We’ve made reindeer cookies with snickerdoodles but these double chocolate cookies are my family’s favorite.
The recipe is simple and easily doubled.
Easy Christmas cookies for kids don’t get any sweeter!
What You Need to Make Reindeer Cookies
- Mini pretzels
- Candy eyes
- Red M&Ms (the holiday bags with only red and green are perfect but you could get away with a regular large bag)
- Your favorite cookie recipe, like these double chocolate cookies (recipe below)
How to Make Double Chocolate Reindeer Cookies
- Prep the cookie batter.
- Bake cookies for 12 of the 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and carefully assemble the reindeer faces.
- Bake for remaining 3 minutes.
If you assemble the reindeer before baking — letting them bake for 15 minutes — the eyes will melt and your M&M nose will crack to smithereens. It also doesn’t work very well to assemble after these come out of the oven because the cookies aren’t soft enough to absorb the candies and pretzels firmly. Trust me.
What Kids Can Do to Help
- Sort M&Ms
- Make reindeer kits: 2 pretzels, 2 candy eyes, 1 red M&M. You’ll need one kit for each cookie. Set these on the counter so when the cookies are out of the oven, the baker can work quickly to assemble and get them back in the oven for the final few minutes of cooking time.
Double Chocolate Reindeer Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: About 20 cookies 1x
Ingredients
Scale
FOR THE COOKIES
- 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
FOR THE REINDEER FACES
- mini pretzels
- candy eyes
- red M&Ms
Instructions
- Get started. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or butter/spray.
- Cream butter and wet ingredients. In a standing mixer or large bowl with electric beaters, cream the butter and two sugars until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add one egg and beat again for 1 minute. Pour in the vanilla and beat one more time. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Add dry ingredients. Stop the mixer and add cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and salt. Start mixing again until the ingredients are JUST together.
- Finish with chocolate. Pour in the chocolate chips and beat for 20 seconds until you’ve got chocolate throughout the batter.
- Bake. Use a cookie scoop or a rounded teaspoon to set 12 cookies on a baking sheet. While the cookies are baking, organize your reindeer decorations (pretzels, candy eyes and red M&Ms). Bake for 12 MINUTES ONLY.
- Add reindeer. Carefully remove pan from oven. Add two pretzels, two eyes and one M&M to each cookie. Place back in oven and bake for 3 additional minutes.
- Cool. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes.
We love this super easy recipe. Our cookies came out exactly as pictured in this blog. They were adorable and delicious. Will definitely make again.
Nice! Adorable and delicious are two of my favorite things.