The CUTEST Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

You will love making these easy reindeer cookies! They are a fun treat for little hands to help with AND they are chewy and perfectly sweet.

These cute reindeer cookies are an easy recipe that is perfect for your next cookie swap, Christmas party or as a fun treat to make for Santa on Christmas Eve. The kids will love the little reindeer face with green and red m&m candies and chocolate pretzel antlers!

We are typically fans of decorated sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies (our gluten-free gingerbread men are SO good!) during the holidays. But since we had so much fun making our reindeer pancakes, I wanted to make my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe into pretzel reindeer cookies.

Nothing says Christmas time like making the cutest cookies you’ve seen all year! I just love cookies in all varieties but peanut butter are one of the tastiest classics. Just like in these gluten-free nutter butter cookies.

And who doesn’t love chocolate and peanut butter right? They are a classic combination that marry so well together! The little chocolate candies and chocolate pretzel antlers give that flavor combo that you love.

If you need even more of it though, you can easily do a dollop of chocolate frosting underneath each candy eye and the candy nose of this fun treat! Or you can drizzle white icing over the chocolate antlers for a pretty and double chocolaty effect.

Reindeer cookies are so much fun to make and look absolutely darling on a holiday dessert table. They also look great on a milk and cookies platter with our Christmas crack (or cranberry Christmas crack), ginger molasses cookies, Grinch cookies and gluten-free snowball cookies.

What you need

• butter
• peanut butter
• brown sugar
• sugar
• eggs
• gluten-free all purpose flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• small pretzel twists (plain or chocolate covered)
• red and green or brown m&m candies OR skittles

We chose to make our reindeer cookies homemade but you can certainly use a cookie mix to make your peanut butter reindeer cookies if you’d rather.

You can also use chocolate chips to make chocolate chip eyes in place of the m&m or skittles candy eyes. You can even use mini m&m candies and mini pretzels if you are making smaller cookies.

How to make reindeer cookies

Making these cookies is definitely a blast! It’s a fun way to get kids in the kitchen this holiday season as they make their own little reindeer head and sneak candies as they do…

• Pre heat oven to 350°
• In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter, sugars and eggs together
• In a seperate large bowl, combine gluten-free flour and all other dry ingredients
• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients a little at a time mixing in between
• Once dough is mixed well, use a small cookie scoop and form dough to make 1-inch balls

• Roll in sugar then place on greased or silicone mat lined baking sheet or cookie sheets
• Flatten with the bottom of a cup and bake 10 minutes or until golden brown 
• Cool cookies slightly on a wire rack then press in fudge pretzel “antlers” on top of the cookies as well as add two candy eyes and one red nose to make reindeer cookies

Can you make them dairy free?

Yes, this cookie recipe can easily be made dairy-free and we did here in these pictures! We used No Whey chocolate covered pretzels to make the reindeer antlers and skittles for the eyes and nose.

If you can’t find dairy-free chocolate covered pretzels, you can make them yourself by using regular pretzels and dipping them in melted dairy-free chocolate.

You would just need to use dairy-free butter as well. Earth Balance sticks are great for cookies.

How to store leftover reindeer cookies

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days if the whole family hasn’t eaten them before then. Make sure to cool them entirely before putting them in a container.

Can you freeze them?

Absolutely! I love to freeze them and pull just one or two out when I want them. They only take 15 minutes or so to thaw at room temperature. Then you can enjoy the cutest Christmas cookies in minutes.

Mocktails to serve with these cookies

• Candy Cane Christmas Mocktails
• Cranberry Mocktail
• Non-Alcoholic White Russian
• Gingerbread Martini Mocktail
• Non-Alcoholic Prosecco Drink with Cranberries and Pomegranate

Parties to serve them at

• Christmas in July ideas and party
• Hygge cozy Christmas party
• Gingerbread decorating party
• White Christmas dinner party
• Flannel and flapjacks holiday party
• and here are some more Christmas party ideas and themes

More cookie recipes…

Gluten-Free Peppermint Bark Cookies from Gluten Free Baking

Peanut Butter Crunch Cookies from I am Celiac

Lemon Currant Butter Cookies from The Pretty Bee

Gluten-Free Chocolate Dipped Snickerdoodles from The Healthy Home Cook

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The CUTEST Reindeer Cookies

4.55 from 11 votes

These delicious peanut butter cookies have been taken to the next level and shaped like reindeer, plus they are gluten free!

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Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Course: cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookies, reindeer

Servings: 18 servings

Calories: 163kcal

Author: Chandice

Ingredients

• ▢ 1/2 C butter
• ▢ 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
• ▢ 1/3 C brown sugar
• ▢ 1/3 C sugar, plus more for rolling
• ▢ Dash of Real Salt
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 3/4 C gluten-free flour King Arthur works best for us
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1 bag gluten-free fudge covered pretzels
• ▢ green and red candies

Instructions

• Pre heat oven to 350°In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter, sugars and eggs together
• In a seperate large bowl, combine gluten-free flour and all other dry ingredients
• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients a little at a time mixing in between 
• Once dough is mixed well, use a small cookie scoop and form dough to make 1-inch balls
• Roll in sugar then place on greased or silicone mat lined baking sheet or cookie sheets
• Flatten with the bottom of a cup and bake 10 minutes or until golden brown 
• Cool cookies slightly on a wire rack then press in fudge pretzel “antlers” on top of the cookies as well as add two candy eyes and one red nose

Notes

I love to freeze them and pull just one or two out when I want them. They only take 15 minutes or so to thaw at room temperature. Then you can enjoy the cutest Christmas cookies in minutes.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days if the whole family hasn’t eaten them before then. Make sure to cool them entirely before putting them in a container.

This cookie recipe can easily be made dairy-free and we did here in these pictures! We used No Whey chocolate covered pretzels to make the reindeer antlers and skittles for the eyes and nose.

If you can’t find dairy-free chocolate covered pretzels, you can make them yourself by using regular pretzels and dipping them in melted dairy-free chocolate.

You would just need to use dairy-free butter as well. Earth Balance sticks are great for cookies.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 117mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 184IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

This recipe was originally published December 16, 2015 but has since been updated with a more helpful set of instructions, slightly different flour measurements and new photos.

Here is the original photo…