These might very well be the cutest Christmas cookies I've ever seen.
... and the adorable fat little faces.
It doesn't get any more festive or Christmasy than this. They're perfect for taking to a Christmas party if you need something fun, fast, and easy to make (unless, like me, you run out of both red M&Ms and chocolate-covered pretzels, but that's beside the point.).
I made these using just regular peanut butter cookies because I was having a craving only peanut butter could fix, but they would work just as well with sugar cookies... or even gingerbread!
Enjoy!
Reindeer Cookies
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate-covered mini pretzels
Mini brown M&Ms
Regular-sized red M&Ms
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Combine brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add egg; beat until just blended.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.
Form dough into 1-inch balls. To make reindeer-shaped cookies, pinch the bottom of the ball slightly to form a point, then gently flatten with your hand. Space cookies about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until set or just beginning to brown.
Remove from oven and immediately (and gently) press two mini pretzels into the tops of the cookies for the reindeer's antlers. Press two mini brown M&Ms in for the eyes and one red M&M for the nose (or any other color... some of mine ended up with green noses. They might be South Pole reindeer.).
Allow to cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack or paper towel to cool completely.
Makes about 40 reindeer cookies.
103 comments:
How very cute and creativE! I bet they are delicious too! :)
these are extremely adorable!
SO cute!
Ohh I want to make these!
These have got to be the cutest darn cookies I have seen this season...I just showed all my co-workers, its agreed! I bet they taste yummy too!
These are just too, too cute! Love 'em. So, the question is, what part would you eat first? I'm thinking like chocolate Easter bunnies, you have to start with the ears or in this case, the antlers.
SO cute!!! I love the little antlers!
So cute!! What a great idea! Can't wait to try this out!
Oh man those are really cute cookies! Thanks for the great idea!
Adorable! I'm definitely going to make this for xmas. I can't decide if I should also make truffles or peppermint biscotti, and suggestions?
This looks AMAZING! I'm going to make it for my vegetarian christmas dinner and either these truffles or peppermint biscotti, still undecided. preference?
http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/blogs/four-green-steps/holiday-menu-the-best-vegetarian-recipes-for-your-christmas-dinner
OK I've decided I am leaving work early to go home and make these cookies, thanks :-)
Also, I posted an award for you over on my blog :-)
So cute! I think I will make these with sugar cookies. :)
The pretzel antlers look so cute!
Thank you everyone! I'm glad you liked them. You made me laugh, Debbie. Leaving work early to bake. I approve.
Let me know how they turn out with sugar cookies too, Erika! I bet they'll be delicious.
And Alicia, my vote is for truffles... but that's just because I'm a chocaholic.
These are so cute! I'm gonna make them this weekend.
I make these with gingerbread dough every year, but I use a bell shaped cookie cutter turned upside down to create the reindeer shape. I love the idea of using chocolate pretzels!
So cute!
very cute! love the idea!!!
so cute! what a great idea! i teach kindergarten and that is the perfect craft to do with them for the holidays!
How cute are these! I bet they're pretty darn good too.. I wish I had time to make them this year... don't worry I've bookmarked it for next year though :)
These are adorable! I work in an after school program and I can't wait to make a batch of these for our little Christmas party! Thanks for the great idea! <3
I don't think a 1/2 inch ball of dough would work. I used 1.5 inch dough balls and it was still hard to fit the antlers on. Also, the antlers did not stay in the cookies. It might have worked if the cookies were huge. : (
Damn, these are cute!! It's really a good Idea to make these treats, that are easy to make, and probably taste as well as they look. I guess I could make these someday!
Greets
We tried making these and had a tough time getting the mini pretzels to stay up. Is there such a thing as a mini-mini pretzel? If so, where did you find them?
Jenn: That sounds like so much fun to make these with a kindergarten class! You'll have write up a post on it if you do it.
Candace: I've changed the recipe to 1-inch dough balls. I forgot that I made them a little bit bigger than the recipe initially called for, but even with the smaller dough balls, the antlers still stayed in. Thanks for pointing that out though!
Anonymous: The pretzels I used were Keebler's Right Bites fudge pretzels. They came in a box with six snack packs, with about 8 or 9 pretzels in each pack. They seemed a little smaller than plain mini pretzels (which is why I used them), but I understand what you mean about the antlers not staying up. Since there were only so many fudge pretzels in the box, some of my cookies had regular pretzels for antlers, and those didn't stay up at ALL. But it should work if you're using mini pretzels, if you push them in right when you take the cookies out of the oven. Hope that helps.
Am in them middle of making these right now. I'm on my last tray and am pretty happy with how they are turning out. Just had a few problems I wanted to give other readers a heads up on. First I could. not. find MINI chocolate covered pretzels - just the standard kind, which were a little bigger than what you used. They still work, but they're a little too large for the 1/2 inch balls so I had to make my cookies a little larger. Also I couldn't find mini brown M&Ms. I thought about using brown decorating gel but this only works if you aren't going to be stacking/transporting them. I'm leaving the ones I plan on taking to work plain, with just the antlers and the red noses. The biggest problem I had was with the chocolate on the pretzels melting and the pretzels not staying up. It was very difficult to get them to stick up the way you did. Mine are kind of laying down/angled up so that part of the pretzel is in the cookie and the other is resting on the cooling rack. You definitely cannot put the pretzels on while the cookie is still on the sheet. Anyway, I hope this helps some other readers out there. I love this recipe and the reindeer are adorable, so thank you and Merry Christmas!!!
Michelle: I hope they turn out! I'm sorry you seem to be having so much trouble.
I used mini brown M&Ms that came in a regular mini M&Ms bag. We had a bunch left over from decorating sugar cookies, but regular M&Ms would work too.
When I put the chocolate antlers on, I stuck them in at an angle & they stayed put, maybe because they're smaller, like you said. The chocolate at the base of the pretzel got a little glossy, but it didn't melt. I was worried too about putting the M&Ms on while the cookies were still so hot, but I didn't have any problems.
And yes, for the record: 1/2-inch balls was a typo! I forgot to edit the peanut butter cookie recipe I always use to show the adaptions for the reindeers. 1 inch or 1 1/2-inch dough balls works much better. I'm sorry, everyone!
Thank you for sharing all your advice, Michelle, & I'm sure it helped some other people out. Have a Merry Christmas!
These are the cutest cookies I've ever seen. I made some for a party I went to yesterday, and they didn't turn out as cute as yours, but they were a big success. Thanks!
http://misschessmanscakes.blogspot.com/
I found the mini chocolate pretzels at Target and the mini M&Ms at CVS (they come in a tube, in the aisle with all the Christmas candy.
I can't wait to make them this week :) I hope my antlers stay put! Thanks for the tips everyone. I bought the sugar cookie dough that is already pre-cut into squares. They look pretty chunky, so hopefully they are large enough. I'll post my results.
Just a couple more tips for anyone making these:
If you can't find mini M&Ms for the eyes, chocolate chips would work too!
Also, for people having problems with the pretzels, one of my friends actually used a frosting pen to make the pretzels & M&Ms stick to her cookies better.
Let us know how yours turn out!
I can't figure out why my cookie dough has so many cracks in it, and came out much flatter than yours. any suggestions? Thanks for the cute recipe!!
Were your cookies cracked when you took them out of the oven or did they crack when you pushed the candy in?
If they cracked when you took them out, maybe try making them a little bit bigger next time, with 1 inch or even 1 1/2-inch dough balls. That might help.
Did you flatten them with your hand after you shaped them into reindeer-face shapes? I only flattened them a little, til they were about a 1/4-inch thick, maybe a little more, just to ensure their shape. If you flattened them more than that, they might come out thin & cracked.
But if they cracked when you put the candy in, I think that's normal. A lot of my cookies had cracks around the M&Ms. Hope that helps some!
very cute :)
So, I tried this out, great recipe. I couldn't find mini pretzels so I used Thinsations pretzel rounds, and chocolate chips for eyes since they were also out of M&M's. Thanks!!!!
made these last night and they turned out great- at first i thought it might be a disaster as the cookies were so soft, the antlers seemed to be breaking them apart. but if you wait 30 seconds before adding the antlers, they stay in a little better. i also thought the chocolate melting helped them stay in better. also realized after the first batch that 1/2 inch balls could be right, as thee was no room to fit all the decorations on (wich i'd read the comments before making them!). thanks for the recipe!
(ooh, sorry for the typos above!)
My daughter is allergic to peanuts, is there any substitution that we could use for peanut butter? I hate leaving her out of all the deserts all the time!
Yes! I imagine these could be made with any cookie really, but a few people have mentioned making them with gingerbead or sugar cookie dough.
soooo cute! WE just finished making these and had the same problems as others. I used snyders mini choc. pretzels, so i think they were too big.
I think waiting a minute for the cookies to cool might help.
fyi-Hershey's makes a package of m&m special darks that only have black, maroon and reds, so it was perfect for the eyes and nose.
But if done right, these cookies are super cute and so much less time consuming and just as attention-getting as painted sugar cookies.
Thanks so much Bakergirl!!!! =0)
Great insights.I look forward to reading what you're planning on next, because your post is a nice read, you're writing with passion. Really, i am thankful for the new things and i have learned reading from your post also picked up some great ideas.Thanks a lot.
The reigndeers are sooo realistic!!! The ears are definately a cute touch!
I've been making these for at least 20 years. For a real quick fix you can use the ready to bake peanut butter cookies that come in a log. Just slice, pinch and add the embellishments. I've never used the chocolate covered pretzels, just regular mini pretzels. I'll have to try the chocolate ones. We always put everything on before baking which will cause the noses to crack and wouldn't work with the chocolate pretzels!
These are crazy cute!!!!
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These are SO adorable!
Gorgeous, I love these. Will definitely be making them for Christmas.
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Adorable! I take cookies to the christmas eve celebration I attend each year and have been looking for inspiration for this years cookies. I think these may be a winner! I'll have to do gingerbread though, we have a couple of people who're allergic to peanuts.
So cute, I'm going to have to try theses!
These are adorable. Plus, they look amazingly delicious. I can't wait to try them!
Wow, they look great! I will try to do them for my family! :)
On my list for baking with my grandchidren.Thanks so much, your site is awesome!
this are so cute! can i freeze them???
These are absolutely adorable! I'm going to make them for my son's preschool class as a special snack.
So cute! Have to search for the chocolate mini pretzels, then I can't wait to make them. Thanks for sharing so many lovely baked goods! I love your blog!
Hi! I am making these tonight, and since I didn't read any comments, I got regular "mini" pretzels, snyders, chocolate covered. I am making gingerbread cookies.
We used chocolate chips plopped in upside down for the eyes, and I bought some dark colored cookie icing for the nose and antlers to stay on. Waited until the cookie was cooled (went to the store while I waited) and now am having tremendous success getting them to stay. :)
I also am popping them right into the freezer as I complete each cookie. Works like a charm! I am bringing them to my high school homeroom students tomorrow and I am thrilled.
So adorable! I found these through Pinterest, you did an amazing job!!
I featured these on my blog today, feel free to stop by & check it out :)
http://artsyfartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/12/pinteresting-features-n-shtuff-12.html
I made these for a church Christmas party and they were a hit. Thanks for the idea!
Is anyone else having a problem with the dough being really runny and the cookies turning out really flat?
Enjoyed reading every one of your Reindeer Cookie comments just now :0)
To share another Christmas idea: take a look at www.ChristianCondos.net Fantastic gift for the holidays, or anytime for that matter!
just made these with my 4 yr old. Delicious. BUT I cheated and used a premix for the cookies.
I made these last week and they are super tasty and cute! My only problem is figuring out how to have the cookies rise correctly. I used the Pillsbury premade dough--just to give this a trial run before a cookie party. Maybe that's the issue? Mine rise round, no matter how I shape them? Do I need to have the reindeers faces be thick? Will that help it to rise up rather than out?
Hi there,
I found mini and Christmas M & M's at our "Bulk Barn". It's a store where you buy things in...well... bulk lol. You scoop/bag it yourself etc.
I searched my entire city for the mini MINI chocolate pretzels. The bulk barn had what they call "mini" but they're not small enough. Finally found small bags about the size of a personal size bag of chips hanging in the chips/snack aisle of the grocery store. Not sure if they're sold year round or just around Christmas. They're called "Snyder's of Hanover Pretzel Dips" made with Hershey's dark chocolate. http://www.snydersofhanover.com/Products/Cid/5/Prid/248/
Hi, these are a definate for Xmas :) Can I please ask what 'shortening' is? (ingredients)
Thanks
Karina from Australia
I made these one year...so cute! For people having trouble finding mini preztels.... maybe you can try using the 100 calorie pack chocolate pretzels, those are prettty small!
Oooh! My mother used to make me similar cookies when I was young and I have been looking for a recipe! The only difference is regular pretzels, and a little red-hot for the nose. I can't wait to try these!
I making these for a Chirstmas activity with friends tomorrow night. I purchased mini choc. chips to use for the eyes. Thanks for the cute idea and thanks to your readers for all of the tips!
Raimi
Just made some and they are so cute! I had to hand dip the antlers but it was so worth the extra work. I might have to try them with gingerbread dough for the Christmas Eve party...
I made them according to directions--the only thing I changed was to add the M&M's first, then the chocolate mini pretzels, and then take them off the baking sheet. So far, they've held up great.
I used the 100-calorie packages of chocolate covered pretzels--perfect size!
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I made these tonight with my husband--luckily didn't end up with any cyclops or hammerhead reindeer:) We couldn't find mini chocolate covered pretzels, so we cut full-size ones in half and then cut the ends to make and antler shape and stuck those in. These are the cutest little cookies--thanks for the idea!! Some of the pretzels didn't cut very well and made bear-like ears, so I'm thinking of a chocolate version of this cookie and making bears! Thanks again, fun stuff!!!
These are so cute, thanks for the idea! Just finished making them for my daughter's preschool. I used "Flipz" mini choc pretzels found in candy section at our grocery store (Safeway). They worked great!
I just made these for my son's preschool class so disappointed!!! They are breaking apart and the pretzels won't even stay on????
have to break the pretzels to keep them on.. otherwise so far so good... I like the idea of letting them cool first but I am making them tonight for cookie exchange tomorrow so don't have time.... got a late start.. ;)
I just made these with my 5 year old for my 3 year-old's preschool party and they are so cute and tasty too. I'm SO pleased!! They turned out great!
This looks delicious and cute! I would love if you shared this in my holiday dessert recipes Blog Hop. Enter it for a chance at a Wilton Pre-Baked Gingerbread Cookies Decorating Kit! http://www.recipelionblog.com/december-blog-hop-holiday-dessert-recipes-giveaway/
Sarah @ RecipeLion
Made these last night in a test run for next weeks cookie exchange. Thumbs up from the home front and the office gang! Used Wilton candy eyes and they really have personality!
Oh, and they are super yummy too!
Made these for a holiday party tonight! They taste amazing! I couldn't find mini pretzels so I bought regular and large chocolate dipped pretzels and broke them up! They look a lot more like antlers too! :)
Just made these cookies...thanks so much for the great idea!
Hi, I just made these cookies tonight for a party & they turned out great! I used my own PB cookie recipe b/c I don't like using shortening. Since I didn't wanna go all over Timbuktu lookin for mini pretzels, I bought regular sized chocolate covered ones from Walmart (Snyder's brand) & cut them in halves to make them smaller. I simply used a sharp knife to cut them down the middle so they would still be symmetrical. And I used mini chocolate chips for the eyes b/c I couldn't find mini M&Ms.
Someone above commented that her's turned out too flat... well before going in the oven, I flattened mine just a little, they were still maybe almost 1/2" thick. Also, I always bake my cookies with the oven rack on the 2nd to the lowest position & they never come out flat that way. (They used to always be flat before I started doing that trick.) I followed Bakergirl's advice to put the pretzels in right after taking the pan out of the oven & it totally worked. It makes the chocolate glisten a little from the heat, plus helps them sort of glue to the cookie. By the time I had all the "antlers" in, I stuck the M&Ms in, then the chocolate chips, & I had no problems with anything melting all over. Hope that helps any of you!! :)
These were easy peasy, so cute, & delicious! Thanks so much for the idea!
-S
We too were having problems with the pretzels sticking, but just broke them apart into pieces, which I think looked cuter anyway, more like antlers. ;-)
so cute! thanks for sharing!
i just finished making these but made them slightly larger- probably about an inch and a half sized ball- because of how large my pretzels were. I got about 23 cookies. (There would have been a few more if i hadn't eaten nauseating amounts of dough.) I didn't have a problem with the pretzels sticking; they seem to stay pretty well when they're put in at an angle rather than just pressing them straight down. And for the eyes I just used upside-down chocolate chips. These cookies are so cute, thanks for the recipe.
I am making these for santa they look adorable ps I can't wait to make them
I forgot to get peanut butter at the store! How do you think Nutella would taste instead?
the pretzels are melting D:
These are cute...but where do you get the pretzels?
These are cute...but where do you get the pretzels?
These are absolutely adorable! I can not wait to make them!!!
hmm, I have important question! I´m from Europe and we have different measurements. 1 cup = 250 ml or for every ingredients different? (e.g. for sugar brown 1 cup is 251 grams, for 1 cup shortening = 110 grams) thanks for quickly answer, I want to do this tommorow. Suzi
These are so cute! I made them today for my friends and they came out amazing!
I'm making these tonight for my son's school party tomorrow. I could only find white mini mine pretzels though, so we're going to have snow covered antlers on our reindeer. Redhots for nose, and choc chips for the eyes. Can't wait!
well, i just made mine... and they didnt turn out so great...:(
I just took 2 hours out of my life to make these and they turned out looking like dogs instead of reindeer :( the pretzels didn't stick on and i want to cry :(((((
Hi,
I just made these and they look just perfect. I think the Right Bites pretzels were the secret...They are much smaller than any other pretzel that I have seen. My four year old is so excited about them. Thanks so much!!
I saw the photo of these cookies on my tumblr blog, while browsing through pages, and i was glad to find the recipe when i googled it. I am making these tomorrow :)... couldnt find darn mini brown m&ms. oh well. big eyed reindeer.. it was funny, i went to this store with bulk bins of m&ms and im there, picking out all the brown and red ones lol.. :D cant wait!.. I also think my chocolate covered antlers will be big, but oh well :D
I'm glad everyone's been enjoying making these, except for the few people who had problems with the antlers not sticking. Definitely try to use the 100 calorie packs (Keebler Right Bites) chocolate pretzels if you can... I've found those stick way better than regular pretzels or even regular-sized chocolate pretzels. Has anyone tried making these with sugar cookie or gingerbread dough? Feel free to leave pictures on my Facebook page! I definitely want to see all your creations. Merry Christmas, everyone, and thank you for leaving all these helpful tips!
I just made them with green eyes cause I could only find red and green mini M&m's this time of year. I gave one reindeer a red nose for Rudolph. My daughter and I made a Santa with the remaining dough and food coloring. Now he can lead his reindeer around the world :)
I made these yesterday and they came out really cute! I couldn't find any mini chocolate covered pretzels, where did you find them? All of the stores were sold out of holiday M&M's so I just used a bag of the regular sized and separated them by color. I also had to make the balls a little larger and that way one regular sized chocolate pretzel fit on tip, at an angle. The dough is delicious!
I merely made them along with eco-friendly eyes lead to I can only discover red-colored along with green little M&m's this time around of the season. My spouse and i offered one reindeer the red nasal regarding Rudolph. My child i developed a Santa with all the remaining cash and food color. Currently he can guide his / her reindeer around the world
Love these! The little one will have a hoot making them...thanks for posting, m'deer (get it??!) ;)
These are adorable! I can't wait until next Christmas to make them with my grandkids.
These are adorable! I can't wait until next Christmas to make them with my grandkids.
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