Sugar Cookie Martini

Deck the halls with a Sugar Cookie Martini in hand! Serve up this festive dessert martini cocktail for holiday parties, while decorating cookies or while simply sitting by the fire for some true holiday cheer.

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Cookie baking season is the best time of the year.

Seriously, I can’t wait to get out my rolling pin soon to make a batch of gingerbread cookies. Or maybe… I’ll make sugar cookie cutouts.

That’s the best part of the holiday baking season: You really cannot go wrong!

If you’re planning a baking day, you will need a festive cocktail to sip on. This is also true if you’re decorating the Christmas tree or making holiday crafts.

Enter the sprinkle-adorned sugar cookie martini!

Sugar Cookie Martini recipe

This Christmas martini might be my new favorite drink for the holiday season, let me tell you. Which is a coveted spot, currently held by the Yule Mule.

This sugar cookie cocktail is a creamy, Christmas cocktail that has “festive” written all over it.

With a combination of half-and-half, Irish cream, vanilla vodka, vanilla extract and amaretto, plus a festive garnish of an icing-and-sprinkles rim AND a sugar cookie to go with it, this festive martini tastes like a sugar cookie in liquid form.

All the better for sipping on during your holiday baking, cookie swaps and ugly sweater parties! With a rim of festive sprinkles, it’s a great way to feel festive AF at the holidays.

(And don’t forget to serve this drink alongside some festive cookie treats like snowflake sugar cookies and cookie dough fudge.)

Ingredients

There aren’t a lot of ingredients in these festive dessert cocktails, so let’s get into what they are so you can start working on your grocery list for your next holiday party.

Half-and-half, heavy cream or milk

The sugar cookie martini recipe calls for half-and-half, but you can use your favorite kind of milk, if you like. It really comes down to the texture.

I tried this with whole milk, half-and-half and heavy cream, but the half-and-half was the perfect texture for me: not too thick and not too thin.

But you may not have it on hand or would rather use milk or something else, and if so, use that — it will be delicious!

If you need to make a dairy-free version, use your favorite dairy-free milk or creamer, but know that you will need to find an alternative for the Irish cream. Speaking of which…

Irish cream liqueur

Irish cream is a sweet, creamy liqueur that packs a boozy punch. I adore it in everything from boozy whipped cream to Irish coffee jello shots. Sipping it on ice after dinner is another way I love to enjoy Baileys.

There are a number of Irish cream brands out there. Baileys is most common, but St. Brendan’s, Carolans and Kerrygold are others to try. (My local liquor store can’t seem to keep Baileys in stock right now!)

If you’d like to make this a dairy-free sugar cookie martini, use Baileys Almande, which is their almond milk version of their liqueur. You can also try your hand at making vegan Baileys.

Also I would like to take a moment to shout out my homemade Irish cream recipe, which is honestly SO GOOD. I love making this for my husband and myself at the holidays with Jameson.

You can also substitute white chocolate liqueur here. It will change the flavor a little, but it will give the cocktail more white chocolate flavor which is never a bad thing!

Vanilla vodka

You can use any vanilla vodka brand you like. I always recommend buying the best alcohol you can afford.

The one I used for this recipe is Absolut Vanilia. I don’t use vanilla vodka often, but it’s nice to have on hand on occasion. A good substitute would be cake-flavored vodka.

You can also mix it into White Russians or stir it into hot chocolate.

Amaretto

Amaretto is what gives the cocktail its almond cookie flavor. It is an almond-flavored liqueur that hails from Italy. It is sweet and a little bitter.

Its almond flavor is derived from apricot kernels, bitter almonds, peach stones or almonds, depending on the brand.

Disaronno is the most popular brand out there, but Amaretto Di Amore is another well-known brand.

Vanilla extract

I tried this cocktail a number of ways, and every time it felt like the almond flavor was too strong and it didn’t have enough vanilla flavor for me.

I added vanilla extract to call in a bit more of that sugar cookie dough flavor, and it was exactly what it needed.

You may use whatever vanilla extract you have on hand, but you may want to consider making your own vanilla or going for a higher quality brand like Nielsen-Massey. Trust me, it will level up your baking!

Garnish

For the rim of the cocktail, you will need sugar cookie frosting and sprinkles.

You can make or buy the frosting. I chose to make mine and I have my recipe below. It calls for powdered sugar, lemon juice and an egg white. Be sure to use pasteurized eggs.

For mine, I used red-and-green sprinkles, but you can use chocolate sprinkles, rainbow sprinkles, or whatever you have on hand! If you are feeling up to a challenge, you can even make homemade sprinkles.

You can also add a garnish of a real cookie!

How to make a Sugar Cookie Martini

Making this sugar cookie cocktail recipe is easy. The hardest part is making the Christmas cookies you will use as a garnish! (Storebought works fine though!)

If you’re making your cookies, you’ll want to do this step first. You can even bake the cookies a few days in advance. Sugar cookie dough can also be frozen in advance as well.

You can use store-bought cookie dough (be sure to follow the instructions on the packaging for making sugar cookie cutouts!) or you can use my recipe for sugar cookies with royal icing.

I used a small, 3-inch candy cane-shaped cookie cutter to make cookies that dangle on the glass so perfectly! You can make other shapes and cut a notch into them if you like.

When you’re ready to mix your drinks, you’ll want to start by rimming the glass.

Whip up some frosting, or use store-bought. Place it on a plate and dip the rim of your glass into the frosting. You can also use an offset spatula or butter knife to do this part. You want a thin layer of frosting.

If you don’t have or don’t want to make sugar cookie icing, you can use simple syrup, maple syrup, honey or agave nectar. Corn syrup would work in a pinch but would be very sweet.

Whatever you use, make sure you use a shallow plate of liquid so it doesn’t drip.

Then, pour some colored sprinkles onto a small plate.

Take the martini glasses and dip rims in the sprinkles until the icing is coated. Set them aside until you’ve rimmed all the glasses you need.

Now you’re ready to make cocktails! Put ice into a cocktail shaker, and top with all the liquid ingredients.

Cover it and give it a good shake. You want to invigorate the ingredients so that the cream becomes nice and thick, maybe even a little frothy.

Then pour it into a sprinkle-rimmed, prepared martini glass. Garnish with a cookie and enjoy!

Variations

There are a number of ways you can mix up these sweet cocktails to make them your own.

• Make it dairy-free. Use the dairy-free version of Baileys, called Baileys Almande, and your favorite ND milk.

• Make spiced sugar cookie martinis. Use cinnamon whiskey instead of vanilla vodka. Then use a cinnamon sugar rim instead of the candy sprinkles. It will taste like a snickerdoodle martini!

Sugar cookie martinis for a crowd

The printable Sugar Cookie Martini recipe below makes 2 cocktails, but you can easily multiply this festive Christmas cocktail for a group. Everyone will love sipping on a Christmas cookie martini!

Store it in a pitcher or even a milk carton in the fridge until you are ready to serve. (The carton can serve as a shaker, too!)

Prepare your glasses ahead of your party, and pour cocktails for guests as they arrive.

Use the following ratios to serve 8 people:

• 2 cups (32 ounces) half-and-half
• 1 cup Irish cream liqueur
• 1 cup vanilla vodka
• 1 cup amaretto
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

More Christmas cookie cocktail ideas

Cookie lovers might need some more holiday sips to enjoy this year. These delicious Christmas cocktails would be so fun if you are hosting a holiday happy hour. You could even offer a cookie & cocktail pairing party!

S’mores White Russians are a favorite around here, especially for cookie lovers. They have marshmallow vodka, chocolate syrup and graham cracker-infused cream.

I love these Gingerbread Mules which combine ginger beer, orange and absinthe and taste like real gingerbread.

Another thing that’s fun? Chocolate chip cookie shot glasses. Yes, they are actual shot glasses made out of chocolate chip cookies. Santa will love these. Like, a lot.

A peppermint white chocolate martini made with peppermint vodka is perfect for anyone who likes a minty cookie such as peppermint crinkles.

Lastly, anyone who loves sprinkles would love a funfetti martini.

Happy holidays, and do let me know if you end up trying this sugar cookie martini recipe! I’d love to hear how they go. Tag me on Instagram at @feastandwest, or leave a rating & comment below!