These Rudolph Reindeer Cookies are the ultimate kid-friendly holiday cookie recipe—and one of the most popular Christmas cookies here on the blog! Get the whole family involved in cookie assembly because these cute treats are perfect for snacking, gifting, and holiday parties.
In this article you'll learn:
- These Rudolph Reindeer cookies are made with a soft peanut butter cookie dough and simple decorations like pretzels, mini chocolate chips, and peanut butter M&Ms.
- The cookies are best baked in small batches so they can be decorated while warm, which makes assembly easy and fun for kids.
- Pretzels work best for antlers, and there are lots of easy candy swaps if you don’t have the exact ones I call for.
- The dough can be customized or swapped for another cookie base, including store-bought dough if needed. These variations have not been tested.
- These cookies are ideal for holiday baking with family, cookie swaps, gifting, and parties because they make a big batch and travel well.
Generated with AI and experts from the Tara Teaspoon team.
I created the recipe for these cookies when I was the Food Director at Ladies' Home Journal magazine. Every year in the test kitchen I would come up with new, festive cookies for the holiday issue.
These were a huge hit and I knew I had to share them here. Every year I get messages from people who have made them with their kids or grandchildren, and it's the highlight of the season for them! I love hearing these stories.
Of all the things to love about the holidays, making (and eating!) Christmas cookies is something I look forward to every year. From Chocolate Snowman Cookies to Santa Face Sugar Cookies, there's no shortage of classic must-make recipes to add extra holiday magic to the festivities.
Below is the original image from the magazine!
Why you'll love this recipe
These peanut butter reindeer cookies just happen to be one of my all-time favorite cookies I've created. With their undeniable cuteness and soft texture, these rich peanut-buttery cookies turn simple pretzels, mini chocolate chips, and chocolate M&M's into holiday perfection.
There's even more to love about these adorable reindeer cookies:
- Fun for the whole family: This is a great recipe to make with the family. It's easy to make and kids will have so much fun helping with the decorations.
- Festive: I also love that a platter of these guys looks cheerful and festive, especially when they aren't perfect. With little hands helping you, each one will have its own personality!
- User-friendly: I always make this recipe with my perfected peanut butter dough, but you can use other types of dough to fit your family preferences. You can even try store-bought dough.
- Great for swapping and gifting: This recipe makes 3 dozen cookies, so you can take them to a cookie swap (and win!!), gift some to the neighbors, make a plate for Santa, and keep some for yourself.
If you love peanut butter cookies as much as I do, don't miss my Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies and my Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies.
Jump to:
These cookies are such a fun way to invite the old standard, the peanut butter cookie, into the Christmas festivities. We made these this past Christmas with the kids and they really enjoyed it. They tasted great too!
- Marie
Ingredients
You'll be on your way to making the cutest Rudolph cookies with a few pantry staples for the base and a few more special ingredients to create the reindeer faces. Full ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Unsalted butter and fine sea salt: Use softened, room temperature butter for easy blending. I use unsalted butter for baking so that I can adjust the salt precisely. If you want to use salted butter, leave out the additional salt.
- Creamy peanut butter: Use a traditional smooth peanut butter like Jif or Skippy that has been homogenized. Do not use natural varieties for this recipe.
- Sugars: You'll need both granulated sugar and packed dark brown sugar to give the cookies slightly crisp edges, tender centers, and deeper flavor.
- Large egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Leaveners: This recipe calls for baking soda and baking powder for the perfect lift and texture.
- Red peanut butter M&M candies: I like to use peanut butter M&M's for their size and added peanut flavor. You can use any red, round candy for the nose.
- Mini semisweet chocolate chips: I think mini chocolate chips are the easiest way to make the eyes. You could also pipe/dab on melted chocolate or use sprinkles.
- Pretzel twists: Break pretzels in ½-inch pieces right at the joints, to use as reindeer antlers.
How to make Rudolph reindeer cookies
Make this festive reindeer cookies recipe. Follow this helpful step-by-step tutorial to see how it's done. See recipe card for comprehensive directions.
- Step 1: Heat oven. On medium speed, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars together until light, about 2 minutes. Then add egg and vanilla.
- Step 2: Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined and the dough has come together.
- Step 3: Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until cold, 1 to 2 hours.
- Step 4: Make dough balls and place them on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. I like to just bake about 10 at a time so you can decorate while still hot.
- Step 5: Remove the cookies from the oven and slide them, still on the parchment, onto the counter. Press an M&M nose onto each cookie.
- Step 6: Nestle 2 pretzel pieces on top of each cookie for antlers.
- Step 7: For the eyes, you can place two mini chocolate chips on each cookie.
- Step 8: Or, melt the chocolate chips and dab eyes onto the cookies. Let cookies cool completely to set the faces.
Tara's top tips
Use what you have: Feel free to get creative with the decorations. You can make the Rudolph cookie faces out of ingredients you have on hand instead of making them exactly like mine!
Different nut butter: If someone has a peanut allergy, you can substitute the peanut butter with a different creamy nut or seed butter. Homogenized butters work best.
Don't overbake: This recipe tastes best when the cookies are just baked and not over-cooked. They should look puffed, cracked on top, and almost set. Overbaking the cookies will make them hard.
Work in batches: Bake just 9 or 10 cookies at a time so you can decorate all the reindeer faces at a time while the cookies are still warm.
Cool completely: The reindeer Christmas cookies need time to cool off. This helps the decorations set in place and not move! Make sure to insert the pretzel antlers deep enough into the dough to make them secure.
Equipment
I like rimless baking sheets for cookie baking.
Use a cookie scoop to get even amounts of dough for consistent cookies.
For holiday baking take up less space in the kitchen with a stacking wire rack system.
Storage and make-ahead
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. These cookies are stackable, but it's best to separate them between a layer of parchment paper.
Gift cookies in a shallow box or on a plate for the best presentation.
These cookies aren't suitable for freezing as the pretzels will get soft and the candies will bleed color.
Tara's Tip: Host a Cookie Swap
If you're the one hosting the swap this year, plan on making Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies! Then, follow these quick tips for a manageable and fun party.
- Provide some savory nibbles and drinks so guests aren't leaving on a cookie-induced sugar high!
- Invite 8 to 10 friends. Any more and everyone will have to bake TOO many cookies. You want your guests to bake about a dozen cookies for each guest to nibble on and take home.
- Set some rules for the party about the style of cookie everyone should plan on. Fancy, quick ideas, homemade, etc, so that no one is slaving over royal icing while someone else uses dough from a tube!
- Make sure you have a large table, or tables for everyone to display cookies on. And gather platters and serving trays for extra cookie display.
- Supply extra containers, tins, or zip top bags for takeaways.
FAQ
You can try to use other types of thumbprint cookie dough for this recipe. If you'd like to use another nut butter try these Blossom Cookies with Cashew Butter.
It's best to make and decorate these cookies in batches. The cookies need to be warm when you insert the pretzel antlers. Make sure to insert them fairly deep into the fresh-baked cookies. Then give the cookies plenty of time to cool so that the decorations set properly. If needed, you could also dip the end of the pretzels into warm, melted chocolate chips before inserting them into the cookies. The chocolate will work like glue, but note, it will show up on the cookie.
I like to use Peanut Butter M&M's for their size, round shape, and flavor, but you could use any variety of red M&M's. You could also pipe on a red frosting nose, or use any other red candy: jelly beans, Red Hots, Skittles, etc.
More holiday cookie recipes
Don't let the season pass you by without trying these festive favorites:
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📖 Full Recipe
Rudolph Reindeer Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar (packed)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 36 red peanut butter M&M candies
- ⅓ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
- Pretzel twists (broken into ½-inch antler pieces)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, peanut butter, and sugars on medium speed until light, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg and vanilla extract; beat until combined.
- Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until a dough forms. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until cold, 1 to 2 hours.
- Roll into 1-inch balls (a tablespoon of dough each) and place 1 inch apart on prepared sheets.
- Bake, one sheet at a time, until cookies are puffed and cracked on top, almost set, and golden on the bottom, 9 to 10 min. **Suggestion: Bake just 9 cookies at a time so you can build the reindeer faces while the cookies are warm out of the oven.**
- Remove from the oven. Gently slide the cookies, still on the parchment, onto the counter.
- For each cookie, immediately place 1 M&M in center for nose, and 2 pretzel pieces on top for antlers, nestling them gently into the soft cookie. Either place two mini chocolate chips on each cookie for eyes, or melt the chocolate chips and use the blunt end of a skewer dipped in the melted chocolate to draw eyes on the cookies. Let cookies cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Mary Bench says
Oh my! Adorable!
Brittany Smart says
Oh my goodness how cute are these!?
Marie says
These cookies are such a fun way to invite the old standard, the peanut butter cookie, into the Christmas festivities. We made these this past Christmas with the kids and they really enjoyed it. They tasted great too!
Mary says
These are the cutest! I am plan to make them for Christmas this year! Thank you for sharing your awesome ideas.
Tara Teaspoon says
I think they are adorable too Mary. So glad to hear you are going to try them this year. I love trying 1 new Christmas cookie recipe each year to change things up.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Tara
JEAN NELSON says
QUESTION: What happens after two days? Is there any way to make them last longer?
Tara Teaspoon says
Hi Jean, After a few days the cookies tend to lose their freshness (as cookies do), but will still be delicious! If you place the cookies in the refrigerator, they pretzels will start to absorb moisture and won't be as crisp, but overall the cookie will still taste great. Same for the freezer. When you take the cookies out of the freezer, the M&Ms will start to show condensation and the pretzels won't be as crisp. None of those things would stop me from eating these, but the overall affect will be the cookies aren't as fresh.
Tara
JEAN NELSON says
I guess I will have to make them at the last minute! They are just too cute not to include on my Christmas cookie plate!🤤
Mary says
Happiest little Christmas treats that are the hit of any party of the season! I love taking them to any cookie exchange! Happy Holidays!