As snow starts falling and temperatures drop, the oven begins preheating. Every December, my mom and I create tins of Christmas cookies to hand out to all of our loved ones.

We spend hours in the kitchen baking our favorite holiday-inspired cookies. Some recipes come and go. However, the arguably cutest holiday cookie recipe that will remain with us year after year is our reindeer cookies.

These are the one treat that my brother insists on joining us to make. While me and my mom decorate them with care, hoping to make them as cute as possible and akin to Rudolph, my brother takes his own spin on it. He insists on making crazy sci-fi creations, fitting as many M&M’S and pretzels as possible.

If you love peanut butter, or just enjoy adorable cookies, I urge you to prance on over to your kitchen and have some fun making these holiday reindeer cookies. 

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup peanut butter
• 1 ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ½ cup shortening
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Chocolate-covered mini pretzels
• Mini chocolate chips
• Red peanut butter M&M’S

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Combine peanut butter, brown sugar, shortening, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat on medium speed until fully combined. Add egg and beat until just combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Then add to the wet mixture on low speed until just combined.
4. Form dough into small balls and gently pinch the bottom to make the nose. Then gently press on the top to slightly flatten. Space the cookies apart on a cookie sheet and bake.
5. After seven minutes, or once they start to brown, remove the cookies from the oven and press two of the pretzels into the top sides of the cookies as antlers (I like to break the pretzels in half for a better look). Then, press two chocolate chips into the cookie as the eyes and a M&M at the bottom as the nose.
6. Enjoy!

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X: MarleySSmith

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