Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

If you're looking for an adorable cookie to make with the kids this year, I have the perfect one for you! These reindeer cookies are easy to make and are stinking precious once they're done. Mini chocolate chips, M&Ms, and pretzels help bring these sweet little reindeer to life!

I used both red and brown M&Ms, because we can't all be a Rudolph, but that doesn't mean we aren't as important! The cookie itself is a traditional peanut butter cookie dough, so if you have your own tried and true recipe, the decorations should work on that just as well.

The trick is decorating as soon as the cookies come out of the oven before the cookie dries out and isn't as plyable anymore. If needed, you can melt a little chocolate to help the M&Ms and antlers stick to the cookie.

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Servings: 3 dozen

Prep Time: 30 min

Total Time: 45 min

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 egg

• 1 1/3 cup flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• Pinch of salt

• Red and brown M&Ms (at least 3 dozen)

• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

• 3 cups mini twist pretzels

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prep your antlers by breaking the pretzel twists in half and making pieces that matched. This literally took me the longest to do, and you'll want to make sure these are ready to go as soon as your cookies come out of the oven.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Cream peanut butter, butter, and 1/2 cup sugar, and brown sugar with an electric or stand mixer until smooth.

4. Add vanilla and egg and beat again.

5. With the mixer setting on its slowest speed, slowly add the flour, baking soda, and salt and combine.

6. Roll dough into balls the size of ping pongs and roll these balls in a bowl of sugar (about 3 Tbsp worth). Place balls of dough onto 2 cookie sheets that have been prepared with parchment paper or silicon baking mats. Make an indent with your thumb on each ball of dough to slighly flatten the centers. This helps the cookies bake evenly.

7. Bake 10-12 minutes.

8. When removed from the oven, immediately start decorating while the cookie is still soft. Place an M&M for the nose and gently press down. Insert two mini chocolate chips for the eyes, pointy side down. Insert 2 pretzel pieces in the top to be the antlers. If you're having difficulty getting the M&Ms and pretzels to stick, melt some chocolate in the microwave and dip the back of the M&M and the bottoms of the antlers in the chocolate before placing on the cookies.

9. Let cool completely on a wire rack and enjoy!