Prepare to Win at Christmas with the Best Reindeer Cookies

It won’t be long now. In a few short weeks, we’ll be decking the halls with boughs of holly, and Santa Claus and his little red-nosed helper will be coming down the chimney. But, Santa Baby, what’s the one thing I need this Christmas?

Sure, a convertible sounds great, and a yacht too, but actually the one thing I really need more than anything in the world is a batch of delicious melt-in-your-mouth reindeer cookies!  And maybe if I lay some out for Saint Nick too, maybe he’ll be extra generous this year, right?

Oh, I forgot about my guests. They’ll be needing some too, surely? And so will yours. Well, don’t worry. On this list, we’ve prepared the best reindeer cookies suggestions for chocolate lovers, vegans, and healthy eating enthusiasts. We’ve got them all! So, let’s not waste any more time. Let’s get ready to make your guests, Santa, Rudolph, and yourself happy with the best, heartfelt, homemade reindeer treats.

1. Ready, set, dough, cookie monsters!

This is one of the best recipes for reindeer cookies! Why? Because it’s one of the easiest. Here is what you need:

• 4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 8 ounces of unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups of sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

First sift the flour into a bowl and add baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl mix the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until you get a fluffy, pale mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing them at the lowest speed until thoroughly combined. Next add the dry ingredients and gradually add the flour mixture. Mix on low and keep adding the flour. You can increase the speed as needed.

After that, divide the dough into three or four discs. Wrap them up in some plastic wrap and refrigerate them to firm up the dough. We recommend you let the future reindeer rest in the fridge overnight, because, uhm, well, they like the cold, being from the North Pole and all. The next day, let the discs rest at room temp until they are soft enough to roll (about 10 minutes). Preheat the oven to 325 °F.

Time to make reindeers! Take your dough and cut your Rudolphs, Dashers, and Dancers, and let them sit in the fridge again, this time for about 15 minutes. Then bake for 7-11 minutes. Keep a close eye on these guys, you know they wander around! Remove, let cool, and start decorating.

2. Let it glaze, let it glaze, let it glaze

All you want for Christmas is to have the best cookies. And you can. Now we have the dough covered, here is what you need to prepare a quick, delish icing:

• 4 cups (480 grams) of confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons of meringue powder
• 9-10 tablespoons of room temperature water
• Food coloring

Let your creativity dance, and find the best color combos and patterns to decorate your cookies with. Preparing this icing is sooo easy! Pour the sugar, the meringue powder, and the water into a large bowl. Grab your mixer (you need one with a whisk attachment), and beat the ingredients at high speed. After 1-2 minutes, the icing will have a drizzly consistency. The more your beat the ingredients, the thicker the icing will get. If it seems too thick, add a splash of water. If it’s too thin, keep beating it or sprinkle some more confectioner’s sugar. That’s it! Here are some tips that’ll help you nail it:

• Apply the icing in thin layers onto the cookies.
• The thinner the consistency of the icing, the longer it will take to set. And…
• The thicker the layer of icing, the longer it will take to set.
• On average, icing sets in two hours at room temperature.
• To speed up the setting process, put the cookies in the fridge.
• If you need to take a break from decorating all the Rudolphs, place a damp paper towel onto the bowl to prevent the icing from hardening.
• Create different flavors by adding extracts to the icing.
• Create different colors by adding food coloring.
• Use toothpicks to guide the icing to the edges and to pop air bubbles that rise to the surface.

The best reindeer cookies recipes to try this Christmas

Now that we’ve got the technical stuff out of the way, let’s grab our tools and start painting on the cutest reindeer cookies that ever were!

1. Elegant Reindeer Cookies

You need:

• Reindeer cookie cutter
• Decorating tweezers (it’s precision time, baby)
• Tan icing
• Ivory with a drop of tan icing
• 4mm beads
• Black Sixlets
• Red Sixlets

Recipe Link

2. Reindeer Sweater Cookies

We all looove Christmas sweaters! OK, so maybe not all of us, but you will love to nibble on these sweater cookies. Here’s what you need:

• Sweater cutter shapes (of course)
• Icing
• Red, green, brown food coloring
• 4 mm beads – silver, red, white, black, green, you name it. Have fun with it!
• Decorating kits with Christmas trees, eyes, antlers, bows, snowmen, anything you can find!

Recipe Link

3. Pastel Reindeer Cookies

Cute. Simple. Elegant. Minimal. If you want something retro-chic, these are the best reindeer cookies for you and yours. For these, you need cut-out cookies with reindeer face shapes. You also need:

• Icing
• Gel paste food coloring: brown, tan, white, red, black, green
• Disposable icing bags
• Icing couplers #1, #2, #3, #4 size tips
• Squeeze bottles

Recipe Link

4. Minimal Reindeer Cookies

Jingle all the way, guys! You’ll have time to learn all the carols with these cookies, they are so easy to make.

You need:

• White icing
• Powdered sugar
• ½ cup of chocolate chips
• 1 container of red cinnamon candies or red M&Ms

Recipe Link

5. Peanut Butter and Chocolate Reindeer Cookies. VEGAN!

These peanut butter and chocolate Christmas reindeer cookies are to die for. And quite healthy (for a cookie, that is)! Here is what you need:

• 1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons of. warm water. Let them thicken for 5 minutes
• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 1/2 cup of arrowroot powder
• 1 tablespoon of. cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

And for the face:

• 40 pretzels
• 40 googly eyes (you can find them in decorating kits)
• 20 red candies (for the noses)

Recipe Link

6. Cute Reindeer Cookies

The best holiday cookies don’t have to be hard to prepare! Prepare round cookies and then get to the decorating. Here is what you need: 

• 10 oz chocolate candy coating, cut into pieces
• 20 small white fudge-covered pretzels, cut into halves, for the antlers.
• 40 candy eyeballs
• 20 chocolate mint candies for the noses

Recipe Link

7. Gingerbread Reindeer Cookies

How do you make reindeer cookies in half an hour? Try this recipe. You’ll need some gingerbread-men, upside-down to make them look like reindeer. You’ll also need:

• Icing: black, brown, red, and pink
• 2 dozen candy eyeballs

Recipe Link

8. Funny Reindeer Cookies

Another upside-down gingerbread men cookie, we consider these to be some of the best out there. You need:

• Gingerbread men cutter shapes
• Icing: white, black, red, green, brown
• Candy eyes, red M&Ms, or Smarties for noses

Recipe Link

9. No-bake Reindeer Cookies. HEALTHY!

If you’re wondering how to make and how to decorate Christmas cookies with vegan ingredients and knock everyone off their feet, wonder no more.

For the cookies:

• 30 round crackers
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup of chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons of coconut oil

For the reindeer decorations:

• 1/2 cup of mini pretzels
• red cinnamon candies
• candy eyes
• 2 tablespoons of sprinkles

Recipe Link

10. Low Sugar Reindeer Cookies

The way towards a healthier cookie is to cut back on sugar. But fear not; you can still have delicious treats. Again, gingerbread men for the reindeer (you know the drill). Turn them upside-down and start decorating. Now for the low-sugar part. You need:

• White icing
• 40 fresh blueberries
• 20 fresh raspberries

Recipe Link

11. Whimsical Reindeer Cookies

You’ll adore these cutie-pies, well, cutie-cookies! You need some reindeer cutouts, or gingerbread women cutter shapes, and…

• Icing: pink, red, blue, white, black
• White sugar sprinkles or coconut shavings
• Gold food paint

Recipe Link

12. Reindeer Cookie Balls

If you’re dreaming of a rich mouthful of creaminess, these have to be the most decadent cookies around. While they are not your traditional Christmas-themed cookies, everyone will be grabbing more, so prepare one or two extra batches. You need:

• One package of chocolate sandwich cookies (36 cookies, or 14.3 oz / 405 grams)
• 1 cup (107 grams) of chopped chocolate-dipped pretzels
• 8 oz of cream cheese at room temperature
• 6 oz of melted chocolate candy coating
• More chocolate-glazed pretzels for the antlers (56 of them if you leave them full, or 28 halves)
• 56 candy eyeballs
• 28 red nose sprinkles of your choice

Recipe Link

13. Colorful reindeer cookies

Looking for some colorful reindeer cookies to catch everyone’s eye? Well, how about these? You’ll need:

• A cookie-cutter in the shape of a plaque
• A reindeer template (an illustrated template that you can draw on each cookie)
• An edible ink marker to draw the deer
• Icing: green, red, white, brown, blue, yellow
• Additional gold food coloring
• Brushes
• Different tips for creating the decorations (a #1, #2, and #3 tips should suffice)

Recipe Link

14. Rudolph’s Nose Cookies

Now, these here are the cutest of the cute, and they are sooooo easy to make. As usual, make the dough. Create round shapes. And then bake. After they have cooled, it’s time to make your biscuit sandwiches. Here’s what you need:

• Your jam of choice to fill up your cookie sandwiches
• Melted chocolate
• Red jelly

Recipe Link

How to Decorate Reindeer Cookies

So, we are ready. You know how to make Christmas cookies. Many types, right? Let’s get down to how to decorate cookies, to get the best of them.

●       What you need for reindeer cookies

Santa Claus, boots, socks, reindeer, gingerbread men and women, snowmen, Christmas trees, candy, bows, jingle bells, mittens, you name it! You can make the most of your festive meals choosing cute Christmas-themed cookie cutters:

●       Reindeer cookie cutters

Some of the most appreciated and versatile Christmas cookie cutters are the ones with Santa’s reindeer. You can make them cute, you can make them posh, you can make them a work of art, or you can have them ready in no time. Everybody loves Rudolph, you won’t be making a mistake choosing reindeer cookie shapes. Here are some choices for ya:

1. Reindeer cookie decorations

For more dynamic treats choose these Christmas cookie shapes with leaping reindeer. Made out of stainless steel, these are sturdy and ready to accompany your Xmas party for years to come! And they are made in a family factory! Santa, is that your business? Dare we dream?

2. Santa cookie shapes

Mix & match with these ones. Find some Santa cookie cutters and pair them with these reindeer faces! You’ll make quite the fuss, alternating them.

3. Christmas baking decorations

If you’re looking for more complex Christmas cookie decorations, your search is over! Here they are! This kit contains Santa Claus’s head, snowmen, gloves, bells, socks, crystal balls with Christmas trees inside, candy canes. They are quite the pack for cookies, biscuit decorations, and cake decorations.

O, come, all ye faithful and sweet treat-lovers! It’s just a matter of time now. Everything is set and you’ll pick your fave one of these days. Are you ready to have the best reindeer cookies? Who cares about winning the best lights, when you can make everyone happy with your treats? Happy baking!

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Iulia Claudia Dumitru

Iulia is a creative writer who is passionate about exterior beauty regardless whether its fashion, people, art, cuisine, or interior design, but also about inner beauty surfaced through culture and psychology.