Reindeer Cookies

These Reindeer Cookies are a fun and tasty holiday snack that everyone enjoys. Peanut butter cookies are decorated with pretzels, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries to create adorable little reindeer.

As you might have noticed, we make a lot of cookies during the holiday season. We love to decorate them with various holiday themes to really make the season pop. From frosting that looks like pine trees to cookies that appear to have Christmas lights on them, cookies like these are always a fun, festive addition to the holiday season. These reindeer cookies are no different. They are just as cute as they are delicious, and everyone always loves their flavor.

Reindeer Cookies

Aside from being super adorable, what we love about these cookies is the classic combination of flavors. It combines three great tastes that we’ve all grown up with, and they’re always popular.

We start with a peanut butter cookie base. From there, we add pretzels for the reindeer antlers. Pretzels and peanut butter? Classic. Next, we add chocolate chips for the eyes. Again, a classic combo. In fact, it’s a variety of classic flavor combinations. Almost everyone loves peanut butter and chocolate, pretzels and peanut butter, pretzels and chocolate, and peanut butter and pretzels. These cookies are just overflowing with flavor!

Reindeer Cookies Ingredients

It only takes basic baking ingredients to make every part of these cookies. In fact, outside of the dried cranberries, you probably have all of the ingredients you need in your kitchen right now.

• Unsalted butter, softened
• Creamy peanut butter
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar
• Egg
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Chocolate chips
• Pretzels, broken or cut in half to make reindeer antlers
• Dried cranberries
• White gel icing tube for eyes

**See the recipe card at the end of the post for quantities.

Reindeer Cookies Instructions

Making these reindeer cookies is exceptionally easy. The peanut butter cookie dough is very basic, and the decorations are simple to add. It’s a recipe that will have you in and out of the kitchen in no time.

Step 1: Mix the Wet Ingredients

Beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugar until creamy. Next, add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Step 3: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients

Combine the wet and dry ingredients to form the cookie dough.

Step 4: Bake the Cookies

Form the cookie dough into balls and flatten them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then, bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Step 5: Decorate

Once the cookies have cooled for a few minutes, place the chocolate chips on the cookies point side down to create the eyes. Then, add little dots of the white gel icing to create the pupils. Add the dried cranberries to create the nose, and pretzel halves at the top of the cookies to create the antlers.

Storage

These cookies will keep for about 2 weeks in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Tips

Although these cookies are easy to make, we have a few tips that will help ensure you create the best cookies possible. These are easy tips that can make a big difference, so be sure to give them a look.

Fully Softened Butter – Be sure your butter is fully softened so you get the light, creamy texture needed for these cookies.

Room Temperature Eggs – Room temperature eggs incorporate more easily and make your baked goods bake up properly.

Measuring the Flour – When measuring your flour, don’t scoop it out directly with the measuring cup. Instead, fluff the flour in the bag with a spoon and spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it’s overflowing. Then level it off with the flat edge of a knife. This ensures proper measurement.

PIN IT!!

More Holiday Cookies

If you love making holiday cookies, then we’ve got you covered. Here are some more great cookies to try.

Frosted Christmas Tree Cookies

Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Tree Topped Oreo Christmas Cookies

Reindeer Cookies FAQ

If you have questions about these reindeer cookies, then we have answers. This FAQ covers all the most frequently asked questions about peanut butter cookies, which is essentially what these are.

When were peanut butter cookies invented?
Peanut butter cookies were created in the 1910s. Like so many peanut uses, the peanut butter cookie was invented by George Washington Carver and was first featured in his cookbook that was published to promote the use of peanuts.

Why are peanut butter cookies pressed down?
Peanut butter cookie dough is very dense. If it isn’t pressed down, it won’t spread into a cookie. Instead, you’ll be left with a peanut butter cookie ball that is raw in the center.

Why are peanut butter cookies pressed down with a fork?
These days, we think of the crisis cross pattern of peanut butter cookies as a classic decoration, but in reality, forks were originally used to press down peanut butter cookies because they were convenient and effective. We don’t use a fork for this cookie since that wouldn’t look good for a reindeer face.

How long do peanut butter cookies last?
They’ll last about 2 weeks in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Can you freeze peanut butter cookies?
Peanut butter cookies freeze very well. Open-air freeze them on a baking sheet and then transfer them to an air-tight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag for up to 2 months.

Try These Reindeer Cookies Today

These reindeer cookies are so good and so easy to make. They’re also totally adorable. With a combination like that, we think they’re the perfect holiday cookie. Give them a try, and we know you’ll be making them again and again.

MORE RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Blueberry Thumbprint Cookies

Butter Pecan Snowball Cookies