Christmas Cookie Martini Recipe

The holiday season is the best time to enjoy a dessert cocktail, and this festive Christmas cookie martini is the perfect mix of sweet, creamy, and boozy. This recipe uses four ingredients to recreate the flavor of freshly baked vanilla sugar cookies, but with a more adult flavor profile than similar recipes. Don't forget the sprinkles!

A grown up take on the sugar cookie martini

Unlike other sugar cookie martinis that are overly sweet or a bit one-note in the flavor department, this recipe is just a little more refined and spirit-forward.

A dessert drink should be sweet, but it should also be well balanced, and the flavors of the alcohol should enhance the drink, rather than need to be covered up. Creating a more grown up, nuanced flavor profile was my inspiration for this Christmas cookie martini, and the reason I selected each of the ingredients below.

Ingredients for the martini

You'll need a quality white rum, heavy cream, orgeat, and Shanky's Whip Black Irish Whiskey Liqueur. These ingredients will make the very best drink with layers of delicious cookie flavor!

White rum

Many sugar cookie martini recipes opt for vodka, but we want more, not less flavor here. White rum is adds flavors of vanilla and molasses that greatly enhance the baked good vibes.

Shanky's Whip Black Irish Whiskey Liqueur

I was first introduced to this unique liqueur last Christmas and it now has a permanent home in my home bar. The best way to describe the flavor of this liqueur is a blend of Irish whiskey, vanilla, and caramel, but it also has a pronounced creaminess that you wouldn't expect from a rich, dark liqueur.

Shanky's is 33% ABV, so it packs a much greater punch than other liqueurs with similar flavors. This liqueur gives the cocktail much of its overall sugar cookie flavor, with lovely, deep caramel notes that add a fresh-from-the-oven flavor that you won't get from other Sugar Cookie Martini recipes.

Orgeat

If you've been making cocktails for a while, you're probably familiar with orgeat. If not, orgeat is an almond-based syrup that is made from either whole almonds or almond milk and flavored with a hint of either orange blossom water or rose water. Orgeat gives cocktails a creamy, nutty flavor that is slightly floral. It adds tremendous richness to classics like the Mai Tai or the Army & Navy.

You can buy it in liquor stores or on Amazon, or make it yourself. I love this Quick and Easy Orgeat Recipe that uses almond milk!

Heavy cream

Heavy cream brings everything together here with a rich and creamy texture. The shaking of the heavy cream in the cocktail shaker thickens it slightly, giving the cocktail an almost fluffy consistency that makes it feel like a real treat.

Ingredients for the festive garnish

While the Christmas sprinkle rim is optional, it adds a lot of visual appeal and dresses the cocktail up for the occasion. If you'd rather not eat the frosting and sprinkle rim, simply rim only half of each glass. Another way to garnish this cocktail is with mini sugar cookies!

Red and green sprinkles

I found these very festive Christmas sprinkles and knew they'd be perfect for rimming this recipe. What I didn't expect was that they would be rather large and heavy, which meant that a lot of sprinkles fell off the rim while I was prepping the drink. Opt for smaller sprinkles to keep things from getting messy if your guests will be walking around with their Christmas cookie martinis!

Want the perfect cookie to pair with your martini? Make these delicious Christmas Sugar Cookies from Sally's Baking.

Vanilla frosting

Frosting is thick enough and sticky enough to keep even larger or heavier Christmas sprinkles on the rim. If using small sprinkles such as nonpareils or sparkly colored sugar crystals, you can use simple syrup, orgeat, or agave syrup instead of frosting, if you prefer. Vanilla frosting also lends the perfect sugar cookie aroma to the finished drink.

How to make the cocktail

To make the martini, first rim your cocktail glass (optional) and set it aside. I rimmed my glass by sliding a butter knife dipped in frosting along the outside rim of my glass, then dunking the rim into a small bowl filled with sprinkles.

If using a syrup instead of frosting, you can dip the rim of the glass into a small bowl of syrup first, then into the sprinkles. A small pastry brush can also be used to apply a thin coat of syrup to the outside of the rim.

Next, measure your ingredients and add then to a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and shake until chilled, about 12 seconds. Now strain the liquid into your rimmed cocktail glass.

For an even smoother drink, pour your drink from the cocktail shaker through a fine mesh strainer and into your martini glass. This will catch all the small ice shards that can ruin the texture of the drink.

Recipe substitutions

I specifically chose each ingredient here because it plays an important role in the flavor of the cocktail. However, you can substitute here and there with good results. Just keep in mind it won't be the same as the original!

Types of liquor

White rum gives the drink flavor, but you can substitute with vodka if that's your preference. Vanilla vodka is a popular choice, just be sure that it's a quality vodka to avoid a gross artificial taste.

If you want even more flavor, sub with a nice aged rum or an Irish whiskey. Dark colored spirits will make the drink more brown than white, but it's well worth the added flavors.

Liqueurs

There's really no replacement for Shanky's Whip here. The closest liqueur in terms of flavor would be Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur, but the two liqueurs are still lightyears apart.

Shanky's flavor is stronger and it's alcohol content is about twice that of Bailey's. Also, Irish Cream is meant to be a combination of chocolate and vanilla cream flavors, whereas we're going more for vanilla and caramel.

I've heard that Bailey's Salted Caramel is quite tasty, so that might be a good substitute if you can't find a bottle of Shanky's. If subbing with Bailey's, start with 2 ounces and adjust to taste.

Another alternative is amaretto. While it will give the drink a very different flavor, it's quite delicious too. Use a quality amaretto to avoid any unpleasant artificial flavors.

Note: This recipe is quite strong in terms of the flavors of the rum and the liqueur. If you prefer a less boozy-tasting drink, you can increase the amount of cream used by half to once ounce, or to taste.

Syrups

Orgeat is fairly easy to find in grocery stores these days, but it is also available at liquor stores and on Amazon. You can even make your own quite easily. If orgeat isn't an option, you can omit it entirely (since it's role is mostly flavor rather than adding sweetness) or you can replace it with rich simple syrup. I do not recommend substituting with honey or maple syrup, as they will change the flavor of the drink.

Creams

Heavy cream is the best choice here for texture, however, light cream or half and half can work. Even whole milk can be used, although the drink won't have the same richness or thickness. Vegan cream alternatives can be used if they're unsweetened.

If you have a sweet tooth, here are some more dessert drinks to try:

• Candy Cane Martini
• Brandy Alexander
• White Russian

How to batch for a holiday party

This recipe can be batched for a group by multiplying the recipe by the number of guests and adding all ingredients to a larger pitcher.

Add a half ounce of water (or milk, if you want it to be extra creamy) per serving to account for the dilution you get when shaking with ice. Cover and chill the pitcher of martinis in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Just before serving, use an immersion blender to combine the ingredients and fluff up the cream. No need to blend a long time, 10 seconds or less should be perfect. Serve immediately.

You may also enjoy these other Christmas cocktails:

• Christmas Margarita
• Cranberry Campari Spritz (Easy Christmas Cocktail)
• Cranberry Mimosas
• Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas) Rum Cocktail