Christmas is the perfect time to make cute cookies and these Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies are adorable! They have maraschino cherry noses, chocolate chip eyes, and pretzel antlers.
These Christmas cookies are not only cute but they are delicious too!
They are made using a soft chewy peanut butter cookie recipe and are quickly and easily decorated using maraschino cherries, chocolate chips, and pretzels.
The most challenging part of this recipe is getting the mini pretzel twists broken into antlers. I found it easiest to cut them using a serrated knife. I'd get one nicely shaped antler out of each pretzel. On occasion, I'd get two, but I wasn't too worried if I did not. I just enjoyed all the broken pieces as a snack.
Recipe
- 48 maraschino cherry halves
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¾ cup Dixie Crystals light brown sugar
- ¼ cup Dixie Crystals extra fine granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 144 chocolate chips
- 96 pretzel antlers Cut mini pretzel twists using a serrated knife to create antlers for your reindeer. You’ll need a total of 96 pretzel antlers for your reindeer cookies but many pretzels will break while you are cutting them so be sure to have more pretzels on hand.
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Place a few layers of paper towels on your counter and arrange the maraschino cherry halves on the towels. Gently pat them dry with more paper towels. Then let them air dry until needed.
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Beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
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Then add the egg and beat until well combined.
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In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
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Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.
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Scoop out forty-eight 1-tablespoon portions of the cookie dough and arrange them on parchment-paper-lined baking sheets with a few inches in between each cookie.
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Roll the cookie dough into smooth balls then use the palm of your hand to flatten the cookies into a 2-inch circle.
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Press two chocolate chips right next to each other in the center of each cookie dough circle to create the reindeer’s eyes. (They will separate when the cookies spread as they bake.)
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Press a single chocolate chip about ½ inch below the two chocolate chip eyes. This chocolate chip will be covered with a cherry nose after the cookies are baked. The melted chocolate will help to “glue” the cherry to the cookie.
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Insert a pretzel antler on either side of the top of the cookie.
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Bake the decorated cookies for 10 minutes until the edges of the cookies are set and the tops of the cookies no longer look wet.
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The cookies will spread slightly while baking and the chocolate chip eyes will spread apart slightly.
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Remove the pan and immediately press one maraschino cherry half over the single chocolate chip to create the reindeer’s nose.
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Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet then remove them and place them on a cooling rack until cooled completely.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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