make it go a longer way)

rum filling
ground nutmeg
finely chopped walnuts

1. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Mix in the flour. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

2. Shape dough into 1 inch balls, roll in egg whites, then in chopped walnuts to coat. Place balls one inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Press your thumb into the center of each ball to make an indentation. I try to find something round (like the end of my coffee brush) to do it, because my thumb never seems to do the right job!

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Pipe or spoon 1/2 teaspoon of rum filling into the center of each cooled cookie. The recipe calls for you to sprinkle nutmeg on the top, but I used cinnamon instead, because I like cinnamon better, and that's just how I roll!

Rum filling: in a small mixing bowl, beat 1/4 cup butter with an electric mixer, until softened. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in 1 teaspoon of rum extract, and 1-2 teaspoons of milk until you have the consistency that you like. I did add a bit of nutmeg to this mixture!

Enjoy! This makes about 40 cookies so it is a good size batch of goodness!