Sleigh the holiday season with these festive Christmas reindeer cookies! Soft, moist, and brimming with peanut butter goodness, they’re a must-have on every dessert table. This recipe is a worthy addition to your holiday spread, and both kids and adults will love it!
Sweet treats are the one thing every holiday meal should have. They’re perfect for wrapping up Christmas dinner on a delicious note. And when those desserts are as adorable as they are tasty, they make the occasion much more magical!
That’s why these Christmas reindeer cookies are a huge hit with my kids! With their iconic red noses and pretzel antlers, they’re almost too cute to eat. But once you take that first bite, it’s impossible to stop!
Go ahead and make your holiday spread or charcuterie board more whimsical with these cookies. They’re sure to add a festive charm to all your Christmas parties – and maybe even become a new family favorite!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients Needed For Holiday Reindeer Cookies
- 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy) or your choice of nut butter
- 1 cup Biscoff cookie butter (smooth or crunchy)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 8-10 pretzels, cut in half
- 48 mini chocolate chips
- 24 red M&Ms
Step-by-Step Instructions With Pictures
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a parchment paper.
2. Place the Biscoff cookie butter, peanut butter, pinch of salt, sugar, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
3. Use a mixer at a medium speed setting to stir the ingredients until they’re well combined and smooth.
4. With a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon scoop out portions of the dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each.
5. Gently flatten each scooped dough with the back of the spoon or your fingers.
6. Take the halved pretzels and gently press each one into the top sides of each cookie to make them look like reindeer antlers.
7. Place the reindeer cookies in the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to ensure the cookies do not overbake. They should still be soft when removed from the oven.
8. While the cookies are still warm, press a red M&M into the center to create the reindeer nose.
9. Add two mini chocolate chips above the red nose to create the eyes.
10. Allow the Christmas reindeer cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Once cooled, serve them and enjoy!
Secrets to Perfect Christmas Cookies with Pretzel Reindeer
- Scoop Them Up: Using a cookie scoop is important to ensure that your peanut butter cookies are all the same size, which will help them bake more evenly.
- Hold Them In Place: Use peanut butter to secure the reindeer’s eyes, nose, and antlers if needed.
- Refrigerate Them Dough: If the cookie dough is too soft, refrigerate it for about 30 minutes. This can help the cookies hold their shape and make handling them easier.
- Keep An Eye Out: Don’t overbake the cookies, as they may come out hard and dry. You want them lightly browned all over but still soft to the touch.
Festive Reindeer Cookies Serving Ideas
Looking to make your peanut butter reindeer cookies even more magical? Try these suggestions:
- Got Milk? Serve these Christmas reindeer cookies with a glass of milk (or various alternatives) for dipping.
- Serve Them Charcuterie-Style: Include these cookies in your Christmas charcuterie board alongside other cookies, desserts, fruits, or chocolates.
- Festive Dessert Box: If you are gifting, place several cookies in a box or tin and add other holiday sweets.
- Reindeer Toppers: Make smaller-sized cookies with mini pretzel antlers, then serve them as chocolate cupcake toppers.
Easy Reindeer Cookies Recipe Variations
Want to make these sweet treats different from the rest? Here are some ways to do it:
- Make Some Swaps: If you are serving guests with dietary restrictions, consider making ingredient swaps such as using gluten-free cookie butter alternatives, gluten-free pretzels, flax eggs, etc.
- Touch of Cocoa: Add cocoa powder to the cookie dough for chocolatey goodness. Alternatively, spread some melted chocolate on the cookies before adding the nose and eyes, or use chocolate-covered pretzels.
- Sweet and Spiced: Add a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or cloves to the cookies. For each flavor variation, use differently-colored M&Ms or candy eyes.
- Make It Chewy: Add some rolled oats to give the cookies a hearty texture.
- Shape Them Up: Use holiday-themed cookie cutters (like Christmas Trees, reindeer, or stars) to give the cookies a more festive shape.
Storage
Keep any leftover Christmas reindeer cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. You can layer them with wax or parchment paper to prevent smudging. They’ll be good to eat for up to 5 days – if they last that long!
One Last Thing
Make Christmas more whimsical with these Christmas reindeer cookies! They’re so simple to make, with minimal prep and baking time, and can even be made in several ways to make them more memorable.
Serve them as a sweet end to your Christmas dinner, as a tasty snack throughout the day, or as part of your charcuterie board.
These cookies are as scrumptious as they are super cute – and I hope your kids will love them as much as mine!
Your Turn
If you make these Christmas reindeer cookies, please take a moment to let me know how you liked them by leaving a rating and a comment below on the recipe card.
More Adorable Christmas Treats To Try
Adorably Red-Nosed Christmas Reindeer Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter smooth or crunchy or your choice of nut butter
- 1 cup Biscoff cookie butter smooth or crunchy
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 8-10 pretzels cut in half
- 48 mini chocolate chips
- 24 red M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a parchment paper.
- Place the Biscoff cookie butter, peanut butter, pinch of salt, sugar, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup Biscoff cookie butter, 2 large eggs, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, pinch of salt
- Use a mixer at a medium speed setting to stir the ingredients until they’re well combined and smooth.
- With a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon scoop out portions of the dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each.
- Gently flatten each scooped dough with the back of the spoon or your fingers.
- Take the halved pretzels and gently press each one into the top sides of each cookie to make them look like reindeer antlers.8-10 pretzels
- Place the reindeer cookies in the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to ensure the cookies do not overbake. They should still be soft when removed from the oven.
- While the cookies are still warm, press a red M&M into the center to create the reindeer nose.24 red M&Ms
- Add two mini chocolate chips above the red nose to create the eyes.48 mini chocolate chips
- Allow the Christmas reindeer cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, serve them and enjoy!
Notes
- Scoop Them Up: Using a cookie scoop is important to ensure that your peanut butter cookies are all the same size, which will help them bake more evenly.
- Hold Them In Place: Use a bit of peanut butter to secure the reindeer’s eyes, nose, and antlers if needed.
- Refrigerate Them Dough: If you find the cookie dough too soft, refrigerate it for about 30 minutes. This can help the cookies hold their shape and make handling them easier.
- Keep An Eye Out: Don’t overbake the cookies, as they may come out hard and dry. You want them lightly browned all over but still soft to the touch.
Nutrition
Tamara Tsaturyan is the owner and writer of Thriving In Parenting, a website focused on providing simple tips for busy parents — easy and healthy recipes, home decor and organization ideas and all things P A R E N T I N G.
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