12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

Posted by Nichole Leigh

So, I was going to save this recipe for later, but I can’t keep it to myself. These adorable cookies are as delicious as they are cute. The recipe is basically that of a traditional peanut butter cookie, shaped a little differently and embellished with candy pieces. I’ve decided to do all of my holiday baking without the use of artificial colors, so I used chocolate chips for eyes, pretzels for antlers, and foil-wrapped chocolate balls for noses (but M&M’s would work well too).

Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

Recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies. I would make these cookies within a day or two of when you intend to serve them, as they are somewhat hard to store due to the antlers. However, they're too cute to pass up entirely!

 

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened, like Smucker’s Creamy All Natural)

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

For the embellishments:
Pretzels, chocolate chips, and red foil-wrapped chocolate balls.

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Beat sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to peanut butter mixture and beat until well blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

4. Roll dough into 1inch balls, and pinch the ends to make them into a tear drop shape, flattening slightly. (See image below.)

5. Place on an baking sheet covered in parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven and immediately press pretzel antlers, chocolate chip eyes, and a candy nose into each cookie. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before moving to wire rack to finish cooling completely.

TIP: If your antlers and candy nose are not sticking, you can use royal icing (recipe follows) to secure them to your cookie. I always have to do this, but I’ve seen similar recipes that do not require any royal icing to secure the accouterments.

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Traditional Royal Icing

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 large egg white

1/3 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Combine all ingredients and beat until firm, 5-7 minutes. Icing should be stiff.

Alternative Royal Icing with Meringue Powder

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 tablespoon meringue powder

2 tablespoons warm water

Directions

Combine all ingredients and beat until firm, 7-12 minutes. Icing should be stiff.