Description
These festive reindeer cookies are a perfect treat for the holiday season, complete with chocolate pretzel antlers and M&M noses!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup shortening (Crisco)
- 1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- chocolate covered pretzel twists (for the antlers)
- M&M chocolate candy (for the noses, I like to use the red ones)
- chocolate chips (for the eyes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Spray baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray or cover with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour with 3/4 teaspoon baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a fork, stir well. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, combine 1/2 cup shortening (Crisco), 1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed, 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, 3 Tablespoons milk, and 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract. Beat at medium speed until smooth and well-blended.
- Add in 1 large egg and mix well.
- Slowly begin adding the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Only add a little at a time as you mix it to make sure flour doesn’t fly everywhere. Don’t overmix, just stir until combined (or you’ll get tough cookies).
- Form dough into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. I find this easiest with a spring-loaded cookie scoop. NOTE: Don’t bake too many at a time so you can easily add the antlers, etc. without them cooling too quickly.
- Then, to make the reindeer face, pinch the bottom half of the cookie with your fingers.
- Then smush each one down gently with your hand.
- Bake cookies (one sheet at a time) on the middle rack for about 8 minutes.
- While the cookies are baking, start getting all your embellishments organized. As soon as the cookies come out, you are going to be working kinda fast.
- Once cookies are finished, while still warm, start adding the noses (using the red M&M’s). Then add the chocolate chip eyes fairly close to the nose. Just make sure you put them in pointy side up.
- Now add the antlers using the chocolate covered pretzel twists. This part can be a bit tricky because those antlers are heavy. So it’s important that you don’t put them too far to the edge of the cookie. They need to be solidly on the cookie, near the eyes, and gently apply a bit of pressure for a few seconds to make sure they stay in place.
- Allow cookies to finish cooling. Finish with the remaining cookies.
Notes
- Be careful not to overmix the dough to avoid tough cookies.
- Using a spring-loaded scoop makes forming the dough balls easier and more uniform.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 100mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 10mg