Holiday Dessert Recipe: Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

by Jyl Johnson Pattee on December 3rd, 2011 | 3 Comments »

One of our favorite holiday family traditions is baking peanut butter reindeer cookies. We've enjoyed baking cookies to pass out as neighbor gifts, as well as to get our kids cooking.

How To Bake Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

Peanut butter reindeer cookies are the kind of dessert that look difficult, but are super simple. Check out the ingredients and follow the instructions below.

Ingredients

My favorite peanut butter cookie recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

The most important part of baking reindeer cookies is to be sure you have all of the ingredients. Tonight, we were lacking an electric mixer and flour. Good things for awesome neighbors!

Here's what you'll need to get baking:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar or 1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Small pretzels
Candy chocolates (I prefer plain M&Ms.)

Instructions

Step 1. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter or margarine and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat till combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough til easy to handle.

Step 2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, perfectly round, with a 1/4-inch oval-shaped ball placed right on top and extending vertical just below the circle.

Step 3. If baking with children, have them sort the chocolate candies into different bowls while you are placing the dough onto greased cookie sheets. I started doing this years ago as a way to help my kids learn their colors and to sort. Now, it is their favorite part of our tradition.

Step 4. Add pretzels for antlers and colored chocolate candies for eyes and a nose and then bake for 5-7 minutes in the oven. As you can see, our kids love to get creative with eye color!

Step 5. After baking the cookies, place them on holiday plates. We chose a plain red variety.

Step 6. Wrap the plates in clear cellophane, tie a big bow around them, place a sticker with to and from information (if you are leaving on doorsteps), and let the giving begin!

Fun tip! We let our kids go up to all the doors and take turns handing out the gifts. Then, we talk aboutthe giving spirit and why it is better to give than receive.

What cookie recipes do you love to bake over the holiday season?

All ingredients except the pretzels and chocolate candies and the first two steps in the instructions section are taken from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

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Jyl Johnson Pattee

An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.