Winterdoodles (Snickerdoodles With Eggnog Custard)

Thick, chewy cinnamon- and cardamom-spiced snickerdoodles are fashioned as a version of thumbprint cookies here — with an indentation for a dollop of rich, smooth eggnog custard that flows over the cookie as it bakes. These two-in-one cookies channel holiday spices, and meld custard and snickerdoodle into its own dessert. Kirsten Mossberg’s recipe for the cookie dough includes cream cheese for a delicate-but-sturdy texture and an added dimension of flavor. It’s an addition she gleaned from a footnote on a snickerdoodle recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. “It said, ‘You can add a quarter cup of cream cheese, but why mess with perfection?’ I did mess with it,” Mossberg says, “and I thought, ‘Oh, this is absolutely necessary.’” She says she prefers to use neufchâtel cheese for its lower fat content. And she notes that cream of tartar is what gives the cookies their pillowy softness.