Description
Santa’s magical Christmas Reindeer Cookies blend festive cheer with delightful nutmeg and cinnamon flavors. Chocolate antler decorations and cheerful red-nosed designs bring holiday spirit to cookie platters you’ll love sharing.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 ½ cups (310 g / 10.9 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (225 g / 8 oz) unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup (200 g / 7 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Mini pretzels (for antlers)
- Mini chocolate chips (for eyes)
- Red or brown candy-coated chocolates (like M&Ms, for noses)
Instructions
- Prepare Baking Environment: Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper, creating an optimal surface for even baking.
- Create Dough Base: Whip butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until fluffy and pale, establishing a smooth foundation for the cookie mixture.
- Bind Wet Ingredients: Blend egg and vanilla extract into the butter-sugar mixture, ensuring a harmonious and consistent texture.
- Combine Dry Components: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, eliminating potential clumps and creating a uniform dry mixture.
- Form Cookie Dough: Gently incorporate dry ingredients into wet mixture, folding until a soft, malleable dough forms without overmixing.
- Shape and Decorate Cookies: Roll dough into small balls, placing them on prepared sheets with ample spacing, then slightly flatten each one.
- Assemble Reindeer Features: Position mini pretzels as antlers, strategically place mini chocolate chips for eyes, and add a festive red or brown candy nose to each cookie.
- Bake and Cool: Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until edges turn golden, then allow cookies to rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for complete cooling.
Notes
- Precision Mixing: Cream butter and sugar until fluffy and pale to ensure light, tender cookie texture with maximum flavor integration.
- Temperature Control: Allow ingredients to reach room temperature before mixing, which helps create smoother dough and more consistent baking results.
- Strategic Spacing: Place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheet to prevent spreading and maintain individual reindeer shape during baking process.
- Decoration Technique: Apply decorative elements like pretzels and chocolate chips gently and symmetrically before baking to ensure they adhere properly and create a charming reindeer appearance.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 25
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 50 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg